STANTON : 145 Acres Added to Redevelopment Area

The City Council last week approved adding 145 acres along Beach Boulevard to the city’s redevelopment plan, despite continued protests from the Garden Grove Unified School District.

The redevelopment amendment designates another 260 parcels of mostly commercial and industrial property for redevelopment money and improvements. It was the second addition to the redevelopment plan, which was originally adopted in 1983.

Redevelopment helps generate funds for public improvements in deteriorating areas by allowing the city to keep a portion of tax money collected from increases in property values. Redevelopment areas are chosen based on physical deterioration of properties, depreciated property values, underused facilities and substandard housing conditions.

Although supported by the Greater Stanton Chamber of Commerce and several community college districts, the latest amendment triggered some opposition from several property owners who expressed fear that the city would use its eminent domain power to seize their properties.

The council subsequently decided not to add the disgruntled individuals’ properties to the plan. But the Garden Grove Unified School District continues to oppose the latest amendment, arguing that it will hurt the district financially.

As required by state law, the city acknowledged that enlarging its redevelopment area may impact other public agencies that receive tax benefits. City officials later successfully negotiated agreements to pay some of the redevelopment tax increment to Orange County and the Anaheim Union, Magnolia and Savanna school districts.

The city also made an offer to Garden Grove Unified School District, but district officials felt that the city’s offer was not enough to alleviate the burden on the district’s capital facilities costs. District representative Marshall Krupp told the council that redevelopment would generate more students without providing enough money to accommodate increased enrollment.

City officials countered that the district, which covers parts of Stanton, has claim to only a small part of the new redevelopment area and that the 30 to 40 commercial and industrial parcels there won’t generate hundreds of new students.