Southeast redevelopment plan gains Planning Commission approval

Bryce Alderton

The revitalization of the southeast portion of Huntington Beach came

one step closer to fruition Tuesday night when the Planning Commission

approved both the environmental impact report and the redevelopment plan

for the 172-acre area.

The area, hemmed in by Hamilton Avenue, Newland Street, Magnolia

Street and Pacific Coast Highway, is home to both the AES Power Plant and

Ascon/NESI toxic dump. While these neighbors don’t add to the charm of

the area, residents don’t want them to hold it down.

The redevelopment plan would establish a funding source for

improvements to the area. By declaring a neighborhood a redevelopment

area, city leaders are saying it is a blight that needs to be cleaned up.

After the Redevelopment Agency fixes up the neighborhood it gets a

percentage of increased property taxes.

Officials from the city’s Redevelopment Agency and residents in the

southeast portion of the city began holding public workshops more than

two years ago to decide the fate of the land.

City officials want to attract more businesses to the area to generate

revenue, while residents want the area cleaned up.

The landfill was approved for residential development in 1992 pending

the clean up of the toxic dump. City consultants studied the area and

found more than half the land is contaminated from oil company’s waste

and would require remediation if any future development occurred. An

Aliso Viejo planning consultant firm is currently offering to purchase

the land.

With AES making $240 million worth of improvements to the plant by

upgrading two old generator units and bringing them back on line last

summer, the Redevelopment Agency could receive $2.4 million per year to

reinvest in the area, said Gus Duran, the city’s redevelopment and

housing manager.

A consultant hired by the city estimated the redevelopment agency

would receive $475,000 in non-housing revenue for the first year,

$491,000 in the second year if the City Council approves the

redevelopment plan.

But some residents living in the area worry that revenue generated

from the area could fund other city projects.

But Duran assured residents that those funds can not be put toward

projects in other areas.

“Redevelopment guarantees an income stream we couldn’t get any other

way,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Bauer.

Residents vary in their ideas of how they want the land used.

Some have said they would like Newland Street widened for smoother

traffic flow while others want to improve the landscaping and aesthetics

of industrial businesses. Another idea is to preserve the 60 acres of

undeveloped wetlands.

The preliminary report of the plan merely gives the Redevelopment

Agency the authority to operate in the area and doesn’t specify specific

uses for the site, Duran said.

Now that the plan has Planning Commission approval it will go before

the City Council. It will likely consider the plan in June or July, Duran

said.