Downey : Council May Change Some Redevelopment Boundaries

More than 100 residents packed the Downey City Council chamber Tuesday to oppose a proposal to allow the city redevelopment agency power to condemn property, if necessary, in two new redevelopment areas.

Mark Nguyen, manager of a gasoline service station that his family has operated for 16 years in one of the proposed redevelopment zones, said he was concerned about being forced out of business. “We lost business when forced from Vietnam,” he told the council. “Please don’t let it happen again.”

City officials had urged the council to allow the redevelopment agency to use eminent domain powers in a 39-acre commercial area near the Santa Ana (I-5) and San Gabriel River (I-605) freeways, and in a 15.4-acre parcel near Lakewood Boulevard and Gallatin Road for expansion of a Ford dealership.

City Manager Gerald M. Caton said he was not “recommending the condemnation of anything, but we don’t want to preclude that option.”

After hearing complaints, council members said they will consider changing some of the proposed redevelopment area boundaries to remove established businesses and churches that do not want to be included in the redevelopment projects.