Petition Submitted to Win Vote on Highway

A citizens group opposed to improvements planned for Imperial Highway has submitted a petition to hold a special election early next year to allow residents to vote on the project.

City Clerk Carolyn Wallace said Tuesday that members of the Organization of Unified Concerned Homeowners, or OUCH!, have collected 5,500 signatures on the petition and have submitted it to the Orange County registrar of voters for verification.

Organizers say they need about 4,500 valid signatures to qualify for an election.

Mayor John M. Gullixson said that if enough valid signatures are collected, the City Council will determine when to hold an election on the initiative.

Members of the group recently appeared before the City Council to criticize brochures sent out with residents’ trash bills. The literature outlined the city’s plans for Imperial Highway.

OUCH! members, who argue that the changes would damage the city’s semi-rural character, maintain that use of city funds for the four-page color brochures was inappropriate.