Area Ready for Sign of Improving Times

From the perspective of businessman Ray Nelson, the block of Brookhurst Street where he has operated his accounting firm since the 1970s is “turning into a shantytown.”

“Everything is in great disrepair,” said Nelson, who operates from a house converted to office space. City code violations are rampant, and commercial centers are withering, he said.

“It’s been a slow deterioration,” Nelson said. “When we bought 18 years ago, we thought we were in an area that was coming back.”

In 1993, Anaheim adopted a redevelopment plan for the area, but work was delayed by a decline in tax revenue and a lawsuit challenging the proposal.

But with the economy improving and legal obstacles removed, the city is finally ready to proceed. Redevelopment Manager Robert Zur Schmiede said final details are now being settled and will soon be ready for public review.

One focus of the campaign will be on visual improvements, such as adding street medians, planting trees and replacing old signs with more attractive ones that are consistent with each other.

Officials also hope to create development standards that would encourage residential construction and discourage bars.

“Every city in America has a Brookhurst Street,” Zur Schmiede said. “They all have similar problems: Development is haphazard, buildings are aged with marginal uses, and a lot of it came from bad planning or no planning.”

Business people like Nelson and residents of well-kept older neighborhoods nearby say the improvements are long overdue. Among problems about which they have complained are a proliferation of taverns, poor property maintenance and garish signs.

Tamara Martin, who has lived near Brookhurst for 24 years, said the area’s decline has forced some residents to leave. She has stuck it out, though, and is eager for the improvements to begin.

“I’d like to see the business section reflect the neighborhood, because these are nice neighborhoods,” Martin said.