BREA : Merchants Angry Over Relocation

Downtown merchants, venting their anger Monday night, accused the Redevelopment Agency of negotiating in bad faith over a proposed relocation plan.

What started out as an informational meeting quickly turned acrimonious as a group of about 30 merchants began shouting complaints about the relocation process and how the Redevelopment Agency was treating them.

“You don’t displace an individual and a life for a business,” said Jim Deering, a photographer whose business was relocated from the downtown area.

Many of the merchants said they were also angry over the fact that they would not be given any financial help if they wished to re-establish their businesses in the redeveloped area.

Property owners in the downtown redevelopment area will receive financial compensation based in part on the value of their land. But land values and rents will increase as the area is improved, making it impossible for most merchants to return to downtown Brea, the merchants said.

“When you say you don’t give a discount, you are saying you buy from us at $50 a square foot and . . . sell back to us at $100 a square foot. You’re trying to screw us,” Deering said.

At least one person suggested that the city consider granting current downtown business owners low-interest loans if they wish to remain downtown. Officials said the proposal would be examined.

The five City Council members who also act as the Redevelopment Agency were not present at Monday night’s meeting because they do not want to be involved in the matter until they hold a public hearing on the redevelopment plan Aug. 18, City Manager Frank Benest said.

Brea has targeted a 50-acre site in the city’s downtown for a mix of stores and housing and an entertainment complex.

The project ran into a stumbling block when Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Todd ruled June 29 that the city had never adopted formal relocation plans as required by state law and ordered the city to complete such a plan. Since 1985, the Redevelopment Agency has moved 255 households and 41 businesses from the downtown area.

“I’m happy we won that case because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be here tonight,” said Seaton Greaves, owner of the bar Sam’s Place on Brea Boulevard.

Bill Vega, a longtime Brea activist and vice president of the Brea Small Business Coalition, requested that city officials establish a committee of residents and business owners to study relocation and redevelopment issues before they act on the new relocation plan.