Dateline Carson — The City Council today will begin laying the groundwork for a strategic plan that would govern all future development activities on nearly 600 acres surrounding the property where the Chargers and Raiders would build their NFL football stadium.
The Council meeting starts at 6 o’clock.
City Council members will be dreaming big as they consider the possibility of two football teams moving to their city.
The move could spark a gold-rush of investors pumping billions of dollars into hotels, mixed-use projects, restaurants and entertainment venues around a sports stadium hosting the Chargers and Raiders, according to city officials.
“If the Chargers and Raiders come to town, Carson can expect a real estate development boom,” said Carson Mayor Albert Robles. “This will be a tremendously exciting time for Carson.”
Mr. Robles pointed to the LA Live complex in downtown Los Angeles. The area has been energized by its proximity to the Staples Center, home of the Lakers and Clippers. Likewise, in Santa Clara, a giant real estate company is drawing up plans to invest $6.5 billion into creating a new city center next to Levi’s Stadium, the new home of the San Francisco 49ers.
“The exciting, transformative development projects happening in Santa Clara and around the Staples Center in downtown L.A. can happen here, too,” said Mr. Robles.
“The relocation of the teams to Carson would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this city to transform itself into a regional, national and international destination.
“To reach our dreams, we will need to be smart and careful about the kind of development that we allow on the properties surrounding the stadium. We need to get this right.”
To deal with such an opportunity, Carson lawmakers today will consider placing a moratorium on any development on 600 acres of land immediately west, north and east of the 157-acre stadium property.
The city has divided the affected properties into six planning areas, each area supporting a different kind of development.
If the stadium deal goes through, the pressure to develop the surrounding properties will be intense. The city already has seen “tremendous speculation” in properties around the stadium with land values going up, according to a city staff report.
Much of the property affected by the moratorium is vacant or occupied by low-intensity commercial and industrial development.
“We need a breathing space,” Mr. Robles said, “so we can begin working with investors and planners to figure out how to create tremendous projects that are compatible with the stadium.
“A moratorium will give us that breathing space. Then we can begin looking at a strategic plan for these stadium-adjacent properties.”
A strategic plan, for example, could establish urban design guidelines for future development, facilitate green development, encourage a mix of uses and provide a blueprint for the municipal services and infrastructure needed to support the development.
Mr. Schwada may be contacted at john.schwada@gmail.com
