Maria Hortensia Jaramillo

The City of Bell Gardens Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Specific Plan is a comprehensive initiative designed to guide future development and foster affordable, transit-supportive, and safe neighborhoods. The plan addresses connectivity challenges, improves safety for residents and active transportation users, and proposes five development opportunity districts. These districts will provide new housing, commercial uses, parks, and various safety and public realm improvements, while enhancing regional connectivity and cultivating active transportation networks. It establishes goals, infrastructure improvements, and zoning updates to direct future development in the TOC Specific Plan area.

The Open Space and Recreation Element of the Bell Gardens General Plan focuses on preserving existing open spaces, parks, and recreational facilities to meet the community's needs. Key areas of focus include protecting and maintaining current open spaces, exploring opportunities for additional park land, maximizing recreational resources, and implementing programs for park maintenance and safety. The plan aims to address the deficit in parkland by expanding open space through land acquisition and multi-use corridors, while also emphasizing the importance of joint use facilities and cooperative agreements with other entities.

The 2021-2029 Housing Element for the City of Bell Gardens focuses on addressing the housing needs of its residents by analyzing demographic and economic characteristics, housing stock, and special needs populations. Key strategies include identifying available land, promoting mixed-use development, facilitating ADU construction, and implementing policies to address governmental and non-governmental constraints on housing development. The plan aims to meet the RHNA allocation by encouraging a variety of housing types, providing incentives for affordable housing, and streamlining permit processes.