SANTA ANA : Market Project Back for New Council Vote

Councilman Tony Espinoza, previously shut out of a vote on a $6-million market planned for downtown because of a conflict of interest, will have a voice when the project is reconsidered Monday.

The statute of limitations on the conflict of interest ran out this week, and Councilman Ted R. Moreno said he has asked that the City Council look at the project again because it would bring jobs and money into the city.

The Gonzalez Northgate Market project failed to pass two weeks ago after a council vote ended in a 3-3 deadlock. Moreno, along with council members Robert L. Richardson and Patricia McGuigan, voted for the project.

Council members opposed to the project said that the city was making too many concessions to the developer. Under the proposal, the city would have waived its landscaping and parking requirements because the market would be in a densely populated area.

According to the city clerk, Espinoza received a $1,000 campaign contribution from one of the project’s principals on Aug. 15, 1994.

The city charter requires a one-year wait before council members can vote on projects that could benefit people who contributed more than $250 to their campaigns.