BREA

The Planning Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to approve a 3,200-square-foot expansion of a Pacific Bell building on the corner of Imperial Highway and South Orange Avenue. Construction on the new one-story structure, to be built on part of the Pacific Bell parking lot, is expected to begin immediately. The property is in a mixed-use district near downtown Brea. Pacific Bell officials have estimated that by October, the equipment at the Brea office will not be able to handle new residential and business phone service if the current growth rate continues, according to city documents. The utility company’s 27-year-old building, which houses automated equipment, cannot be relocated because the underground cable system would be difficult and expensive to rewire.