Westminster Ca Development And Redevelopment

The City Council has decided to send back to the Planning Commission a proposal by a Vietnamese American businessman to open a supermarket on Brookhurst Street that would serve a predominantly Asian clientele. Residents of nearby neighborhoods are against the idea, saying the market would generate noise, odor and traffic problems and lower the value of their properties.

The Westminster City Council on Wednesday approved the construction of 45 homes in back of a popular mall on Bolsa Avenue. Residents near the future development behind the Asian Village mall had worried the two-story homes would have a direct view into their backyards and lead to increased traffic and reduced parking. But the council voted 5-0 to approve the project.

Developers will brave the recession to open two shopping complexes in Little Saigon soon, confident that the attractions of their malls will help business owners there survive until the economy improves. But city commerce officials say both projects are big risks because the Vietnamese retail district is already overdeveloped, with too many shops offering the same products and services.

It's the kind of development--45 single-family homes--that often gets approved painlessly. But the one proposed in Westminster has sparked complaints and accusations from residents and city officials alike. Residents are upset that traffic from the proposed gated community in the back of a popular mall on Bolsa Avenue might clog their streets.

The City Council has adopted a controversial plan to expand its redevelopment area by more than 1,200 acres, about 15% of which covers residential neighborhoods, city officials said. The expanded redevelopment area, totaling 2,164 acres, will become effective Aug. 19 and encompass almost all of the city's developed industrial and commercial properties, according to Redevelopment Director Don Anderson. At its July 18 meeting, the council voted 4-1 in favor of the plan, with Councilwoman Joy L.

A decision on the controversial plan to build a pedestrian bridge in Little Saigon has been delayed, at least until next month. The City Council was scheduled to vote on the proposal Tuesday but decided to wait until the financing and the bridge's exterior design, the most controversial aspect of the plan, could be finalized.

The City Council unanimously decided to use the shuffle board court site near the Civic Center for an expansion of the city's senior center at the council meeting Tuesday. The Community Services and Development Committee had recommended the site after a study of three possible locations for the project, which is estimated to cost $156,000 and will be funded with a federal grant.

Malcolm Willis, a man happiest when he's marching with a set of drums, has spent more time rearranging furniture than keeping step since Westminster's old 17th Street School auditorium was demolished. Willis and his band, the Nicholson Pipes and Drums, used to practice their marching routine in the spacious auditorium.

Plans for a $7-million community center will proceed at least a step further, a divided City Council decided Monday. Council members voted 3 to 2 to authorize architects GKK Inc. of Irvine to continue working with design plans for the center, which had been on hold. Construction documents will then be presented to the council, project manager Sondra Evans said. At a special council meeting Monday, Mayor Frank Fry Jr. and council members Tony Lam and Margie L.

Although plans for a long-awaited cultural arts center were stalled in 1997, the city will be revisiting the subject in early 1998. The center, planned for 15th and Monroe streets, was originally expected to cost $7 million, but the price tag escalated to nearly $11 million as architects accommodated requests by city officials. In May, the City Council called for the cost to be reduced to about $7.3 million. The city has raised about $8 million toward the project.

Malcolm Willis, a man happiest when he's marching with a set of drums, has spent more time rearranging furniture than keeping step since Westminster's old 17th Street School auditorium was demolished. Willis and his band, the Nicholson Pipes and Drums, used to practice their marching routine in the spacious auditorium.

Calvary Chapel of Westminster can go ahead with a project to expand its facilities to include three classrooms, a dining area and additions to the main building and youth center. The Planning Commission granted the church a permit for the 4,323-square-foot project Wednesday evening. The classrooms are part of a first phase, expected to be completed by June.

Seeking funds to improve aging roads and sewers, the Westminster City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a controversial plan to designate the entire city a redevelopment zone. "I have historically opposed redevelopment," Councilman Kermit Marsh said. "But this amendment excludes eminent domain. That can't happen with this redevelopment plan."

For the past five months, city officials hoping to capture $260 million for infrastructure repair by declaring virtually the entire city a redevelopment zone have held fast to the idea that blight is good. But some Westminster residents aren't so sure. With a final council vote on what the city is calling a revitalization plan expected Wednesday, some residents still are afraid the legal definition under state redevelopment law will somehow hurt their property value.

Faced with last-minute opposition from residents of one neighborhood, Westminster officials have scheduled another community meeting July 6 on its proposal to turn the entire city into a redevelopment zone. The plan, given initial approval on a 5-0 vote of the City Council on Wednesday night, would designate all 10.2 square miles of the western Orange County community a "blighted" area.

The neighboring Orange County cities of Stanton and Westminster are set to become the first in the state to take an old tactic to a new extreme--raising revenues by declaring virtually their entire towns "blighted" redevelopment zones. Instead of using redevelopment to restore dying city centers, officials in Stanton and Westminster voted Wednesday night to designate their cities redevelopment areas in an effort to keep hundreds of millions in extra tax dollars over the next 30 years.