PLACENTIA

Local preservationists said Tuesday that they are having no problem getting people to sign a petition to save the Brower orange grove from development. In their first week of gathering signatures, organizers have collected the names of 600 people, said John Walcek, one of the founders of the local group Preserve Our Past. Walcek said residents are eager to see the 94-year-old grove protected from development. But Mayor Constance Underhill said the situation is far more complicated than many have been led to believe. “The city really doesn’t have the money,” she said. “As brutal as it sounds, we can’t afford it.”