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Costa Mesa looking at how model trains, gliders might fit into new Fairview Park plan

February 6, 2025

Costa Mesa is looking to update Fairview Park’s master plan for the first time in more than 25 years, aiming to balance the needs of protecting endangered wildlife while also maintaining cherished park amenities.

City officials want an updated master plan to help define the future of the park and better manage its diverse features.

People walk at the vernal pools at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Vernal pools are dry land that becomes covered with water during the rainy season. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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The 208-acre Fairview Park on the city’s western edge is home to several habitat ecosystems with rare and endangered plants and animals, as well as two Native American historic sites with archeological remnants from the indigenous communities. It is also home to an airfield for remote-controlled model gliders and a model train.

The park has seen efforts in recent years to restore several vernal pools, where areas of land become covered with water during the rainy season and to document all the hundreds of animal species that make Fairview Park their home for parts of the year. Fairview Park is now the only place where vernal pools are in the county.

City staff and consultants presented the first half of the park’s master plan update on Jan. 28, discussing both the park’s sensitive habitat and activities enjoyed by residents. A second presentation is planned for this spring.

The presentation revived discussions about how and if the park and its beloved activities like the remote-controlled gliders flown by the Harbor Soaring Society and the model train rides offered by the Orange County Model Engineers can coexist with efforts to restore the habitat and protect endangered species.

The vernal pools in Fairview Park are habitat for San Diego and Riverside fairy shrimp species, which have been recognized as federally endangered species since the 1990s. Other rare and endangered species at the park include the burrowing owl, Crotch’s bumble bee, the San Diego button celery and Orcutt’s grass.

There are vernal pools near where the gliders fly and the model train tracks. City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison suggested city staff will need to explore moving these activities, but will need to understand what options are available and the benefits and drawbacks of each.

“I don’t want us to miss that there are protected and endangered species that may be in locations where we have current human activity, and those just may not be compatible,” she said. “That’s just a reality.”

The city purchased the 208-acre park in 1986 from the county. Gliders began flying regularly at the park in the mid-1960s and the model trains began rolling in 1985.

Josh Guesman, president of the Orange County Model Engineers, which has more than 300 members, said the model train organization group wants to be a good partner with the city to work to keep the trains at the parks and update the master plan. He described the area as where “the wild of California meets the city.”

“OCME has been cooperating with the city for 40 years … and throughout that time we have watched the magic of nature return,” Guesman said.

City staff will present the draft master plan in the spring. Councilmember Loren Gameros said he wants everyone to work together to come up with solutions.

“Figure out a way that we can have a flying field, we can have the OCME, and we can create an environment that everyone is willing to uphold, where the vernal pools can coexist,” he said. “I just don’t see why this cannot happen.”

Councilmember Manuel Chavez said he was optimistic the city and groups can work together to find a solution and define the future of Fairview Park.

“I think the whole council wants everyone to stay in the park,” Chavez said. “It might be tweaking how we stay, it might not … We can solve this problem.”

Costa Mesa looking at how model trains, gliders might fit into new Fairview Park plan Orange County Register

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Costa Mesa looking at how model trains, gliders might fit into new Fairview Park plan

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