BREA : Judge Grants OK for Agency’s Project

A Superior Court judge has given the Brea Redevelopment Agency the green light to proceed with a downtown redevelopment project. The ruling throws out a lawsuit brought against the agency by a coalition of Brea businessmen.

Judge Robert C. Todd also ruled that a relocation plan submitted by the agency to comply with an earlier court order met the requirements of state law.

The Brea Small Business Coalition sued the agency in June over its failure to devise a relocation plan for businesses being displaced by redevelopment. Todd’s Sept. 25 ruling, which came after the business coalition reached an out-of-court settlement with the agency, ratified the settlement.

Essentially, the decision means all obstacles to the project have been removed, city officials said.

Site preparation for a 22-acre shopping center at the corner of Imperial Highway and Brea Boulevard will begin at once, according to Sue Georgino, director of redevelopment services. Site preparation--the first phase of the project--involves asbestos removal, grading and demolition, she said.

Georgino said the three-month delay caused by the lawsuit did not change the project’s timetable. The shopping center’s target opening date of November, 1993, is still possible, she said.

She said the developer, Watt Commercial Development Co., has already leased more than 60% of the center to Ralphs grocery store, Pay Less Drug Stores, PetsMart, Taco Bell and Hi-Tek Nail Salons.

Involving 50 acres of what used to be downtown Brea, the $100-million redevelopment project will also include a 146-unit townhouse project, a town square with cafes and art shops and separate dwellings for artists. Officials estimate it will eventually generate $24.5 million in revenue to the city.

However, residents have complained that the project will pave over an area that has stood virtually unchanged since the city’s birth in the early 1900s.

The Historical Committee is trying to preserve historic homes and structures, but several already have been torn down. Among the remaining historic structures are Sam’s Place, Delaney House, the Brea Hotel, the Wall Building, the La Habra Valley Bank and the Kinsler House.

Georgino said the agency has already purchased most of the land, about 40 businesses and 150 homes.

The 20 remaining property and business owners in the area formed the business coalition and sued the agency for its failure to devise a relocation plan.

In June, Todd ruled in favor of the coalition and stopped all redevelopment activity. He also ordered the agency to draft a relocation plan to comply with state law.

In August, the City Council adopted the plan, paving the way for the out-of-court settlement reached the same month. Under the settlement, there will be negotiations and a mediation process to establish fair market value of the properties and provisions for help in relocation.

However, Michael Kunec, one of the 20 members of the coalition, declined to join the agreement and instead continued to contest the agency’s acquisition of his property at 109 N. Brea Blvd.

According to Georgino, the courts have upheld the agency’s purchase of the property.