GARDEN GROVE : Council Backs Buy of Railroad Property

An agreement to buy two sections of the old Pacific Electric right-of-way from the Orange County Transit District for development has been approved by the Garden Grove City Council.

The two sections are from Gilbert Street to Brookhurst Street and from Nelson Street to Euclid Street.

“If we don’t seize this opportunity, it’s just going to sit here forever,” said Mayor W.E. (Walt) Donovan. The vote was 4 to 1, with Councilman Robert F. Dinsen dissenting.

The purchase price will be determined by an appraisal, but consultant Delbert Powers estimated the value of the land at about $5 million.

Orange County Transit District directors will consider the agreement at their March 5 meeting.

Long-range plans of the Orange County Transportation Commission call for a light-rail line along the route sometime in the early 21st Century. In the first half of this century, the Red Cars rode the line, later to be replaced by commercial freight. The line ceased carrying rail traffic in the early 1970s, and the tracks have been removed.

Garden Grove is anxious to acquire the land because it cuts through several major redevelopment project areas in the city and “blights the residential neighborhoods, commercial centers and industrial districts that lie along its path,” according to a staff report.