It turns out that the controversial Santa Ana Renaissance Plan, which proposes to change the zoning in a huge swath of Santa Ana’s poorest neighborhoods, is not all that original an idea. The City of Baldwin Park is undergoing a very similar plan…and surprise – millionaire developer Robert Bisno has negotiated an exclusive negotiating agreement with the City of Baldwin Park.
Check out this description of the Bisno project in Baldwin Park, “The primary objective of the proposed project is to relieve continuing physical and economic blight in the project area through the comprehensive redevelopment of the downtown with a mixed-use pedestrian and transit oriented master-planned downtown urban village.”
Compare that statement to this description of the Renaissance Plan, “It envisions the expansion of housing, retail and restaurants in the downtown, building on the vibrant mix of existing businesses. The Renaissance Specific Plan reintegrates the Civic Center into the downtown. It emphasizes walkable streets and a range of amenities such as parks and open spaces. The plan will embrace transit opportunities for local and regional transportation.”
Hmmm…pretty darn similar! Even the artwork for the two projects is similar. See the drawing below for the rendition of the Santa Ana Renaissance Plan, and the artwork above for the Baldwin Park drawings.
The Baldwin Park project also has a map that looks like the Renaissance map.
So why should we all be concerned about the similarities between these two projects? Because the “Bisno Development Company plans to seize over 500 homes and businesses in Baldwin Park California by eminent domain to make way for a project the size of about 125 football fields by Century City-based Bisno Development,” as Thomas Gordon reported previously.
I wonder if this is why Bisno has donated thousands of dollars to the Measure D campaign? How convenient. He can keep Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez in office so she can keep voting for his projects. But is Bisno planning to have Alvarez and her council cohorts seize properties in the Renaissance area, so they can give the land to Bisno? If so, this is an insidious plot indeed.
Don’t forget to go to the Santa Ana City Council meeting on Monday night and let the Council know how you feel about these shenanigans and about Measure D.
Also, there will be a meeting between with the City of Santa Ana on Monday Feb. 4th, at 3:00 pm, at Santa Ana City Hall Ross Annex, Conf. Rm. 1600 located at 20 Civic Center Plaza, to discuss the Renaissance Plan and its impact on local businesses.
The city has “assured” us that they will not invoke eminent domain within this plan project, but I don’t beleive them one bit. However, non conforming use and incompatibility is inadvertent eminent domain in my opinion. It forces out established companies and residents as well. With all the restrictions that will be placed, what will people be left to do other than sell and relocate???
I don’t think those two plan statements sound all that similar. And duh, architechtural renderings and site plans all basically look the same…that’s no reason to go all conspiracy theorist on us.
Lastly, you’re telling us developers see opportunities in downtown Santa Ana? Again, duh!
Don’t forget, Art…Alvarez is just one vote on Council.
Who ever said that a city formulating a Specific Plan was an “original idea”?
There are definitely some controversial parts to the Renaissance Plan, but now Art is sounding more like his crazy self.
Any goal of a redevelopment plan or specific plan is to “relieve continuing physical and economic blight in the project area”.
I hear both plans are in cities too.
The similarities are striking!
Drove around the area that is going to be affected by the RSP and I witnessed properties that were well maintained and properties that were in horrible shape. Art, since you seem to disagree with the RSP, what are some of your ideas for revitalizing/cleaning up this area? Thanks.
Again, this blog tries to establish a “conspiracy theory”. Art, you read too many novels. In real life, plans are made, times change, areas change – sometimes due to the plans, sometimes due to the market. Did Mr. Spurgeon envision these changes? No. No one can. We are no longer a frontier, or citrus growing/rural area, industrial railroad mecca, and we are not the suburbs. There is no conspiracy theory – there is just now. And it’s time things change! Just not the elementary and juvenile way you think is right. Where do YOU envision Santa Ana is 20 years? I can see it – do you?
Dear readers,
While the reaction from some of our anonymous posters has been negative, I spoke to several members of the media today and their reaction was to start digging into this story. Bisno no doubt is looking for a rock big enough to hide under…
The Downtown is a vivarnt succesful tax base for the city. Second in sales to the Main Place Mall.
There is no economic blight in Downtown. There is infrastructure blight though. This is due to long standing city government neglect of the Downtown Hispanic retail district. The neglect is also in other Hispanic neighborhoods.
The Main Place Mall gets inordinate assistance in it’s development from the City relative to the Downtown Open Air Mall District.
The assistance plan to the Main Place Mall does not include replacement of the surrounding residents and existing bussinesses as a means to revitalize the Mall. I want to emphasize that the revitalization is infrasruture specific and not associated with economic(sales) blight.
The proposal of revitalizing the Downtown is opposite to that of the Main Place Mall. The RSP for the Downtown includes purposeful demographic manipulation and economic discrimination. This is wrong and should not be supported or tolerated at any level.
The same assistance should be given to the Downtown as is given to the Main Place Mall. Investment to enhance and expand what is an existing vibrant successful tax base for the City. Anything else is a blatant attempt at displacing one demographic with another. The city’s residents will not allow this to happen. They spoke out loud and clear at the last RSP meeting held at St. Joseph’s Church.
Very few property owners and businesses within the RSP boundaries support a plan not driven by the free market.
Bob Bisno takes credit for a massive commercial complex built on the West Side of L.A…….
He only built the Ralph’s Market in that area.
Bob Bisno, in receiving approval to tear down a parking structure in Berkerley, and building a new, larger one, received approval on the condition that some of the spaces be for public parking.
After the new structure was built, no public spaces were given over.
Bob Bisno’s personal house, at Beverly Park, in the Hollywood Hills was scheduled to go through a foreclosure sale on February 29, 2008. We’re still waiting to find out if it was sold, or Bob was able to redeem his holding on to the house.
What Bob Bisno did to the older residents, and others of any age, at Lincoln Place, in Santa Monica, before he finally sold out all of his interest to the largest private apartment management company in the country, is great fodder for a writer who wishes to create a true and compelling story how greed, by one particular individual, trumps his own humaneness.
Why does Bob really want to provide a rebirth to an area that is not only not dead yet, but seems to be quite acceptable to the folks who live and work in the area?
Perhaps Bob will want to build a high-rise condominium tower in Baldwin Park to match the one he wants to build in Santa Ana.
I do have one good thing to say about Bob, though. In his younger days he was an outstanding and extremely top-rated ping-pong player.
Of course he would want you to know that the sport is called table tennis, but what the heck.