Downey : Theater and Garage Project to Go Before Voters in May
Voters will have the final say on a multimillion-dollar theater complex after the City Council voted this week to place the development plan on the ballot.
Council members set the election date for May 18 on a 3-0 vote. Councilmen Robert S. Brazelton and Gary P. McCaughan abstained because they own or recently owned property in the area, City Clerk Judy E. McDonnell said. The special election will cost at least $50,000, she said.
More than 4,700 voters signed petitions to force the election, well over the 10% of registered voters required. The Los Angeles County registrar of voters recently verified the signatures.
The city-negotiated development plan would include a 2,500-seat multiscreen theater and a four-story free public garage with space for 355 vehicles in the heart of downtown Downey. The developer would receive the theater property for $1 in exchange for building the entertainment complex and the city parking structure and contributing to the construction cost of a pedestrian mall.
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