The city of Costa Mesa has now added a John Wayne Airport flight tracking system to the Airport Noise and Concerns page on the city’s main website.

That page can be seen here.

By viewing the flight tracker, website viewers can track arriving and departing flights by airline, altitude, destination and more.

Click here to see the tracking system. 

City officials will continue to monitor issues regarding aircraft noise and increasing traffic reported by residents and will continue to be engaged at the regional level to advocate for protecting Costa Mesa.

On Nov. 22 the city released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new Land Management System software program.

The city’s Land Management System rests at the core of all data related to building permits, entitlements, code enforcement cases and general plan zoning, and specific plan amendment applications and more.

The Land Management System is used every day to enter, retrieve, or update thousands of records. The city’s current system is old and in need of replacement, so a project management consulting team has been retained to guide the city through the selection of a new system.

To ensure its broadest use and functionality, a stakeholder group spanning all city departments conducted workshops with the project management consultants to develop a project scope to meet the disparate needs of multiple city departments.

The RFP is open until Jan. 3, 2018. Staff provided a longer window than normal for applicants to respond due to the holiday season. Release of the RFP represents a major step forward in the update of this critical information system. Goals for the new software system include greater connectivity, enhanced analytical abilities, and easier data entry and retrieval.

This process will continue to require time and attention throughout the city, however, the update is critical and will allow city staff to better serve the public through speed, efficiencies and advanced technologies, and the city will have the flexibility to add increased functionality in the future. Stay tuned for more updates in this exciting process.

Students from The Architectural Technology program at Orange Coast College volunteered at Snoopy house this past weekend and provided some much-need assistance with some of the more complex moving pieces associated with Snoopy and the Gang.

The Architectural program offers courses in design, building materials, construction documents, design graphics, and computer-assisted design and drafting and provides students with the discipline and critical thinking skills.

As construction begins on the new Arlington Drive Improvement Project, Public Services announced that grading, roadway and storm drain construction is scheduled to start on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017, through March 15, 2018, closing the south half of Arlington Drive from Gate 5 at the OC Fairgrounds/west end of TeWinkle Park to Newport Boulevard.

Only westbound traffic will be allowed in this area, but two-way traffic on Arlington Drive between Fairview Road and Davis Magnet School will be maintained.

Residents are asked to please take a detour around the project site and use alternate routes for eastbound travel. City staff appreciates the public’s patience and cooperation while the project is under construction.

The city has contracted with Sully-Miller Contracting Company to construct the Arlington Drive Improvements Project, which includes roadway improvements, new concrete multipurpose trail along the south side of Arlington Drive, new underground storm drain system, vegetated bioswale, and roadside beautification including new landscaping and water efficient irrigation systems.

Drill Exploration Activities for the I-405 Improvement Project will occur intermittently throughout the project area the week of Nov. 6 to Nov. 9 and the week of Nov. 13 to Nov. 17.

In an effort to make travel easier for motorists this Veterans Day holiday weekend, pre-construction activities will be suspended on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 and will resume, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.

Drilling exploration, nest avoidance and ADL sampling activities will be conducted at night, between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and during the day, between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Drill exploration is performed to obtain information on the soil and rock around a site in order to design structures. Crews will be on the northbound (NB) and southbound (SB) shoulders, and on- and off-ramps of the I-405 freeway, as well as on local streets.

Nest avoidance is performed prior to the start of construction to prevent birds and bats from nesting inside structures. ADL sampling is performed to obtain information on soil on the NB and SB shoulders of the I-405 freeway. Samples are obtained to measure toxicity as a part of dust control measures.

Please be advised that this work may be loud, and dates are subject to change based on inclement weather and other operational factors.

