Overview
About Westside
The Westside is Costa Mesa's oldest industrial ground and its housing sits inside that. The General Plan puts the Westside District at roughly 312 acres holding 82.5 percent of all land the city designates Light Industrial, and credits it with about a quarter of the manufacturing jobs in the city. From the 1970s the district south of West 19th Street filled with surfing and action sports businesses, several of which the General Plan records growing into international brands. In April 2006 the city adopted three urban plans so that homes could sit alongside that work: the 19 West Urban Plan, at 129 acres on the city's published polygon, mainly along West 19th Street and Harbor Boulevard; the Mesa West Bluffs Urban Plan, roughly 277 acres of industrial property south of 18th Street and north of 16th along Placentia Avenue; and the Mesa West Residential Ownership Urban Plan, roughly 238 acres between Victoria Street and 17th Street, written to turn rental apartments into owned homes.
The largest open space in Costa Mesa is on this side of the city. Fairview Park covers 219 acres, the biggest park polygon the city publishes, along with Talbert Regional Park at 107 acres and the adjoining Canyon Park at 40 acres. Estancia High School stands at 2323 Placentia Avenue on a campus of 40 acres, and the city also records Wilson School at 801 West Wilson Street and Whittier School at 1800 Whittier Avenue. Newport-Mesa Unified School District runs every public campus in the city, 20 of them on the 2024-25 federal count with 9,235 students between them, and assignment is set by address.
View available homes in WestsideHistory
How Westside was built
The Westside is the river side of the mesa, and it was farmed before it was anything else. Townsend subdivided the Newport-Mesa Tract here in 1907, south of what is now 19th Street, and the Fairview Farms opening followed in 1913 on the ground between 19th Street and Wilson Street running west to the Santa Ana River. The families who worked it left their names on the map: Meyer Place for the early Westside farmer Henry D. Meyer, and Gisler Avenue for Samuel Gisler, a Swiss immigrant who grew beets, barley and alfalfa.
For seven years the Westside had an airport. Three former Army Air Force pilots, Gilmer Mayfield, Thomas Murphy and M. R. Conn, announced Newport Bay Sky Harbor in February 1946 and had it flying within months, with one runway laid along 19th Street and a second crossing it north to south. By 1949 the longer strip ran 2,800 feet. Land here got more valuable as housing than as runway, and the field was torn up in early 1953 to make room for a housing development. The state's purchase of 750 acres in 1950 is the reason Fairview Park and the city golf course are public open space today, and later county and city buying added Talbert Regional Park and Canyon Park to that.
By the Numbers
Westside by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Westside lifestyle
Fairview Park is the largest open space in Costa Mesa at 219 acres, and it exists because the State bought 750 acres here in 1950. Later purchases by the county and the city added Talbert Regional Park along the Santa Ana River at 107 acres and the adjoining Canyon Park at 40 acres.
Estancia High School sits at 2323 Placentia Avenue on a 40 acre campus. Wilson Elementary at 801 West Wilson Street and Whittier Elementary at 1800 Whittier Avenue are both on the city's school record.
Schools
Schools serving Westside
Newport-Mesa Unified School District runs every public campus in Costa Mesa. The campuses below are the 20 the 2024-25 federal count places inside the city, enrolling 9,235 students between them. Assignment is set by address, so confirm a specific address with the district.
7-12 · 1,730 students
9-12 · 976 students
9-12 · 177 students
9-12 · 143 students
7-12 · 48 students
7-8 · 501 students
K-6 · 570 students
3-6 · 539 students
K-2 · 487 students
K-6 · 473 students
K-6 · 473 students
K-6 · 454 students
K-6 · 373 students
K-6 · 371 students
K-6 · 367 students
K-6 · 344 students
K-6 · 323 students
K-6 · 321 students
K-6 · 301 students
K-6 · 264 students
FAQs
Common questions about Westside
Why is there industry in the middle of a Costa Mesa neighborhood?
Because the industry was there first. The General Plan calls the Westside District the city's oldest industrial area, roughly 312 acres holding 82.5 percent of all land Costa Mesa designates Light Industrial and supplying about a quarter of the city's manufacturing jobs. The Mesa West Bluffs Urban Plan, adopted in 2006 over roughly 277 acres, requires new residential work to be designed around the industrial uses already in place.
What are the three Westside urban plans?
The city adopted all three in April 2006. The 19 West Urban Plan provides mixed use opportunities mainly along West 19th Street and Harbor Boulevard, with a cluster of properties between Newport Boulevard and Superior Avenue and more at Victoria Street and Placentia Avenue, and measures 129 acres on the city's published polygon. The Mesa West Bluffs Urban Plan covers roughly 277 acres of industrial property. The Mesa West Residential Ownership Urban Plan covers roughly 238 acres between Victoria Street and 17th Street and exists to encourage conversion of rental apartments into common interest ownership housing.
What parks are on the Westside?
Fairview Park at 219 acres is the largest park polygon Costa Mesa publishes, with Talbert Regional Park at 107 acres and the adjoining Canyon Park at 40 acres. A state land acquisition of 750 acres in 1950 is what put the Costa Mesa Golf Course and Fairview Park into public ownership; the two regional parks came later from city and county purchases.
What was Sky Harbor?
An airport on the Westside. It opened along 19th Street west of Placentia Avenue in 1946 and was demolished in 1953 to make way for residential development, the same year Costa Mesa incorporated.
Which schools serve the Westside?
Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The 2024-25 federal count places 20 of its campuses inside Costa Mesa, enrolling 9,235 students between them, from Costa Mesa High at 1,730 and Estancia High at 976 down through Charles W. Tewinkle Middle at 501 to the elementary campuses. Assignment is set by address, so confirm a specific address with the district.