Bell Gardens : 5 Named to New Committee

The Bell Gardens City Council has approved the appointment of five city commissioners to form the nucleus of a project area committee that will advise the Community Development Agency on a proposed 367-acre housing redevelopment project.

They are Ethyl Nelson, Recreation, Culture and Youth Commission; Floyd Covey and Dennis Beeson, Traffic and Safety Commission members; George Hagarty, Rehabilitation Appeals Board, and Margaret Heumann, Cultural Heritage Board. Beeson owns a business and the others own homes in the area, City Clerk Leanna Keltner said.

Under state law, a project area committee must be formed whenever a city adopts a redevelopment plan that could displace low- and moderate-income families. Committee members should represent owners, tenants, businessmen and organizations in the area, according to Robert Dickey, redevelopment director. Dickey said there is no legal limit on the size of the committee, and interested persons can seek appointment at any tine.

City officials have said they would like to see a middle-class neighborhood of owner-occupied homes in the area, which now consists mainly of blighted apartment buildings. The project area, which comprises about one-third of the city, is bounded by Florence Avenue on the north, the Long Beach Freeway on the west, Shull Street on the south and an Edison Co. right of way on the east.