Threat to Temple City Homes Ends as Voters Pick Froehle, Breazeal

The hottest election issue here in years, a proposal to oust 21 families from their homes to make room for a shopping center, appears to have ended with the City Council election Tuesday.

The two candidates elected--incumbent Patrick Froehle and challenger Tom Breazeal--do not favor forcing the families to move.

Although the homes may still be taken if the owners agree to sell, the five-member council would not have the necessary four votes to condemn property in the eight-acre redevelopment project area at the northwest corner of Rosemead Boulevard and Las Tunas Drive.

Froehle had said that he would approve purchasing the homes only if the owners are willing to sell and that he is not willing to force them out.

Breazeal, who has been a member of the Planning Commission for 15 years, said that he opposes building the shopping center now but that the parcel will eventually be developed commercially.

The other candidates, Robert Pitts and Tom Desy, also said they didn’t want the homes taken unless the homeowners agreed.

Froehle was the top vote-getter with 1,506, or 31.8%, followed by Breazeal with 1,370, or 29%; Pitts with 1,273, or 26.9%, and Desy with 583, or 12.3%.

The 21 homes are on the south side of Elm Avenue, a quiet neighborhood occupied mostly by senior citizens. Residents whose homes would be taken have been joined in the fight by homeowners on the north side of Elm, who fear an increase in noise and traffic.

The proposed shopping center would be in part of a redevelopment area designated in 1972. In February, the council adopted a preliminary design plan for the project, which city officials hope would be anchored by a discount department store. If none of the homes are taken, the project area would shrink to six acres.

The next step would be to select a developer from among four finalists. But the council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, has delayed proceeding with the project and has no plans other than a public meeting with opponents April 25.

Officials estimate that the center would generate about $300,000 in new taxes each year, an increase of 25% over the city’s current sales tax revenue.