LOS ALAMITOS : Voters to Decide on Redevelopment Plan

The City Council has formally placed on the June 2 primary ballot a referendum asking voters whether the city should implement its first redevelopment plan.

The council last July approved the 400-acre redevelopment project. Under mounting public opposition, however, council members began discussing placing the issue before voters.

A Superior Court judge’s ruling on a citizens’ initiative last month, however, required the council to place the measure on the ballot or take other steps.

After the council adopted the redevelopment plan, a group of residents gathered enough valid signatures for a referendum.

City Manager Robert C. Dunek, however, ruled those petitions invalid, saying that many people who signed were given inadequate information about the redevelopment plan.

The petitioners challenged Dunek’s ruling in court, and Judge James A. Jackman agreed on Dec. 13, overturning Dunek’s decision. The court decision required the council to either repeal the measure, schedule a citywide referendum or appeal Jackman’s ruling.

The redevelopment plan, which has been suspended until the election, would be the city’s first since it created its Redevelopment Agency in 1989.

The redevelopment area would include the city’s main commercial hub surrounding the intersection of Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard. City officials say the plan would attempt to raise money for street and utilities improvements and expand the commercial area. As proposed, the plan does not include residential property.

Residents opposed to the plan, however, are concerned that once it is in place, the city may incorporate residential areas into the plan, which they believe could result in losing their homes to the city under eminent domain. Council members have repeatedly emphasized that they do not intend to use eminent domain to acquire residential property.

Council members said they hope to persuade residents of the plan’s virtues. Opponents, who have already organized themselves through the petition and legal efforts, are expected to launch a strong campaign against the measure.

If the voters approve the plan, it would become effective within 10 days of the election’s certification. If the proposal is rejected, the council could not adopt the plan for one year, but it could consider an alternative redevelopment plan.