Opening Phase of Jeffrey-Lynne Make-Over OKd

The first phase of a $55.9-million revitalization plan for Anaheim’s troubled Jeffrey-Lynne neighborhood, including the purchase of 29 buildings and a relocation plan for about 1,700 residents, won 3-1 City Council approval Tuesday.

Councilman Tom Tait, the lone dissenter, said, “I voted against the concept when it first came up, and I’m going to vote against it now. A plan that removes people from their homes is wrong.”

Located west of Disneyland, Jeffrey-Lynne has long been plagued by high crime rates and severe overcrowding of apartments, some of which have several people sharing one-bedroom units. The city has been spending about $500,000 a year for police services to the area and has imposed strict parking restrictions, but conditions have not improved.

In July, over the objections of some residents and property owners, the council approved a redevelopment concept that would consolidate the buildings’ ownership or management, renovate them and relocate their residents, some temporarily and other permanently.

The revitalization is to be a venture of Irvine-based developer Related Cos. of California and the nonprofit Southern California Housing Development Corp. of Rancho Cucamonga. The two companies applied for and were granted $24.5 million in federal and state tax credits for the project, contingent on the City Council approving a redevelopment plan by Dec. 10.

Many residents have protested that the redevelopment will mean eventually that they will have to pay higher rents, whether they return to a remodeled Jeffrey-Lynne or settle elsewhere.

Seeking to reassure them, Francisco Ceja of the neighborhood’s advisory committee spoke Tuesday night in support of the redevelopment plan.

“This is not the end,” he said of the council’s action. “The advisory committee will be there through the whole process to make sure residents will be treated in a fair manner.”

The relocation plan approved by the council ensures that residents will not have to pay higher rent and provides for subsidies to the properties’ owners.