ANAHEIM : Affordable Housing Project Is Denied

Members of the Orange Avenue Homeowners Assn., who for several years have been opposing the construction of apartments in their neighborhood, successfully lobbied City Council this week to reject plans for a 34-unit project.

About two dozen members of the group voiced their concerns at City Hall on Tuesday, contending that apartment buildings have brought more traffic, noise, pollution and crime to the area. The group also pointed out that children who might live in the apartments would have to attend already-crowded elementary schools in the Magnolia Elementary School District.

“This project epitomizes everything that was done wrong in the past,” group spokesman Bob Carter said. “It is not a quality project. It is a warehouse for people.”

To build the 34-unit, affordable housing project, the developer would need permission from the City Council to waive a number of building requirements. Some of those include the minimum size of each dwelling unit, the height of the building, and the amount of space between the street and the front of the project. In addition, the developer wanted the city to change the zoning for the property from commercial to residential.

Residents said they were not opposed to development in the area but would prefer that the land remain zoned for commercial use instead of being changed to residential use.

The nearly 1-acre project had been planned for Lincoln Avenue just west of Brookhurst Street.

Council members unanimously rejected the project by denying the developer’s request for an extension of time on the waivers and the zone change. Earlier, the council had approved the project but blocked it after hearing the concerns of residents.

“This project does not meet our standards for development,” said City Councilman Tom Daly. “There is no way I could approve this project. There’s just too many waivers.”