32 Blocks Deleted From Renewal at Residents’ Request

Heeding the protests of residents, the City Council has removed about 32 blocks from a proposed redevelopment zone that would cover most of central Long Beach and help rebuild areas damaged by last spring’s riots.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to exclude a two-block area of condominiums in the northern part of the city. The week before, the council excluded about 30 blocks in the southern part of the city.

Fred Solomon, manager of the city’s Redevelopment Bureau, said other areas could be deleted from the proposed 3,000-acre redevelopment zone if residents and other property owners object.

“If there are areas that do not wish to be included in this, generally speaking, the council will exclude them,” Solomon said Wednesday.

Redevelopment officials will continue to hold informational meetings with neighborhood associations and community groups to hash out the final boundaries of the redevelopment zone, which is targeted for final approval by mid-March, Solomon said. Information on the meetings may be obtained by calling (310) 590-6037.

The proposed redevelopment zone would run from Ocean Boulevard north to 36th Street along Atlantic and Pacific avenues. It also would include business corridors on Anaheim Street and Pacific Coast Highway from the Los Angeles River east to Redondo Avenue. In the north part of town, the boundaries would follow Willow Street from Atlantic Avenue west to the city line.

Solomon said the redevelopment staff decided to ask the City Council to delete the two-block area in North Long Beach because it is occupied by condominiums that would not have been affected by redevelopment anyway. The area is bordered by 36th Street and Wardlow Road on the north and south, and Long Beach Boulevard and Linden Avenue on the east and west.

The area to the south was dropped after residents protested that being included in a redevelopment zone would cause their property values to drop. Under California law, the City Council must declare an area blighted before it can be included in a redevelopment zone.

They also feared the city’s Redevelopment Agency could decide to condemn their homes to make way for new development.

Most of the southern area deleted from the proposed redevelopment zone is bordered by 10th and 3rd streets and by Cherry and Walnut avenues. It also includes the area between Bonito and Orange avenues from Ocean Boulevard to 3rd Street.

“We feel we’ve gained back control,” said Catherine Anderson-Larosa, who is president of the Beach Citizens for Long Beach and lives in the area.

Redevelopment officials heeded the concerns of the residents but said they were unfounded.

Solomon said property values usually rise in redevelopment areas and that the city does not plan to condemn homes to make way for commercial development. He said residents in the excluded areas would lose potential benefits.

Once a zone is created, a redevelopment agency is allowed to use property taxes from the zone to provide incentives for private development and pay for public improvements such as streets and sidewalks.

An agency also can use the tax money for low-interest home-improvement loans and other assistance.