BREA : Official Testifies in Redevelopment Case

In testimony given Monday in Orange County Superior Court, a state Housing and Community Development official said that Brea officials should not have forced the inhabitants of 41 businesses and 255 residences in the city’s redevelopment zone to move without first adopting a comprehensive relocation plan for those displaced.

Edward Goebel, an attorney for the state body, was the first witness to testify in a case brought by a group of downtown Brea business owners against the city and the redevelopment agency.

The Brea Small Business Coalition is arguing that the city never adopted a proper relocation plan for those affected by downtown redevelopment plans. The business officials hope to keep the city from relocating others in the 50-acre zone until a suitable plan is approved.

Brea officials, however, counter that the relocation the city provided exceeds state requirements.

Goebel, who said his opinions were based on his nine years’ experience handling relocation matters for the state agency, said Brea officials did not submit a relocation plan to the agency until this past April, almost six years after the city began moving businesses and residences to make way for the development. The project, when completed, will feature townhouses, an entertainment complex and a shopping center.

Moreover, Goebel said, three proposals that Brea officials did submit in April were vague and did not specify the cost of the plan or which sites the city planned to acquire. Goebel also said the proposed Brea plan did not include input from residents, something the state requires.

Under cross-examination by Brea attorney James L. Markman, however, Goebel said state regulations are not specific and that compliance with the regulations is largely voluntary.

“We rely on good faith of public entities,” Goebel said.

Goebel is scheduled to continue his testimony today before Judge Robert C. Todd.