Talbert Regional Park, Costa Mesa - Sewer line and parking lot threats

Meeting with OCSD 2/22/16: In a meeting with OC Sanitation District managers on the sewer project, some answers on long term capacity issues were answered, but more questions on ways to avoid major impacts to the park were also raised by former council member Jay Humphrey and Kevin Nelson. Primarily, we still see alternative routes to this 17 million dollar sewer project that are less destructive than the one chosen by the agency to this point. That said, the OCSD management is highly professional and transparent and we thank them for their handling of the issue. Talbert Sewer Project EIR.

Event 7/31 at 4pm: Nature Commission hosts a walk through the area that will focus on the value of simplicity in altering wild areas like Talbert. An OC Parks official will walk with us, starting at end of 19th.

News 7/21: Costa Mesa City Council votes to start design of bike trail through Talbert.

News 6/4: Orange County consultants revealed three potential plans for Talbert Park in a community meeting today. The plans were well thought-out and took into account the park's primary value and usage.

More: Daily Pilot Commentary on Talbert meeting and Banning Ranch

News 4/29: Talbert Workshop to be held by OC Parks Dept on June 4th in Costa Mesa

OC Parks will held a review session for the Habitat Restoration Plan of Talbert Regional Park (formerly Talbert Nature Preserve) on Thursday, June 4 at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center.

Many of us who know Talbert DO NOT WANT IT CHANGED.

We have seen too many "improvements" in other areas such as Fairview Park that serve only to lead into the next project, and so on.

Descriptions of threats:

-OC Sanitation District has approved an EIR to build a sewer line directly from end of 19th St and then to tunnel under the Santa Ana River to their infrastructure off Brookhurst St in Huntington Beach. Talbert Sewer Line EIR

-OC Parks is studying options on various "improvements" to Talbert to compensate for project impacts to other watersheds. Since there are few other undeveloped areas in Orange County, Talbert Park has become the preferred mitigation site. OC Parks Public workshop announcement on potential plans

-Costa Mesa is at an early stage in plans for a bike trail that would follow the route of the sewer line project.

About Talbert Park

It is an open area along the Santa Ana River which has been left alone for decades, resulting in an experience of 'organic' contact with native California habitat.

Recent restoration by citizens and the county has improved some formerly barren areas. It is managed by the OC Parks Dept.

At a recent community meetings OC Parks has held, most individuals who spoke up stated a preference for leaving the area as it is.

We at Nature Commission also subscribe to a cautious approach for a place that seems to work fairly well. Only the most minimal elements should be added, if anything. Otherwise we would risk losing the kind of place which has become rare in this heavily urbanized region.

Value of simplicity is explored here:

Daily Pilot commentary: Simple trails, not structures will keep adventure in Talbert

Thinking into the future, it could be connected to the large area directly to the south, Banning Ranch, perhaps as a new state park. Together, they represent an important opportunity for a significant native coastal California ecosystem that has enough mass to sustain itself and many species over the long term.

Ecosystems of this kind were once very prevalent before being wiped away in an unbalanced tide of development, making it all the more urgent to look ahead to the creation of one nature preserve and state park.