Fountain Valley City Council agrees with residents against redevelopment of community space
Fountain Valley residents made their voices heard in their collective desire to preserve a community space just south of City Hall on Tuesday.
Some two dozen speakers addressed the City Council to oppose the potential redevelopment of two buildings that have most recently been leased by the Boys & Girls Club of Huntington Valley.
The city-owned property includes a 9,200-square-foot building utilized as a daycare center for children who are between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 years. Additionally, a 9,311-square-foot building serves as a performing arts and fitness center.
During the study session, city staff presented on the deteriorating condition of the 2.55-acre property and the possible opportunities for development there. Community members have suggested an event center and banquet hall, while hotel developers have also shown interest in the site, city officials said.
Community Development Director Omar Dadabhoy said the cost if the city keeps the buildings and updates them could be between $1.885 million and $2.18 million. That would include improvements for ADA accessibility, roofing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Art Groeneveld, the chief executive of the Boys & Girls Club of Huntington Valley, said the organization has operated on a month-to-month lease on the parcel at 10200 Slater Ave. for the past five years. Additionally, the Kingston Branch location in Mile Square Park is provided rent free, city officials said.
“We’re already working with architects,” Groeneveld said of a prospective move of the performing arts center to the Kingston Branch. “We’ve already been very fortunate to have the entire city meet with our staff and our architecture team to help us streamline the process, so that we can try to raise the money, build that, and get out without an interruption of service.
“Our preschool service is children ages 6 weeks to [transitional kindergarten]. Right now, there’s a little over 90 children in the program. We usually average about 120. We always drop down at the beginning of September, and right now, we don’t have a plan or a home for our preschool, but we’ve moved that preschool three separate times. It’s not something we haven’t done before, and it’s something that we’re aligned and planning to do.”
Community members said they turned up for the item after residents spread the word door to door at approximately 500 homes. The city also provided notice to property owners within 1,000 feet of the site, Dadabhoy said.
The two buildings are situated in close proximity to City Hall, the police station and the library, leading to residents contending that a high-density housing project or a hotel would bring adverse traffic impacts.
The speakers included residents of all ages. A college student said she had grown up dancing for 12 hours a week and volunteering at the center. A 12-year-old boy stepped up to the podium to say, “If the city sells the land, then I won’t have a place to learn and grow. Also, some parents send their kids to the community center because they have to work during after-school hours.”
Others recalled their kids, or even themselves, taking classes in art, dance, guitar, gymnastics, karate, music, theater and more through the community center.
Some wondered why the city had not invested in the upkeep of the buildings.
“I am in the Boys & Girls Club Clubhouse Academy watching my daughter’s dance classes, and I’m witnessing some of the dangerous conditions that are starting to happen to this building, specifically,” said Jayne Gianola Brown. “Roof leaking, falling tiles, wet, smelly carpet in the office, and the staff members armed only with fans and Febreze and baking soda to mask the smell of mildew.
“The only reason they’re looking to relocate is because when staff is reaching out for help with repairs, they aren’t being prioritized as tenants or being served.”
Ultimately, a council majority of Vice Mayor Ted Bui, Jim Cunneen and Patrick Harper provided direction to city staff, determining they did not have interest in declaring the property as surplus land, a step that would allow for development. Mayor Glenn Grandis did not participate in the discussion due to the proximity of the property to his residence.
Reviewing his notes from the public testimony, Harper said the idea that community benefit and revenue generation did not have to be mutually exclusive resonated with him. He also took note that the daycare facility was heavily relied upon by the community.
Councilwoman Kim Constantine expressed concern about streams of revenue that may or may not come to town, noting the 2036 sunset date of the Measure HH sales tax. While she did not support electronic billboards along the 405 Freeway, which were expected to provide some revenue to the city, Constantine said two approved by the council have been put on hold by Caltrans.
“We have potential for revenue for the city, and we don’t yet know if they’re going to come, to be perfectly honest,” Constantine said. “... I would like to look into potentially exploring the site for a potential hotel.”
Cunneen called the property a “sacred space,” adding that it would take a lot more to convince him that doing anything other than keeping it would be the right decision for the community.
“It’s kind of the people’s parcel, to me,” Cunneen said. “I want to keep it, but this is a process. We need to flesh this out, and here we are. It’s no secret that I would like this to be something amazing. We spent so many years going to the Rose Center [Theater] up in Westminster because that’s where our girls had their dance shows. … I love it up there. Why can’t we have something like that in Fountain Valley? I don’t know.”
Bui was last to weigh in, saying, “From what I’m hear[ing] from the public today, that is why I say that we need to look into further, not developing it, but what we can use this building or this area for the public.”
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