BUENA PARK : City Rezones Site for Toyota Dealership

The City Council approved changing the zoning of a 1.18-acre site, now occupied by two historic homes and a park, which will allow the development of a Toyota dealership.

The dealership will be within the Buena Park Auto Center expansion area.

Rick Warsinski, assistant director of development services, said that changing the use of the property will “promote the highest and best use of the site and area.”

Warsinski said the property, which had an “open space” designation, is better suited for commercial use since it will link the Buena Park Auto Center with the Beach Boulevard corridor.

Buena Park Toyota, now on Orangethorpe Avenue, plans to move to the auto center site, on the south side of Manchester Boulevard between Beach Boulevard and Stanton Avenue, by the end of the year.

The Whitaker-Jaynes estate and the Bacon House, both landmark homes built before the turn of the century, will be moved this summer to a newly created historical district on Beach Boulevard, across from City Hall.

The city’s redevelopment agency plans to buy property on the west side of Beach Boulevard, between 9th and 10th streets, for the homes.

Other landmark buildings in the area include the First Congregational Church and the Stage Stop Hotel, now a residence, both of which will be part of the historical district.

Dean Dixon, a board member of the Buena Park Historical Society, told the council that the organization remains supportive of the city’s plan to move the homes.

The Beach Boulevard site is a more visible area that will promote public awareness about the city’s past as well as permanently preserve the houses, Dixon said.