City Council to discuss creating improvement plan for Alameda Avenue

City council will review a study of Alameda Avenue and discuss coming up with an improvement plan during Tuesday’s meeting.

City representative Claudia Ordaz said a study of the corridor was done in 2010, but a previous city council opted to not move forward with an improvement plan.

During Monday’s pre-council meeting Ordaz stressed that some of her constituents are upset with the number of used car lots along the street.

“Along that corridor, you’ll see car lot after car lot. There’s hundreds of them,” Ordaz said. “When we talk to our constituents, they’re seeing all of this revitalization happening across the city, but in the Valley you see car lot after car lot.”

If council decides to move forward with an improvement plan, Ordaz said they could discuss creating an overlay for the properties on Alameda Avenue.

An overlay is a regulatory planning tool that is placed over an area that creates certain design standards on new development in the area. Ordaz said she hopes this will help diversify the types of businesses that pop up along Alameda.

“When you’re driving down the corridor — and it’s a major corridor — it doesn’t embrace the culture that we have in the (Lower) Valley,” Ordaz said.

City representative Henry Rivera’s district also includes portions of Alameda. He said he’s in favor of an improvement plan.

“Let’s make it look great. I agree with that,” Rivera said. “But let’s not target a certain industry.”

Joe Perez owns Arrow Automotive Discount on Alameda. He said he’s been in business for over 40 years.

“What gives them the right to decide what businesses are to run on Alameda or not,” Perez said. “I’ve been here for 40 years and there’s a lot of them that have been here longer than I have.”

During the pre-council meeting city manager Tommy Gonzalez said the city can’t target specific businesses. But they can ask for improvements to facades or landscapes outside of businesses, to improve the overall look of an area.