Orange : Workshop to Explore Redevelopment Aspects

A public workshop has been tentatively set for June 4 to discuss all aspects of redevelopment, City Manager J. William Little said.

The session was called by Mayor James H. Beam after about 80 people showed up at last Tuesday’s council meeting, many waving signs that read “Don’t condemn our homes” and “We want condemnation out of Orange.”

The group wants the City Council to provide assurances that no property will be taken by legal action to make way for redevelopment. Several people requested that their properties actually be removed from areas designated as redevelopment zones. By law, a city can go to court in an effort to purchase a property at fair market value if negotiations with the owner prove fruitless.

Acting on the advice of its attorney, Mark Huebsch, the council voted to have the Planning Commission decide whether to exclude those property owners. The commission will make a recommendation to the council before any final action is taken.

Group spokesman Robert Pedersen, who said he will run for mayor in November, said the council should have acted to remove condemnation Tuesday night rather than calling for a workshop on the issue.

Attorney William Warne, who represents many of the people who want their properties taken out of the redevelopment area, said he is planning a run for City Council in November. Warne said he doesn’t believe the city’s executive director of redevelopment, Ron Thompson, when he says Orange has consistently opposed condemnation. “I think you plan to embark on a massive program of condemnation,” he said.

“That is absolutely not true,” said Little, pointing out that the city generally excludes residential properties from consideration in redevelopment projects. City plans call for high-rise offices and a hotel to be constructed on land in the southwest area of the city near Anaheim Stadium.