Downey : Council OKs Development Near Stonewood Center

The Downey City Council has approved a plan for commercial development on 36.5 acres of property near Stonewood Shopping Center.

The plan, which was approved Tuesday, covers the south side of Firestone Boulevard from Lakewood Boulevard to Woodruff Avenue. It includes all four corners of the intersection of Lakewood and Firestone boulevards, as well as the southeast corner of the intersection of Lakewood Boulevard and Cecilia Street.

The city already has approved building plans for an 11,000-square-foot shopping center to be built at the northwest intersection of Lakewood and Firestone. Construction should be completed before the end of the year, Associate Planner William Doebler said.

The city hopes other businesses will move to the area and increase sales tax revenue, said Art Rangel, director of community development. The plan prohibits businesses such as mortuaries, massage parlors and upholstery repair, Rangel said.

About 45 businesses, two single-family homes, two apartment buildings, an Elks lodge and several vacant parcels are in the area covered by the plan, Doebler said. The area is in a city redevelopment zone, but the city does not have eminent domain power to force property owners to sell their holdings. Future developers will have to persuade owners to sell their properties.

The city imposed a building moratorium on the area in April, 1990, to allow Downey officials to draft the development plan. The moratorium expires next month.