Bristol St. in Santa Ana : Another Redevelopment Proposal Takes the Heat

Cynthia Nelson wasn’t expecting an overly warm greeting Wednesday night when she introduced Santa Ana’s plan to redevelop more than 900 acres along Bristol Street to business owners and residents.

She didn’t get one, either. After listening to explanations by Nelson, the city’s executive director for community development, and by City Council members Miguel Pulido and Ron May, the 200 people crammed in a Rancho Santiago College room began peppering the city representatives with questions.

‘Why?’ He Asks

“Why are you doing this?” asked Chris Jacobson, who lives just outside the redevelopment area on Huron Street but is concerned that the plans may affect his property.

Karol W. Vanzant, the owner of an auto accessories shop on West 1st Street, said: “Redevelopment downtown moved (the Orange County Rescue) mission right next door to my business, and I’ve been fighting that for six years. Now, you’re going to redevelop my area, too?”

Neighborhood opposition has recently led to the downfall of major redevelopment projects in Huntington Beach and Anaheim. Some who attended Wednesday’s meeting brought copies of newspaper articles about those battles.

Jacobson had scribbled across the top of his: “Residents Won!”

The redevelopment area generally stretches from Central Avenue on the south to 20th Street on the north, and takes in several blocks in the 1st Street and 17th Street areas. A separate project would widen some portions of Bristol.

Some comments and questions directed at Nelson were positive. Donell Stafford, a resident of the redevelopment area, told others in the audience not to “pistol whip” Nelson and to “let the lady get on with her project. If you’ve got anything to say, then you get on this (Project Area) committee and then you raise hell!”

Stafford and about 25 others at the meeting nominated themselves for seats on the committee, which be an advisory body to the city on the redevelopment. Nominations are still open, and committee members will be elected at a meeting next Thursday at Rancho Santiago College.

Hal Gosse, chairman of the city’s Redevelopment Commission, told the crowd that “there’s a lot of emotion in the room, but also a lot of good vibes and a lot of good thoughts.”

“What is the alternative? No project? And I think the consequences of no project to anybody who’s lived here for five years are evident.”

After the meeting, Gosse said the residents’ apprehensions about the project were “a sign of the times.”

“This is a massive project, . . . and it’s confusing to some of these individuals,” he added.

But by involving residents from the start, Gosse said, he is confident that the redevelopment project will not go the way of Anaheim and Huntington Beach.