Letter to the Editor

The Segerstrom family has brought and contributed much to the city of

Costa Mesa, including South Coast Plaza, South Coast Repertory theater

and the Orange County Performing Arts Center, to name a few.

All of this could not have been done if not for the family’s

beginnings in the farming industry, growing lima beans in the early

1900s. Back then, Costa Mesa was known in part as the small community

town of Fairview. The last and largest part of free open space that the

Segerstroms and Costa Mesa has available now is Home Ranch, where the

original Segerstrom family home and barn still stands today. Project

plans for Home Ranch now is to build a new 308,000-square-foot Ikea

store, some office buildings and high-density housing.

May I say first, the Segerstrom family has a right to build on their

land as long as it is within city, county and state laws, if all

applicable. Changes in the city’s master plan for this property must be

approved by the City Council for this Home Ranch project to proceed.

Secondly, as a suggestion to the Home Ranch project if denied, may

C.J. Segerstrom and Sons take a good look at the name Home Ranch. Since

this site began as and still is considered farmland, can’t we bring

together a new project with some type of “Farmer’s Market and Museum”

since the original house and barn are still there? Can we use the Los

Angeles Farmer’s Market as an example, where we can have local growers of

fruit and vegetables sell their product along with any meat and fish

retailers, restaurants and specialty stores that will fit in?

Maybe this site can include a new Costa Mesa Historical Museum as

well. An Ikea store, some office buildings and low-density housing can

still be put there, but should be pleasingly aesthetic to the surrounding

farming landscape and may it be a welcoming and desiring project for all

citizens and parties involved.

Home Ranch needs to be a project we all can be proud of. There will

always be traffic to deal with, but if the project is done right, the

city and its citizens will work together for the developer.

MICHAEL T. SCHOWENGERDT

Costa Mesa