Pomona : Decision on Land Delayed

The City Council is considering allowing a developer to build 86 houses just south of the closed Buffums department store in downtown Pomona, although some members favor using the land for commercial development instead.

The council on Monday delayed until July 15 a decision on whether the city Redevelopment Agency should negotiate to sell five acres at Palomares Street and Mission Boulevard to Lewis Homes of California.

City Administrator Julio Fuentes said the sale would help the Redevelopment Agency finance the neighboring Pomona Square project, where Hopkins Development Co. is lining up a supermarket and drugstore as key tenants in a retail center.

But council members Tomas Ursua, Nell Soto and Paula Lantz questioned whether single-family housing belongs in the downtown area and said the housing project might hinder future commercial development.