Council Endorses Redevelopment Bond : About $26 Million Would Be Spent to Provide Business Incentives

The Garden Grove City Council gave preliminary approval Monday for a bond issue of approximately $26 million to finance redevelopment projects.

After reviewing a list of 11 proposed projects, the council voted 4 to 1 that the city put together a bond proposal that City Manager Delbert L. Powers said would come up for final approval in several months.

The first step in the process will be to determine the exact amount of the city’s redevelopment income, which will be used as collateral for the bond, Powers said.

Under redevelopment programs, cities offer developers financial and real estate incentives to sponsor major projects on property thought to be rundown or underutilized.

Councilman Robert F. Dinsen opposed the City Council’s action, citing his longstanding opposition to the use of tax funds for privately owned projects.

Conducted Separate Survey

Dinsen questioned also a city survey that sought residents’ opinions on redevelopment programs. Of 4,944 people who responded to a mailed questionnaire, 77% replied affirmatively to the question: “Should the Redevelopment Agency provide financial incentives to attract stores and new jobs to Garden Grove?”

Such questions, Dinsen said, amounted to “asking if they believed in apple pie and baseball.” The councilman said he took his own survey, calling 100 Garden Grove residents and asking: “Should Garden Grove tax money be used towards upgrading privately owned shopping centers?”

The results, he said, were 14% yes and 86% no.

Powers said the bond issue would probably have a 30-year repayment period and require that the funds be spent within three years.

The city issued $10 million in bonds in 1977 which helped finance such projects as a Mervyn’s department store, the Garden Grove Medical Center and the Alicante Princess Hotel on Plaza Alicante.

Some of the proposed projects being considered by city officials include $11.7 million for capital improvements, a retail, theater and office complex at Euclid Street and Garden Grove Boulevard and an auto mall southwest of Brookhurst Street and the Garden Grove Freeway.

Powers said the bonds are necessary “if you want the community to redevelop and to get your share of development in Orange County.”