Yorba Linda : Referendum Against Auto Mall Validated

A referendum petition against a controversial planned 40-acre auto mall recently approved by the City Council was validated Thursday, the City Clerk said.

The petition containing about 4,000 signatures had submitted to the city for verification, City Clerk Carolyn Wallace said.

To keep verification costs down, Wallace said, the city had submitted just 2,669 of the 4,000 signatures to the county Registrar of Voters for verification.

“Of the 2,669, they only needed 2,118 to qualify and they had 2,174. It qualified easily,” Wallace said.

The petition for a citywide referendum on the auto mall will be considered at the City Council’s Sept. 15 meeting. Wallace said the council could vote to rescind its earlier approval or to hold an election on the issue.

City officials have said the auto mall will generate $2 million a year in taxes.

But residents living near the proposed site have complained that the mall would lower property values and increase traffic in an area of single-family homes and condominiums.