Westminster Approves Boost for Little Saigon

The Westminster Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday night unanimously approved a resolution intended to help the Little Saigon business area become a major Southern California tourist spot.

“We’ve received nothing but positive remarks about this project from both Anglo and non-Anglo residents in our city,” Mayor Pro Tem Chuck V. Smith said after the agency’s vote.

The action by the Redevelopment Agency, which is made up of the City Council members, was the final action needed to officially designate a 1 1/2-mile-long business area as the “Little Saigon Tourist Commercial District.”

“This allows us to go to the state and ask for special signs that will mark the area as a tourist zone,” Smith said. “Now we will set up architectural standards for the area.”

The city’s action was sought by the Little Saigon Development Committee to help the thriving commercial area of 700 shops, restaurants and offices with redevelopment funds.

The area roughly includes Bolsa Avenue from Brookhurst to Magnolia streets, which in the last 12 years has gained a reputation as the center of Vietnamese business and culture in Southern California.

Several council members noted that the city’s action, as well as last week’s special meeting between the City Council and Southeast Asian business and community leaders, resulted from a recognition that Little Saigon has the potential to become a major Southern California business center.

Retail sales total almost $1 billion in Westminster, with a substantial portion coming from the city’s 700-800 Southeast Asian-owned businesses.