Paramount : Forum on Density Initiative

A forum on Proposition FF, the initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot to limit growth in the city of Paramount, will be held at 6 tonight at Progress Park, 15300 Downey Blvd.

A panel opposing the measure will conduct a 2-hour question-and-answer session to “put the facts straight,” said Ruby Appelman, chairman of the Committee for Progress, which is sponsoring the forum.

The panel will include several city-appointed commissioners, including Public Safety Commissioner Peggy Lemons and Planning Commissioner Frank Gonzalez, and developer Charles Smith, senior vice president of Bental Development Co. of Orange, which plans to build a 304-unit apartment complex in Paramount.

Representatives of the Concerned Citizens for Controlled Growth, which circulated a petition to qualify the density initiative, were invited to the forum, Appelman said. But George Tanner, chairman of the slow-growth movement, said his group would not attend. “I’ve been at those rigged forums before. We’re not going to show up,” Tanner said. Tanner said he is confident the measure will pass.

The measure would limit multiple-family housing construction to 22 units per acre. The existing rule had allowed up to 70 units per acre. However, after much debate on the issue, the City Council in May imposed the same 22-unit limit on a temporary basis. The ban will continue until after the election.

Kevin O’Connell, weatherman for KCBS, will moderate the forum.