Garden Grove : Public Redevelopment Vote Falls by Wayside

A City Council standoff ended any possibility of Garden Grove voters voicing their opinion next November on the city’s commercial redevelopment efforts.

Councilman Ray Littrell proposed that the city ask voters whether they approve of Garden Grove’s use of redevelopment funds and tools to establish more shopping in the city. His lone supporter at Monday’s council meeting was fellow redevelopment critic Bob Dinsen, and their votes were canceled out by Councilmen Milt Krieger and Walt Donovan. Mayor John Cannon is on vacation.

Donovan’s suggestion that the issue be postponed indefinitely and Littrell’s counter that it go on the ballot both fell on 2-2 votes. “So they missed their deadline,” said Assistant City Manager Mike Fenderson, noting that Thursday is the final day to file with the county registrar of voters for the November election.

The city’s cost for the ballot question would have been about $25,000. Littrell said the expense would have been worthwhile when considered against the cost of redeveloping existing commercial property, and perhaps the development of a mall.

He said the defeat doesn’t dampen his opinion on the issue and that he might make another attempt for an election date next June. “If we’re going to have commercial redevelopment here, it’s going to take some kind of bond issue, which is something that will run way beyond the terms of the City Council,” he said. “I think that has to go before the voters.”

Krieger said he believes residents voiced their opinion on redevelopment in the last council election. “What I’m suggesting is that we’ve beaten this issue to death already,” he said.