DOWNEY – The city of Downey has been awarded a $425,000 grant from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to assist in funding a new South Rancho Campus specific plan for the area surrounding the future transit station. The specific plan will help create transit oriented development standards to allow for residential developments, as well as new commercial development around the future station, which is proposed to be located at the southwest corner of the South Rancho Campus.

“The development of this Rancho South Campus specific plan will help lay the foundation for a comprehensive policy document that will positively impact the neighborhood around the future transit station, currently consisting of mostly of underutilized land,” said Mayor Luis Marquez.

The city of Downey “will work closely with the County of Los Angeles, who owns the site of the future station, to develop the Rancho South Campus specific plan,” Downey officials said in a statement. “The county has several facilities on the land and intends to consolidate these facilities when the land is redeveloped for the future station. The county already has a plan for the site and facilities in their proposed county master site plan and the city has agreed to work with the county to make sure the proposed changes and consolidation of their facilities are consistent with the new Rancho South Campus specific plan.”

“We look forward to working with the county as a partner and major stakeholder in this project, and are eager to see how this specific plan proposes to transform the area around the future transit stop,” added Mayor Pro Tem Alex Saab.

The Rancho South Campus Specific Plan was one of fourteen (14) projects selected for funding under Metro’s TOD Planning Grant Program.

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Published: Feb. 5, 2015 - Volume 13 - Issue 43