By Steve Mauss
Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” The currently-proposed “Cypress Town Center and Commons Specific Plan 2.0” 135-unit townhome/condominium development on 7 acres of the Los Alamitos Race Course (LARC) property is modern-day validation that Henry Ford was correct.
As many will remember, Cypress residents came together to have their voices heard regarding development of the LARC property. Most of the property was considered “open space” and, as such, required a vote of Cypress residents before it could be re-zoned and developed (Measure D). Several efforts had been made over the years to do just that. In one such effort, residents voted on an initiative to build Senior Housing on the property along Katella between the Cottonwood Christian Church and the Residence Inn, only to find that the City had approved a Prologis trucking logistics center in its place. Residents of both Cypress and Los Alamitos came together and were able to negotiate with all parties involved to have the property developed as per the will of the people.
Now, we have a beautiful senior living development by Ovation Homes that is nearly complete.One thing that became apparent during the negotiations for the senior living project was that we, as citizens, need to come together and be very aware of what is being proposed on ballot initiatives. We simply cannot rely on sound-bites and glossy brochures. We need to read the language carefully. As discussions were underway for an enhanced vision for the LARC property (once it becomes available for development), a couple of initiatives were proposed that residents could not get behind. The language in the initiatives was too broad and allowed too many “loopholes.” Residents needed to work together to be confident that what they voted for was what would be built.That’s where Measure A comes in.
After a couple of disappointments, Dr. Ed Allred (LARC property owner) engaged community leaders to come up with a solution everyone could accept. Measure A created the “Cypress Town Center and Commons Specific Plan 2.0, “ a mix of residential, retail, office and park space with specific use and density limitations. In a good-faith gesture, Dr. Allred gifted 9 acres of land at the corner of Cerritos and Lexington Avenues for a new park (even before the vote), and set aside another 11 acres for additional park space later.
(This, by the way, fulfilled a commitment between Cypress and Los Alamitos to create a park at that location.) Measure A passed convincingly, creating a “master plan” for the area, most of which is to be developed out if and when the LARC finishes its long run.
Measure A allows for single-family homes to be built along Cerritos Ave. and multi-family homes to be built at various, more centralized, locations. Since much of the parking space at LARC is no longer required, a proposal was made by Melia Homes to build homes on 7 acres between Costco and the LARC facility. Great care has been taken to ensure that neither the building nor the operation of the development will interrupt the operation of the LARC.
Even greater care has been taken to ensure that the proposed development of 135 townhome-style units complies with Measure A requirements AND meets all environmental standards. In fact, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed project shows that there are no significant impacts to air quality, water/utility services, fire/police services, and more. And, since entrance and exit to the development will be from Vessels Circle off Walker Street, traffic flow on Katella will only be minimally affected.
This new 7-acre development will be a good step forward toward achieving the goals described in the “Cypress Town Center and Commons Specific Plan 2.0” and is a testament to what we can accomplish when we all come together in a common purpose. None of us knows how much longer the LARC will continue to operate; I, for one, look forward to its continued success. We do know, however, that when the LARC does close, there is a solid plan in place to develop the area into a beautiful town center concept that we all participated in. I look forward to working together with everyone to that end.
Steve Mauss, Cypress Resident, is President & CEO of Knowledge Relay, Inc. (A Cypress Business)