Katella Plan Is Out; Some Want Council Members Out, Too

A meeting of the Anaheim City Council on Tuesday at which the Katella Redevelopment Project was expected to be quietly killed turned instead into a raucous session that ended with angry homeowners demanding the recall of three council members.

The council did as expected Tuesday and voted unanimously to abandon the controversial $2.7-billion, 35-year plan. But residents opposed to the project, who packed the council chambers to overflowing, became angry after the vote when Mayor Ben Bay would not allow them to speak.

The crowd of about 175, which included many elderly residents and children, began booing. Several spectators said that during the commotion Bay alluded to the crowd as an “unruly mob” and ordered the chambers cleared, prompting more boos and chants of “recall.” The council then went into a closed session.

‘Just Very Insulting’

The homeowners’ group, which had been picketing in front of City Hall before the start of the meeting, regrouped outside and announced that it would seek to recall Bay and council members Irv Pickler and Miriam Kaywood.

“This is just very insulting,” said Doug Kintz, president of Anaheim HOME, a coalition of neighborhood groups that had opposed the Katella project. “It is obvious that three council members, but especially Mayor Bay, have no faith in the people who put them in office. This recall is a spontaneous thing on the part of people who just don’t feel that these council members support us.”

When the council reconvened for public comment, Kintz said his group would begin seeking petitions for a recall. Kintz also asked for the resignation of Community Development and Planning Director Norman J. Priest, who had been in charge of the Katella project and bore the brunt of public anger over it.

Residents’ Complaints

It was also Priest who finally recommended that the project be dropped because of the overwhelming opposition it engendered.

Residents had argued that their property rights were threatened by the project and that it would mainly benefit big businesses in the area.

Those opposed to the project argued that it was ill-conceived and that Priest had broken faith with residents.

Sheri Erlewine, Anaheim public information officer, said Priest would have no comment on the homeowners’ request.

Councilman Fred Hunter has been opposed to redevelopment all along and was not targeted, nor was Councilman William D. Ehrle, who, although an initial supporter, had recently voiced opposition to the plan.

Pickler said he was surprised that he was an object of the group’s wrath.

Earlier, Pickler, who at one time supported the project, read a statement calling it a “good idea that had gone bad.”

“A simple idea--upgrading the commercial area around Disneyland and the Convention Center--became a monster . . . ,” he said. “The most frightening aspect is the way it began to intrude on the lives and homes of surrounding neighborhoods that are among the finest in Orange County. If it were not for the action of watchful and vigilant citizens, this project might have become a reality before anyone really grasped the magnitude of it.”

Bay said he did not understand why anyone was being threatened with a recall. “I don’t know why they are still riled up,” he added.

Kaywood, while voting down the Katella project, continued to argue that redevelopment provides the only means of funding major public projects, such as laying new sewer lines.

She also suggested that many of the protesters were ill-informed and had little knowledge of city government.

“I’m hoping these people will attend all of the City Council meetings and will become informed and active participants,” she said. “It isn’t enough to sit on the sidelines and complain after the fact.”

At least some of the protesters admitted that their involvement with the Katella project has lead to a political awakening.

“This experience has been a nightmare,” said Doris Hager, 65, whose home had been included within the boundaries of the project. “I’m at an age where I never thought I would be involved in something like this. I thought we and our home were pretty secure. My first experience with the City Council has been an eye-opener. They were all very rude, especially the mayor.”

Her husband, George Hager, called the opposition to Katella a “grass-roots reaction.” He said many protesters who had not been active before would continue their grass-roots involvement on other issues.

In other action Tuesday, the council voted to rescind a resolution to place a measure on the November ballot calling for an increase in property taxes to finance expanded police services.

The measure called for a special property tax to be levied at an annual rate of $25 per parcel.

Councilwoman Kaywood, who moved that the measure be taken off the ballot, cited the haste in which it was drawn up and the difficulty of gaining the necessary two-thirds vote to pass it.

“My concern is that if we don’t get enough votes to pass this measure and then go ahead and fund this package anyway, we are sending mixed signals,” Kaywood said. “I want to see this police package go forward, so I think we should find another way to fund it.”

Councilman Hunter argued that the proposal should be put before the public for a vote.

Hunter voted against taking the measure off the ballot, while Councilmen Ehrle and Pickler voted with Kaywood. Bay abstained.

During discussion on the police measure, a bomb threat led to the evacuation of more than 500 employees at City Hall.

Public information officer Erlewine said a male caller telephoned the city attorney’s office and said a bomb would explode at 2:30 p.m. After evacuating council chambers and other city offices, fire and police officials conducted a search but could find nothing. At about 2:40 p.m., employees were let back into the building.