Tower Foes Not Quitting

Opponents of a proposed 37-story glass office tower in downtown Santa Ana say they are beginning a petition drive today to put the matter to a vote of city residents.

The building -- to be called One Broadway Plaza -- would be the tallest in Orange County. The City Council affirmed its approval of the project earlier this week.

“It would change the visual character of the Broadway corridor,” said Jeff Dickman, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsible Planning, which is circulating the petition. “This would effectively change that character forever -- the streets were really not designed to accommodate this level of traffic.”

However, proponents of the tower believe the building will give new life to the city and that traffic concerns can be addressed.

The group has until Sept. 2 to collect about 9,000 valid signatures of registered voters in Santa Ana to qualify for a special election to be set by the city clerk, Dickman said. Starting today, he said, about 25 volunteers will begin collecting signatures citywide.

“We’ll do a little bit of everything,” he said. “Door-to-door is the classic way of approaching this. Going to stores where there is a concentration of people is another possibility. Right now the plan is evolving.”