Neighborhood News

Handy Tricks & Tips — A New MVCI Website Feature

Posted on by Terry Wall in Community Action, Costa Mesa, Family Fun, Home beautification, Mesa Verde

FIRST ISSUE – GARDEN FUN! Attract more hummingbirds, plant water-wise flowers they love!

WATER-WISE FLOWERS HUMMINGBIRDS ADORE

Hummers love Salvia (sage).  A  few easy ones:

  • Salvia clevelandia, lavender-blue flowers, 4 ft tall and wide.
  • Salvia leucantha (Mexican sage), rose violet, velvety leaves, prolific bloomer. 3-4 ft tall and wide.
  • Salvia greggii (Autumn sage), red, pink, white and coral, several varieties, about 3x3ft. In bloom right now (June- August) on the Mesa Verde Drive medians!
  • Salvia spathecea (Hummingbird sage), A shade lover, needs full or part shade.  Rose red flowers,  2-3ft tall, 3ft wide.

Other hummingbird favorites: 

  •  Mimulus cardinalis (Monkey Flower), scarlet red, and aurantiacus, yellow/orange,  also called Sticky monkey flower.
  • Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) Pink, blue, purple and “Black Knight”,  a purple so deep it is almost black.  Grows  6′-7′ or more, there are also dwarf varieties. (Butterflies also love it!)
  • Leonotis (Lions Tail), orange flowers, 4′ tall.
  • Zauschneria (California Fuchsia). Small tubular purple-tipped red flowers. Low, loose mound.
  • Agastache (hummingbird mint, hyssop) Rose-red, pink, and violet flowers, a variety of foliage types, low to medium height.
  • Callistemon (bottlebrush), Not just your grandma’s Bottlebrush tree! Many new varieties, colors and sizes.

GENERAL ADVICE:  All the above like full sun unless noted, and require well-drained soil.  Most need  regular water the first season, then do well with water only twice a month. Some benefit from occasional pruning. Check with your local Nursery or landscape professional for availability,  planting advice, growth habits, care and water needs.

No green thumb? No room?  No problem!  There’s always the good old hummingbird feeder.  Here’s a new trick:  A friend got some sugar at the 99c store that was tan, like turbinado sugar.   She mixed it up and the feeder was mobbed.   It disappeared  twice as fast as ordinary sugar water!  Recipe: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.  Stir or shake until dissolved.  Keep feeder clean to prevent toxic fungus build-up.

 

Contributed by Robin Leffler, MVCI Board Member

 

 

Water-wise gardens: Nominate the best in your neighborhood!

Posted on by Terry Wall in Civic Activity, Community Action, Costa Mesa, Home beautification, Mesa Verde

The  Water-wise garden tour is not a contest or a conventional tour. It’s a list of local low-water gardens  to inspire neighbors. Addresses entered here will be confidential until permission is granted and details are ready. Nominate your own garden or those of neighbors  by entering address(es) below. Nominees will receive a letter asking if it’s OK to include their garden. Viewers will be strongly advised to enjoy the gardens from the street or sidewalk and to keep off private property!

More information will be available in late July, get ready to enjoy some interesting, creative landscapes.

Nominate your favorite gardens below. If you are the owner, please say so.

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Your message has been sent

Note: Names and addresses are kept confidential and will be used for no other purposes than this activity.

The Tanager Park Tale — Updated Summary

Posted on by Terry Wall in City Council, Civic Activity, Community Action, Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde, Parks & Recreation Commission, Tanager Park

BACKGROUND:   In  April 2017 some buzz started about possible plans for  a public swimming pool and big  parking lots at Tanager Park.  Neighbors were alarmed when a site map appeared  in the  “Updated Open Space Master Plan of Parks and Recreation”  prepared  by a consultant to the City.  The report would be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) on April 27.  City Staff  recommended  approval of the report and all the projects it contained.

Tanager Park neighbors got organized, got educated on the issue, held a neighborhood planning meeting, met with the Chairman of the Parks Commission, circulated a petition.  A  neighbor came to a Mesa Verde Community, Inc. board meeting and shared  their concern.  As a result, the MVCI Board of Directors voted to send a letter to the PRC in support of  leaving the park alone.

UPDATE:  Because of the neighbors’ organized and articulate response,  the PRC voted 5-0  to remove every reference  to an aquatic facility at Tanager Park before the report was forwarded to the City Council for final approval.

It was a good  night for the neighborhood!   The Tanager  Neighbors did a fantastic job, and Mesa Verde Inc. was privileged to help them by sending a letter .

Robin Leffler, MVCI Government Relations Chair

Great News from MVCI President, Robin Leffler!

