Daxon: Time to update plans for the future Brea

It seems nearly everyone has an opinion on what is needed or not needed in Brea in order for the city to thrive in years to come.

Now is your chance to let city management and City Council know because it time for Brea’s General Plan and Specific Core Plan to be updated. The General Plan has not been comprehensively updated since 2003.

“There have been updates to certain elements since then,” said Joanne Hwang, Brea city planner and General Plan project manager, “specifically the Housing Element that is mandated by state law to be updated every eight years.”

She noted that the land use and circulation elements have not been updated in more than 20 years and are outdated. Cities and counties update their General Plans every 20 to 30 years.

On June 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., there will be a community open house on updating the General Plan and Specific Core Plan, in Community Rooms A & B at the Brea Civic and Cultural Center. All ages are welcome and Spanish-speaking translators will be present.

This will be the first of several community events that will include surveys, pop-up events and focus group meetings held around town during the next 24 months. According to Hwang, they expect the project to be presented to the City Council for the final adoption by the end of 2025.

The General Plan is a type of blueprint that helps determine how the city can grow and how we want it to grow. I know there are many folks who don’t want Brea to grow at all, but that won’t happen. So, now is your chance to state what you’d like or not like for Brea in coming years.

How do you envision Brea in 2050? How would you like it be even 10 or 20 years from now? Now’s your chance to learn more and speak up.

This is also the time to learn about the Specific Core Plan for the city core. You may have attended one of the workshops or presentations for Specific Core Plan in 2022.

The Specific Core Plan encompasses what seems to be Brea’s largest commercial area.

The Specific Core area roughly runs from the 57 Freeway west to Berry Street and Lambert Road south to Imperial Highway.  The area where we have much industrial and commercial businesses including Brea Downtown, the Brea Mall, plus some single-family homes, apartments and condominiums.

A good way to get a feel of what the updating of the General Plan and the Specific Core Plan is about, is to start by completing the survey at www.brea.generalplan.org. It is your opportunity to let the city leaders know what you think is important or not so important for Brea 10 or 25 years from now.

For instance, do you want more restaurants citywide or just in the Specific Core, or not at all? Will future Brea need more services for seniors? What about more schools? How will more traffic be addressed? What will be the environmental impacts to our area?

So far, a 16-member advisory community steering committee has been formed. City Councilmember Cecilia Hupp will represent the City Council, along with a representative each from the Planning Commission, Traffic Commission, Cultural Arts Commission, Parks, Recreation and Human Services Commission and the Brea Olinda Unified School District, plus 10 at-large Brea residents.

The Steering Committee will give its input, questions and views to the staff and consultants during the project’s process, but is only expected to meet up to six times over the next two years. Its first meeting is June 13, and not open to the public.

Be a part of Brea’s future and take the survey right now.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.