Serving
Wednesday
Garden Grove Huntington Beach Stanton Westminster
Nov. 28,2018
Print edition of the Orange CountyTribune
www.orangecountytribune.com n Non-partisan news, opinion, arts and sports
UMBERG ON VERGE OF UPSET WIN
Lawsuit is filed to stop apartments is underway By Jim Tortolano OC Tribune A lawsuit to block the construction of a controversial apartment complex has been filed against the City of Westminster, the city council and the developers of the project. The petition for a writ of mandate and complaint requesting an injunction was filed in Orange County Superior Court on Oct. 31 by Mitchell Tsai on behalf of Residents of Westminster, identified as a non-profit public benefit corporation. No hearing date has been set. At issue is the decision in September by the city council to reverse itself on a proposed development for a 24-unit project in the 13800 block of Milton Avenue on a 1.01-acre site. The council had originally voted to reject the project on Sept. 5, but changed its mind on Sept. 19 and gave its approval with Mayor Tri Ta, Vice Mayor Tyler Diep and Councilmember Kimberly Ho in support. It was Ho’s change of heart that changed the outc o m e . W h i l e the city zoning allowed only 18 units on the site, state law allows a developer to get a high-density bonus of more apartments if some are rented to tenants at lowor very-low income rates. “I don’t like the law,” she said at the time, but argued that the city had to follow the state’s mandate. The public hearing that preceded the vote that night took several hours and heard objections from residents about potential parking, traffic and environmental issues. According to the suit, the council’s decision violated state law and city land use ordinances and that the project was not eligible for exemption from environmental review. Assistant City Attorney Christian L. Bettersen, replying to a inquiry from The Tribune, said “At this point the city doesn’t have any comment on the lawsuit. The complaint was only served a few days ago, so we are still in the process Continued next page
Democrat widening lead over Janet Nguyen in 34th
GARDEN GROVE council members voiced support Tuesday support for developing a contingecny report to keep the Garden Grove Fire Department if negotiations with the Orange County Fire Authority fail (GGFD photo).
Contingency plans for GG fire and medic services are backed By Jim Tortolano/OC Tribune On his final full night as a member of the Garden Grove City Council, typically quiet Councilman Kris Beard raised his voice, underlining the idea that the city had not quite made a final decision to replace the municipal fire department with the Orange County Fire Authority. Beard’s motion on Tuesday night to place the matter on the agenda of the Dec. 11 meeting for discussion was defeated on a 4-3 vote. Beard was supported by council colleagues Kim Nguyen and Thu-Ha Nguyen. He wanted to reopen the matter of the increased cost of making the switch. But all the council members who voted against the motion nevertheless endorsed the concept of the city creating a contingency plan to keep the GGFD in case negotiations with the OCFA broke down. “I think the numbers have been fudged,” said Beard, who was the sole dissenting vote at the Nov. 13 meeting at which the council originally voted to
Hearing is delayed on billboard
UPDATE: According to the Westminster City Clerk, the hearing on the billboard will likely be continued to the meeting of Feb. 27, 2019 due to illness on the part of the applicant. The council would have to officially vote for the delay. An appeal of the planning commission’s approval of a 64-foot high electronic billboard tops the agenda for Wednesday’s (tonight’s)
n GARDEN GROVE CITY COUNCIL begin talks with the countywide agency. He suggested that a third party mediate between the estimates given the city’s finance department – up to $10 million over 10 years – and those of the Garden Grove Firefighters Association – of about $275,000 over that same period. At issue was a “sensitivity analysis” submitted on Nov. 13 that projected labor costs over a decade, with variables of increases ranging from 1 to 5 percent annually. Beard fenced verbally with Councilman Phat Bui, who said, “We should not bring up something which we have already voted on.” Kim Nguyen’s chief concern was the issue of a contingency plan, which she envisioned as an alternate proposal for fire and paramedic services. When the motion was defeated, she said. “You just voted against having a contingency plan.” But other council members spoke in favor of a backup, even though it was not
Support for Democratic challenger Tom Umberg in Long Beach is pushing him into a widening lead in the race for the 34th State Senate District against Republican incumbent Janet Nguyen. According to the latest figures available Tuesday morning – supplied by the California Secretary of State – Umberg now leads 133,302 votes to 130,770 for Nguyen across the district, which is mostly Orange County but which also crosses in Los Angeles County. In Orange County alone, Nguyen has an edge of about 450 votes, but in Los Angeles County (Long Beach), Umberg is ahead by over 2,500 votes. There are still some ballots to be counted, but as mailed ballots are calcu-
TOM UMBERG Leading 34th District race lated, Umberg’s lead has grown. In years past, absentee ballots tended to skew Republican, but with present-day mail voting, late-counting results tend to lean Democratic. Umberg was elected to the state Assembly in 1990 and 2004, but lost bids for state insurance commissioner in 2000, state Senate in 2006, and Orange County SuperContinued next page
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A MAN FELL – or jumped – from the Garden Grove Freeway to Beach Boulevard on Tuesday (GGPD photo).
Drop from GG Freeway sends a man to hospital ARTISTS’ RENDERING of an electronic bill board planned for Springdale Street facing the Garden Grove Freeway.
meeting of the gie Rice has We s t m i n s t e r n WESTMINSTER appealed the CITY COUNCIL City Council. decision to Proposed for the council. a location at 13071 SpringElectra Media Inc. wants dale St. (facing the Garden to erect the advertising adGrove Freeway), the proj- jacent to the Westminster ect was approved by the Rinks ice hockey facility. planners on a 3-2 vote in The sign would be 64 feet May. Councilmember MarContinued next page
A man who fell – or jumped – from the Garden Grove Freeway to the street below Tuesday afternoon was taken to a trauma center in stable condition. According to Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department, the incident was reported shortly before 4 p.m. when a California Highway Patrol officer spotted the man hanging from the side of the overpass at Beach Boulevard. The officer blocked the freeway lanes, and shortly thereafter, the man released his grip and fell over 20 feet to the street. Garden Grove paramedics treated him for moderate injuries before he was transported to a hospital. No motorists were harmed or injured.
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