In Costa Mesa, work is planned for the following times and place:

• NB I-405 HOV and #1 lane from MacArthur Boulevard to SR-73

As part of the I-405 Improvement Project, OCTA announced that beginning Monday Oct. 9, construction work will take place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. at the following locations:

• NB I-405 HOV inside lane from MacArthur Boulevard to SR-73
• NB I-405 merge lane from Bristol Street to South Coast Drive
• SB I-405 / SR-73 connector to Bear Street
• SB I-405 near Harbor Boulevard to Fairview Road
• Fairview Road bridge
• Harbor Boulevard bridge

OCTA in cooperation with The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is widening the San Diego Freeway (I-405) between State Route 73 (SR-73) and Interstate 605 (I-605). The project will improve 16 miles of I-405 between the SR-73 freeway in Costa Mesa and I-605 near the L.A. County line.

The Costa Mesa Police Department collaborated with the Orange County Probation Department last week to conduct compliance checks on offenders subject to Post-Release Community Supervision (PRCS), per the State Prison Realignment Assembly Bill 109.

These checks were designed to locate and audit the activity of local criminal offenders residing within the City of Costa Mesa who are under the supervision of OC Probation.

Officers completed 27 residential home checks of offenders and contacted 43 individuals, 23 of which were and classified as PRCS/Probation offenders and five of which were on formal probation with gang terms.

The compliance checks resulted in eight offenders being arrested for violations of the conditions of their probation and/or new criminal law violations, and two other individuals being cited for having an open container in public.

The fields that the Los Angeles Chargers football team will use for Summer 2017 Training Camp are undergoing final preparation before lush sod can be laid at the site.

Phase I construction included extensive grounds preparation as a means to support the highest quality sports turf available.  The Chargers will be releasing an official Summer Training Camp schedule soon.

The camp, which will be free and open to the public for viewing is scheduled to begin in late July.

Construction began in early April to remove and replace damaged concrete sidewalks, curb, gutter, and wheel chair ramps on both the north and south sides of Adams Avenue between Fairview Road and Peterson Place.

Following completion of this work, street paving operations will be initiated, which includes grinding the existing roadway pavement and replacing with new, rubberized hot mix asphalt, and restriping of lane lines and legends.

Work will be conducted during daytime off-peak hours. A minimum of one-lane of traffic shall be maintained in each direction at all times.

All work is tentatively scheduled to be completed by mid-May.

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson recently announced that 275 middle schools and high schools are being honored under the Gold Ribbon Schools Awards Program.

Schools applied for the award based on a model program or practice their school has adopted that includes standards-based activities, projects, strategies, and practices that can be replicated by other local educational agencies. The award acknowledged elementary schools last year.

“These terrific schools are leading the way in embracing our new rigorous academic standards and showing others how to help students succeed on their way to 21st century careers and college,” Torlakson said. “I look forward to traveling the state to honor these schools and to help share the programs, methods, and techniques that are working.”

The Gold Ribbon Awards recognize California schools that have made gains in implementing the academic content and performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education. These include the California Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics, California English Language Development Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards.

The 2017 Gold Ribbon Schools as well as the 2017 Exemplary Program recipients, Title I Academic Achieving Award Schools, 2017 Green Ribbon Schools, 2017 Civic Learning Award Schools, and the National Blue Ribbon Schools from 2016, will be honored in May during regional ceremonies held in Costa Mesa, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Visalia, and Sacramento.

Click here to read the California Department of Education full News Release.

Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue recruits continue to progress in their academy training.  Recently, the academy cadre was led by Captain Joe Noceti and the recruits trained with live fire. Recruits learned about fire behavior, fire attack principles and the dangers of attacking a fire.

Some of the recruits had eyes as wide as saucers as this was their first time attacking a fire in a controlled environment.

The City Council approved moving forward with the Placentia Avenue Median Improvement Project. Public services was able to secure a grant in the amount of $738,400 from the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program to begin construction on the project.

The project will result in new landscaped medians on Placentia Avenue between Wilson Street and Adams Avenue. This project will improve the streetscape and also the traffic operations along this corridor. Due to the wide nature of Placentia Avenue, there have been numerous accidents as a result of high vehicle speeds.

Implementation of medians will provide a narrow feel for the street and minimize high-risk accidents.