Council Adopts Zone Changes for Santa Ana Arena

The proposed 20,000-seat indoor sports arena inched closer to construction Monday with the City Council’s approval of zoning changes that will allow the arena to be built in an area once restricted to office and commercial space.

Several residents and a lawyer for a group calling itself Citizens Against the Arena criticized the proposed sports facility that developers hope will be home to a professional basketball or hockey team.

Attorney Peter A. Seidenberg said his clients fear that a new arena will mean an increase in crime, along with new parking problems. He said the arena has “the potential to decrease property values.”

Although Seidenberg said a lawsuit against construction is possible, he said hisclients will “exhaust all administrative efforts.”

Sheila Gates, a homeowner near the proposed arena site, said the area is supposed to be a center for “business excellence. Now we are going to ruin it.”

The council’s approval of the zoning amendments seemingly puts the Santa Ana arena ahead of a similar facility proposed for Anaheim.

However, both cities still are negotiating with private developers to see how much of a public subsidy will be involved and the extent to which each city will share in the profits, if at all. The Santa Ana arena is to be privately built, operated and owned. The Anaheim arena is to be privately built and operated, but ultimately it would be owned by thecity.

In a unanimous vote, the Santa Ana council approved three amendments, including one to the city’s general plan, that would allow the arena to be built at the Santa Fe Realty’s PacifiCenter Business Park.

Before Monday’s action, the city’s general plan would not have allowed a facility as large as the arena to be built in the area. The Planning Commission approved the zoning amendments last week.

Both Santa Ana and Anaheim have approved environmental impact reports for their arenas, but Anaheim’s report has been challenged in lawsuits filed by the Los Angeles Rams, Anaheim Stadium Associates and a neighboring mobile home park. Pending trial on the lawsuits, construction and grading for the Anaheim arena are prohibited by court order.

Unlike Anaheim, Santa Ana is moving toward the start of the construction phase for its $75-million arena. The developer, Orange County Arena Partners, hopes to begin construction by fall.

The arena would include 120 luxury suites, 1,000 preferred seats, a food court, and a restaurant club.

The Santa Ana facility developers now must submit a building plan to the Planning Commission. Once the council approves the building plan and a financial agreement, construction can begin.

The arena, which would be at Edinger Avenue and Lyon Street, is scheduled for completion by 1992.