FULLERTON : Joint Redevelopment Agency Approved

The Redevelopment Agency has voted to form a joint powers authority with the Anaheim Redevelopment Agency to oversee funding and planning of an 895-acre redevelopment area in Anaheim.

Anaheim’s Redevelopment Agency is expected to vote on the formation of the authority later this month.

Creation of the board was agreed upon as part of a lawsuit settlement. In January, Fullerton sued Anaheim over a redevelopment plan on land bordered by the Riverside Freeway on the south, Raymond Avenue on the east, Orangethorpe Avenue on the north and Highland Avenue on the west. The area is zoned for industrial use.

Fullerton officials had charged that the project would adversely affect traffic within the city and expressed concern about its impact on such city services as pollution control. They also said they were worried that Anaheim might build a large commercial center along the border of the two cities, causing economic hardship for businesses in Fullerton.

In February, the two cities resolved the dispute by agreeing to form the joint powers authority, which will include two officials from Anaheim and one from Fullerton.

“If and when development occurs there, the two cities would work together through the Joint powers authority to solve problems,” said Gary A. Chalupsky, Fullerton Redevelopment Agency executive director.

Chalupsky said authority members will be appointed and become active when a redevelopment plan is proposed. “While there’s no development proposed, there’s nothing to talk about,” he said.