Businesses turn to cleaner alternative

Deirdre Newman

Stung by the prospect that their properties could be declared

blighted, some Westside property owners are wasting no time in

cleaning up their act.

The owners are part of a 434-acre area that the city’s

Redevelopment Agency is considering adding to the downtown

redevelopment zone. To do so, independent consultants must show that

these properties are blighted physically and economically.

The cleanup effort is under a tight deadline as the agency will be

convening again on March 10 to decide whether to approve the

preliminary boundaries of the proposed addition -- an odd-shaped area

roughly bordered by 15th Street, Whittier Avenue and West 19th

Street. At stake are the owners’ most vital assets, as the very

property they own could be taken from them through eminent domain.

In the past, the property owners have denied charges their

businesses are blighted and expressed adamant opposition to being

included in the redevelopment area. The cleanup effort represents a

shift in direction as the owners make a goodwill gesture to city

leaders illustrating their desire to rejuvenate the area.

“We want to show the city that we can do more than just protest

and are willing to make tangible differences in the neighborhood,”

said John Hawley, the owner of Railmakers. “We want to show a sense

of cooperation.”

Hawley created a Web site to alert the other 600-plus property

owners in the proposed addition to the threat of redevelopment. He is

using the Web site to exhort other industrial property owners to make

a significant effort to spiff up their properties.

Many have heeded his call, Hawley said.

One is Bill Boyd, who has owned a strip with 20 tenants at the

corner of 18th and Placentia since 1958.

Boyd recently had his property painted in neutral earth tone

colors that won’t jar the senses of passersby.

“This is important because there are a lot of industrial spaces

that are painted wacky colors, so every property I own is painted in

our corporate colors -- taupe and creme -- for consistency,” Boyd

said.

He also has reminded his tenants to make sure their trash is

disposed of in the proper places and let delivery drivers know not to

block right-of-ways.

Boyd is even going a step farther, saying he will stripe the

public right-of-way area to make it more clear. He also intends to

re-slat the fence around the yard that is showing its age.

He is confident the measures he is taking will stake the odds in

his favor when his property is being scoured for blight.

“It’s been my experience that if you keep your buildings in good

shape and painted well and cleaned up with not a lot of trash, you

maintain these kind of [high-quality] tenants and maintain a high

occupancy and consistency in the economic base,” Boyd said.

For his part, Hawley, who owns a dilapidated house at the front of

his property, has started the permit process to get it removed.

He also extended an invitation to all the City Council members --

who act as the Redevelopment Agency -- to take a tour of the area so

they can give their input on what they consider blight. Hawley said

he and the other industrial property owners that oppose redevelopment

would then try to exert their influence to remedy the unsightliness

in the area.

Councilman Allan Mansoor, who is one of two who accepted that

invitation, said he appreciates any effort by owners to clean up

their properties, but stopped short of guaranteeing that the effort

would automatically eliminate them from the redevelopment area.