City to Ease Jeffrey-Lynne Families’ Move

Four dozen families will have to find new permanent homes after Anaheim remodels its blighted Jeffrey-Lynne neighborhood, but the city will help them locate apartments and will kick in rent subsidies, according to the latest plan for the $55.9-million project.

“Nobody is going to be thrown to the street,” said Francisco Ceja, a member of the Jeffrey-Lynne residents group advising the city on the project, approved in November to ease severe overcrowding and improve substandard housing in the area west of Disneyland.

The plan by Pacific Relocation Consultants of Long Beach says neighborhoods within five miles of Jeffrey-Lynne have enough housing for families permanently and temporarily displaced.

“The housing market is tight, but we think there will be adequate resources,” said Steve Oliver, vice president of the consulting firm.

At least 249 one-bedroom Jeffrey-Lynne apartments are slated for conversion to 212 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units by Irvine-based developer Related Cos. Work is set to begin this year and to be completed in November 2001.

Residents and community leaders at first objected to the project, which they said would displace people who have few housing options. Also, there may not be enough two-bedroom units to meet the demand, Oliver said, and families whose income is 50% or more above the median for the area will be ineligible for the low-income project.

The relocation plan would pay 42-month rent subsidies to cover higher housing costs for those who have to relocate permanently, and temporary subsidies for those who have to move out temporarily during various phases of the project. Oliver said Pacific Relocation will offer assistance to any family that needs help finding housing.

Despite the aid offered in the proposal, some community activists are still skeptical and decry the loss of any low-cost housing. “Everything looks good on paper,” said Amin David of Los Amigos of Orange County, a Latino advocacy group. “But what really takes us aback is the loss of the units.”

Anaheim Housing Manager Bertha Chavoya defended the plan, which the City Council will review in a few weeks. What Jeffrey-Lynne has now, she said, is “not affordable housing. It’s slum housing. Affordable housing is safe, sanitary and decent and has rent controls. None of that is true of Jeffrey-Lynne.”

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Relocation and Rent

When Anaheim’s Jeffrey-Lynne neighborhood gets a face lift later this year, some families will have to move. But the city’s latest plan would help them find housing--and even pay part of their rent.