Hawthorne Council Declares Area Blighted
The Hawthorne City Council gave final approval Monday to an ordinance that declares as blighted 254 acres of land along and near Imperial Highway.
The council voted 3 to 1 in favor of the ordinance, which could open the door to redevelopment in the area. Mayor Betty J. Ainsworth and Councilmen David M. York and Chuck Bookhammer voted for the proposal. Councilwoman Ginny Lambert dissented, saying she is opposed to including a nine-acre section--between Gale and Grevillea avenues--in the redevelopment area because the homes there are not blighted. Councilman Steve Andersen was absent.
“We were cutting into the residential area deeper than I wanted to do,” Lambert said.
A Project Area Committee that studied the neighborhood for more than a year recommended excluding the nine-acre neighborhood. City officials, however, said they needed the land, west of Hawthorne Boulevard, to make the depth of the redevelopment area consistent on both sides of Hawthorne Boulevard.
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