Brea: One of OC's Silliest Cities

Steve Greenhut blogged yesterday on the no-growth Myrmidons who run the Brea City Council:

One of OC's Silliest Cities

The city of Brea continues to cry poormouth about its budget situation, at one point making cuts and trying to raise business taxes because of its financial straits. But the city loves to waste money, especially on projects located outside of the city limits. The left-wingers who run the city are intent on stopping development around Brea, so they will spend, spend and spend some more to achieve that goal. See the article reprinted below.

Brea has been paying Waters & Faubel to run a PR campaign to stop growth on the hills in unincorporated land in OC and LA counties (full disclosure: my home is located near the hills) and it has been spending money on lawsuits to stop the City of Industry from buying the old Firestone scout ranch.    

Brea epitomizes the absurdity of the modern implementation of Smart Growth. It used eminent domain to level the old downtown and ran up hundreds of millions of dollars in total indebtedness through its redevelopment agency to build a new downtown. Everyone interested in Smart Growth, the New Urbanism, redevelopment and modern urban design ought to drive along Brea Blvd. and Birch St. to get a look at what passes for hip urban planning. The street is a glorified shopping center, complete with subsidized movie theaters and boutiques. It looks garish, almost cartoonish. The new downtown epitomizes redevelopment these days: massive subsidies, corporate welfare and central design. Stores and restaurants go in and out of business. The restaurants are bland chain-style affairs. There is nothing real there. There certainly is no sense of community -- the stated purpose of New Urbanism.    

It is just a fancy updated strip mall with the goal of luring sales tax dollars into the city. Meanwhile, city officials are apoplectic, concerned that more houses will be built around Brea. Officials don't want more of the single family-type homes they live in, but prefer high rise apartments, condos and townhouses.    

Brea will probably survive this atrocity, but I am glad I live in a neighboring city. I can shop in Brea, but let that city's taxpayers deal with the traffic and other headaches.    

Posted by Steven Greenhut -- at 4:45 PM on March 30, 2005