P O Box 1879,  Garden Grove,  CA 92842-1879

October 8, 2007
 
Dear Neighbor,
 
Your opinion and input are important in our city's decision making process. We urge and encourage you to attend the public hearings.  The City Council agendas are available on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, four days prior to the City Council meetings. You can obtain a copy of the agenda or submit your comments to our City Clerk, Ruth Smith, at City Hall, 11222 Acacia Parkway, Garden Grove, CA, 92842, or phone 741-5040. The city website at http://www.ci.garden-grove.ca.us/ is also an excellent source of information.  Decisions which affect our city and neighborhood need pubic scrutiny and participation; this is the democratic process. Your presence at the public hearings lets our City Council know we are watching and weighing their decisions.
 
This Tuesday, October 9th, scheduled Public Hearing at the City Council to decide on an amendment of the In-Lieu Park Fees paid by developers. Developers have the choice to either pay these fees or provide park space according to the General Plan and the Community Vision for Garden Grove.  The current fees are $5,000. per new home with the proposed increase to $5,500.  This modest 10 percent increase is still less than our neighboring cities fees at $9,000.  We currently have one acre of park space per 1,000 residents, which is far under the General Plan ratio of five acres to 1,000 residents. We support the goals of the General Plan and Community Vision to create more open space and parks in Garden Grove.
 
The scheduled Planning Commission Public Hearing is cancelled, Thursday, October 18th, for the proposed Super Wal-Mart, at the former Vons Pavilion on Chapman Avenue. The applicant has chosen to redesign the proposed retail and grocery store and initiate a new Environmental Impact Report.  The process could take several months or more to reapply, submit new plans and reports and review by city staff before any future public hearings could be scheduled.
 
The proposed change from our current General Law City to a Charter City (also referred to as a "new Constitution") for our city has been tabled for now with a future date uncertain. Several residents and the majority of our Board requested better education and inclusion of the public in the creation of a charter for our city as well as specific reasons, definitions, and benefits to our residents. In order to achieve improved public input, the majority of our City Council agreed to form a Citizens Committee in the future if a city charter is to be created.
 
Regarding the Garden Grove Main Street Downtown Business Association legal challenge to the proposed 100 condominium development in the west parking lot; the judge requested additional information and responses before making his final decision by the judge in late October. Contact Scott Weimer 534-0992 for more news http://www.savehistoricmainstreet.com
 
Visit our website http://www.cggna.org for more information on the issues as well as print a copy of our membership form for your convenience.
 
We would be honored if you shared this newsletter with your friends and family.
 
Thoughtfully,
Robin Marcario, Chair   534-1428

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