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Planning commission reviews preferred concepts for La Habra Boulevard specific plan
Summary
Consultants and staff presented a preferred plan for the La Habra Boulevard corridor that refines land-use districts, proposes parking and circulation changes, and outlines implementation and funding tools; commissioners and residents urged safety protections for local streets.
The La Habra Planning Commission on April 29 received an update on a preferred draft of the La Habra Boulevard specific plan, including proposed land‑use changes for six districts, options for on‑street parking and circulation, public‑realm upgrades and an outline of potential funding and implementation tools. City staff and consultants said they will use public feedback to finalize the draft plan and begin environmental review.
Lisa (last name not specified), a consultant with MIG, said the presentation reflects results from outreach that included a pop‑up workshop at Bonita Park and an online survey. "We are getting ready to write the specific plan, and why we're coming to you now is that we're gonna float some ideas by you about that preferred plan to just get your feedback and your thoughts," she told commissioners. Consultants said about 175 participants completed the workshop activities and about 265 people completed the online survey — roughly 440 people who engaged with the outreach in depth.
The specific plan refines the corridor into six districts: from west to east, an Idaho Street residential district, a Village Square (around Hillcrest/La Habra/Walnut), a Commercial Core, a Cultural Core (linking El Centro Park and Portillo Park), a Washington district near Washington Middle School, and a Harbor Gateway district near Harbor Boulevard and the Stearns/Erna area. The consultants proposed preserving low‑density residential character in the Idaho Street district while allowing targeted increases in residential density where it can support neighborhood retail. In several areas the team recommended converting small groups of parcels now zoned as mixed use back to residential where the existing pattern is predominantly housing.
On circulation, staff and MIG proposed a corridor‑wide emphasis on slowing vehicle speeds, improving high‑visibility crosswalks, adding bicycle facilities (class 3 bike routes in some segments) and traffic‑calming measures. Two alternatives for on‑street parking on the Cultural Core were presented: diagonal (angled) parking with narrowed travel lanes and wider sidewalks to support outdoor dining and sidewalk activity, and a parallel‑parking alternative preferred by a portion of survey respondents. The consultants also described a "park once" concept for the Cultural Core: a public lot (and later a parking structure) to concentrate parking and free up street frontage for pedestrian uses.
Roger Dale, an economic consultant with the Nathalie Deal Group, summarized the market and implementation work. "We did a market feasibility study to look at what demand there might be for new development, residential and commercial, in the area," he said, and explained the implementation chapter will identify funding sources, incentives and financing mechanisms the city could use to catalyze redevelopment. Options discussed included adjusting parking standards, parking‑in‑lieu programs, development impact fees, district financing mechanisms such as landscape/lighting districts, property‑based improvement districts (PBIDs), community facility districts and the enhanced infrastructure financing district (EIFD). Dale cautioned EIFDs are complex, costly to set up and require voluntary participation by other taxing agencies.
Commissioners and members of the public pressed on local impacts and safety. One commissioner who said they live in the corridor expressed support for the preferred plan and for measures to slow traffic, saying drivers currently exceed safe speeds on La Habra Boulevard near schools and parks. Several speakers raised safety concerns about opening Erna Avenue to through traffic; residents asked that any extension consider allowing only pedestrian and bicycle access or include substantial safety improvements rather than creating new cut‑through vehicle routes.
Staff described the next steps as refining the preferred plan based on tonight's feedback, drafting the specific plan over the summer and fall, and then conducting environmental review (an EIR under CEQA). Public hearings on the draft plan are anticipated in the spring following completion of the EIR. No formal action or vote was taken at the study session; the commission received the update as an informational item.
The presentation and discussion highlighted tradeoffs the city will weigh: where to concentrate mixed‑use development to create synergy, where to preserve residential character, how to balance parking requirements with walkable retail, and how to phase any public investments. Consultants recommended aligning plan policy with market realities and building a toolbox of short‑ and long‑term funding options so the city can support early infrastructure (for example, concentrated parking or streetscape work) that may make private investment feasible later.
City staff invited commissioners and the public to submit additional comments before the plan is finalized for environmental review. The commission closed public comment and moved to adjourn the special study session.
