BUENA PARK : City Rejects Plan to Expand Tourist Area

Business and property owners applauded the City Council this week after council members rejected a plan to expand tourist activities on La Palma Avenue because the plan excluded office-type uses.

“I think the council acted appropriately by deciding . . . not to drive the offices and professionals out of the area,” Dale Quelle, owner of an income tax office on La Palma Avenue, said after the council’s action Monday night. “Calling this an entertainment corridor does not fit our type of business.”

The council held a public hearing to consider the plan to expand its Beach Boulevard entertainment-and-tourist corridor to include the south side of La Palma Avenue between Beach Boulevard and Stanton Avenue. The expansion would cover 11 acres and 13 properties.

The plan’s long-term goal is to encourage future development of such tourist-oriented businesses as hotels and restaurants. In addition, it is intended to create a Spanish-style design theme for buildings and to attract pedestrians to the area between Beach Boulevard and nearby Buena Park Mall on La Palma Avenue.

Mayor Arthur C. Brown and Councilmen Donald L. Bone and Don R. Griffin voted against the plan, saying they support amending it to include offices as a permitted use.

“I feel it’s important that this area has a different mix of uses,” Griffin said.

Bone said that he supports imposing architectural standards to upgrade the area but that creating “an entertainment zone precludes potential business from locating or relocating there.”

“I want to keep all our options open while still maintaining our goal of architectural continuity,” he said.

Public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council will be scheduled in the next several months to consider an amendment that would allow office uses.

The expansion plan would set new guidelines for signs and change the zoning from commercial uses to tourist and entertainment uses.

However, under the plan, existing office buildings could remain as a “nonconforming use” unless the property undergoes a major renovation or is vacant for six months. But if such changes occur, then the property would be subject to the new guidelines, the city planning staff said.

Councilwomen Donna L. Chessen and Rhonda J. McCune voted to approve the proposed expansion. Chessen called the proposal a “positive step.” However, McCune agreed that offices should be allowed.

Business and property owners expressed concerns about their future if the plan didn’t allow offices to remain.

Hank Vierregger, owner of the 25-year-old Slomann Building, said he has longtime professional tenants in the three-story structure at 8081 Stanton Ave. He told the council he is concerned about the compatibility of their businesses with entertainment-related establishments.

“I’m happy,” Vierregger said after the council rejected the plan. “If (the city) wants to change it into an entertainment corridor, they should buy up all the property and do it.”