Freeze on Automobile Businesses Is Extended

A moratorium on new automobile-related businesses on Lincoln Avenue has been extended until September to give City Council members time to consider an overall plan for improving the appearance of the thoroughfare.

It has been nearly a year since the city’s Lincoln Avenue Citizens Advisory Committee gave the City Council a list of suggestions, including a number of development ideas, such as a shopping center and movie complex, along with lower speed limits and stricter monitoring of motel operations.

By state law, the council’s decision this week takes effect for 10 months, but city planners said they expect to conclude their “specific plan” for the area by September. The council could then vote to rescind the moratorium.

“It’s time for us to set a standard that is a little bit higher than the standards set in the ‘70s and the ‘80s,” Councilman Tim Keenan said.

City planners object to the appearance of some of the approximately 50 automobile-related businesses on Lincoln Avenue between Holder Street and the Los Coyotes Creek Bridge. They also cite parking and noise problems.

Councilman Walter K. Bowman cast the only dissenting vote, saying it would “kill any possibility of improvement on Lincoln Avenue” during the moratorium.

Bowman also warned that the city cannot afford to fund the redevelopment of Lincoln Avenue.

Mayor Tom Carroll said the extension of the moratorium should not be a “deal breaker” for new businesses, but vowed to hold city planners to a September deadline.