Newspaper Gains Right to Expand Production Plant

A Superior Court judge on Thursday ruled against residents who sued to halt expansion of the Orange County Register’s production plant.

Judge Greer H. Stroud ruled that the project, which will require the demolition of several low-income apartment complexes, more than complied with city laws and guidelines.

Unrelated to the ruling, the newspaper on Thursday gave about 35 residents in one of the apartment buildings 90-day eviction notices in the first stage of what is to be a three-phase moving process, said Kathy Jensen, an attorney for the Register.

The lawsuit, filed by Fruit Street residents Ignacio Barajas and Ana Rosa Duran, asked the court to halt the expansion project because, they said, there is a lack of replacement housing available in the city for residents who will be displaced.

Richard Spix, an attorney for the residents, said an appeal is likely.

“I’m disappointed by the ruling,” Spix said. “I wish the Register would have considered spending a few thousand dollars more to replace what they are taking away from the community.”

The 6.6-acre expansion calls for the demolition of the De Anza apartment complex on the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Fruit Street. The complex has more than 200 low-income apartment units.

The newspaper has offered tenants between $3,100 to $3,800 per apartment in relocation assistance.

“I think the court’s ruling demonstrates that the city and the Register went beyond what was required by law in adopting the relocation program,” Jensen said. “They are trying to be a good corporate citizen.”