Orange : 408 Acres Added to Redevelopment Zones

The City Council has added 408 acres to Orange’s redevelopment zones and promised not to condemn private property to resell it to a private developer.

The action expands the city’s Southwest Redevelopment Area, which already encompassed about 300 acres, including the land around the City Shopping Center and UCI Medical Center. Orange also has a redevelopment zone along Tustin Avenue from the Anaheim border to Katella Avenue.

The additional area, approved by the council Tuesday night, includes property south of Anaheim Stadium where a high-rise office project is planned, a strip along Chapman Avenue and the Civic Center area. Council members will vote on the issue a second time at their next meeting. If approved, the action will go into effect 30 days later.

The money raised from property taxes might be used to improve streets to ease traffic, increase parking and expand the Police Department building, said City Manager William Little. Opponents of the redevelopment plan, a group called Orange Juice, objected through their attorney that some of the areas are not blighted (as required by state redevelopment law), that copies of the proposals weren’t available 30 days before Tuesday’s hearing and that the council hadn’t considered the impact on “the life style that typifies the city of Orange.”

The attorney, William Warne, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the project face a court challenge from the group but stressed that he does not believe any laws have been violated. In fact, he said, the council had been more than considerate of community concerns by agreeing not to condemn private property.