La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan

La Habra Boulevard, formally called Central Avenue, is the historical main corridor of the City of La Habra, running east to west from border to border.  This thoroughfare was in existence when the City was incorporated in 1925 and served as the hub of the community and the central business district for over forty years.  

With the build-out of wider parallel thoroughfares that include Whittier Boulevard and Imperial Highway, the importance and activity on La Habra Boulevard diminished thereby creating blighting conditions along La Habra Boulevard.  To counter this situation and encourage the rejuvenation of the corridor, in 1975, the La Habra City Council adopted the Plan for Downtown Redevelopment. 

This plan was followed by the Council’s adoption of the La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan in 1988, which was amended in 1999 and codified in 2007, and amended thereafter, as Chapter 18.44 of the La Habra Municipal Code. In 2016, the map of the Plan area was subsequently amended to reflect land use designations in the City’s comprehensive update of its General Plan. 

This area was also analyzed as a SCAG Compass Blueprint Project in 2008, and design concepts for La Habra Boulevard were included in the City’s 2019 Complete Streets Master Plan. In October 2022, Staff provided a presentation to City Council outlining these efforts and the projects that have been subsequently implemented. 

Links to the above-mentioned documents and other relevant planning materials are provided below.

The City now desires to proceed with a project to conduct an evaluation of the past effectiveness of these planning efforts, and current and projected market conditions, that will result in recommended improvements, including, but not limited to, amendments to the La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan.  

In October 2023, the City’s consultant, MIG, will begin holding group interviews with stakeholders from various community organizations and conducting focus group meetings with representatives from the development community. Soon thereafter, City staff will form a technical advisory committee, comprised of representatives from various city departments, outside agencies, and local organizations, that have subject area expertise that will be beneficial toward examining the more technical aspects of the specific plan. General community outreach will take place throughout the update of the specific plan through public workshops, on-line surveys on the project website, and information booths at City events. MIG will work use these findings to begin drafting the update of the specific plan. City staff will continue to report on the progress made with the specific plan update as it becomes available.