Bell Gardens : Redevelopment Advisers

The City Council approved a resolution Monday night calling for a citizens’ committee to advise the Redevelopment Agency on a 367-acre housing redevelopment project.

The resolution was passed in a 3-0 vote. Councilmen Marvin Graves and Allen Shelby abstained because they own property in the project area.

The committee will be composed of property owners, tenants, businessmen and members of organizations in the largely residential area, according to redevelopment Director Robert Dickey, who said the committee will be formed by Jan. 26.

The preliminary project area, which encompasses about one-fourth of the city in its most populated area, was adopted by the Planning Commission on Oct. 21.

City officials envision a middle-class neighborhood of owner-occupied houses in an area that now consists mostly of blighted apartments, City Manager Claude Booker said.

Under state law, a project area committee must be formed when a city adopts a redevelopment plan that could displace low- and moderate-income families.

Invitations to join the committee were sent last week to members of various city commissions such as the Traffic Safety Commission and Planning Commission, Dickey said.

“We are not going to do any mass mailing to property owners and tenants,” Dickey said. “Mass mailings involve a great deal of expense and I don’t know the effectiveness of it.”