I just got an email from our friends at S.O.A.R(Save Our Anaheim Resort). I will share it with you. Notice the date of the next city council meeting. Irony:
Election officials confirmed today that a referendum signed by 21,000 Anaheim citizens to protect the original tourist-serving vision of the Anaheim Resort District has qualified for placement on a ballot. The referendum now goes before the Anaheim City Council, which has the option to repeal its earlier decision or place the issue on an upcoming ballot. Save Our Anaheim Resort Area (SOAR), a coalition of community, business and labor leaders, strongly urges the City Council to reverse its earlier decision.
“Anaheim voters have sent a clear message to the City Council that it should repeal its vote and protect the original vision for the Resort District,” said Todd Ament, co-chairman of SOAR and president and CEO of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. “The Council should listen to the voters and spare taxpayers the expense and time of an election by repealing this decision.”
“Our members support SOAR’s efforts to protect the Anaheim Resort District and the jobs within its boundaries,” said Jim Adams, business representative for the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council, representing more than 100,000 union workers, staff and officers in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “Our members collected signatures and spoke with voters. The Council should listen to the voters and repeal its vote on SunCal.”
The referendum targets a 3-2 City Council decision on April 25 that allows a high-density residential development in the Resort District. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 17.
“As the largest single source of tax revenue that helps fund vital City services, the Resort District generates ten times more hotel visitor tax than any other city in Orange County. It should be protected,” said Larry Slagle, co-chairman of SOAR and president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau.
SOAR collected more than 21,000 signatures in less than 30 days and turned them into the Anaheim City Clerk on May 21 for verification. More than 100 volunteers participated in the signature gathering effort, walking neighborhoods and staffing tables at community events.