Posted on by Terry Wall in City Council, Civic Activity, Community Action, Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde, Parks & Recreation Commission, Tanager Park

Update on the Tanager Tale-   All mention of Tanager Park as an “opportunity site”   for an aquatic facility had already been removed from the report.  In fact all the other “opportunity sites” were removed as well.  The Parks and Recreation Commission voted  5-0 to recommend the revised report to the City Council.  As soon as that was done, the commissioners had a few things they wanted to include or change.  Commissioner Liz McNabb moved that the addition of 2 tennis courts slated for 2020 also be completely removed.  That passed 5-0 as well.

It was a good night for the neighborhood!  You guys did a fantastic job-

Robin

Newport Mesa Unified School District Board Meeting

Posted on by Terry Wall in Civic Activity, Community Action, Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde, Newport Mesa Unified School District, NMUSD, School Board, School District

Discussion of term limits will be on the agenda Tuesday June 16th, 2017 (http://newportmesa.agendaonline.net/public/) at the Newport Mesa Unified School District board meeting. This issue has been hotly debated for several years and was a topic of interest in this most recent school board election. We would like to encourage the public to attend this meeting and voice their opinions. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. sharp and public comments should be near the beginning of the meeting.

The agenda will be posted to the Newport Mesa Unified School District website the Friday before the meeting.

The meeting will be held at 6 PM, 2985 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

MVCI Membership Application

Posted on by Terry Wall in Civic Activity, Community Action, Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde

Good news! An application form for membership in Mesa Verde Community, Inc. has been created and can be accessed via the link below. This is a “fillable” PDF form and if using a computer to complete the application, you just have to download the form and tab to the appropriate box to make an entry. Place an “X” in the boxes on the left side of the form. If you are not using a computer, just fill in the application by hand. Print (using either method) and return the completed form, along with your check to the address at the bottom of the document.

Long term, we will have a fillable form on the website, connected to a PayPal account, but in the meantime, we want to be responsive to the many neighbors who have expressed a desire to join (or renew) their membership.

MVCI Membership App – FILLABLE FORM

The Tanager Park Tale — A Summary

Posted on by Terry Wall in City Council, Civic Activity, Community Action, Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde, Parks & Recreation Commission, Tanager Park

BACKGROUND:  A few weeks ago some buzz started about possible plans for  a public swimming pool at Tanager Park.  Neighbors were alarmed when a site map appeared in the  “Updated Open Space Master Plan of Parks and Recreation” report prepared by a consultant the City hired.  The report would be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) on April 27.  City Staff recommended approval of the report.

Tanager Park neighbors got organized, got educated on the issue, held a neighborhood planning meeting, met with the Chairman of the Parks Commission, circulated a petition.  One of the neighbors came to a Mesa Verde Community, Inc. board meeting and shared their concern.  As a result, the Board of MVCI voted to send a letter to the PRC in support of  leaving the park as is.

UPDATE: The story is not quite over.  The outlook to preserve the park as is looks very good.   Because of the neighbors’ organized and articulate response, all five PRC members indicated they want every reference to an aquatic facility at Tanager Park removed from the report before they vote to pass it on to the City Council for final approval.  The PRC directed the consultant to ensure the Commissioners’ comments and the neighbors’ concerns were included in a memorandum to the report.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Email Commissioners and staff (addresses below)  before the deadline of May 10.  Technically, all comments before and during  the Public Hearing will be included in the public record,  but practically, it will be difficult for the Commissioners and staff  to give thoughtful attention to comments after May 10.

Attend the PRC Public Hearing May 25, 6pm, at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

Kim Pederson, Chairman,  parkdistrict1@costamesaca.gov

Liz McNabb, parkdistrict2@costamesaca.gov

Kristina Bogner arkdistrict3@costamesaca.gov

Arlis Reynolds parkdistrict4@costamesaca.gov

Leah Ersoylu parkdistrict5@costamesaca.gov

Recreation Director Justin Martin justin.martin@costamesaca.gov

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

~Robin Leffler, President, MVCI

A Pool At Tanager Park?

Posted on by Terry Wall in City Council, Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde, Parks & Recreation Commission, Tanager Park

ATTENTION MESA VERDE RESIDENTS!! There is a movement afoot to develop a swimming pool complex at Tanager Park. This change would alter the quality of life in the area–and the “Upper Bird” streets would incur the greatest impact. Considering the existing limited entry/exit to the neighborhood, adding a significant amount of traffic to what already comes through could have further adverse effect.

Add to that 100+ parking spaces, restrooms and shower facilities, and, again, the traffic that will accompany this plan, and our community will suffer in a manner from which there may be no recovery.

Residents should attend the monthly Parks & Recreation meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 27, at 6:00pm and let your voices be heard. And let your city council members know how you feel, as well!

Click the link below for a copy of the entire report.

Parks-Rec ReportSummary-March15,2017

Post Script: A Board member suggested that this writer “jumped the gun” when releasing this post, so yesterday (Wednesday), I “paused” it. I am re-releasing it today with the statement that regardless of where you stand on this issue, be sure to let the MVCI Board, Parks & Rec committee and the city council know. ~TRW