Three members of Santa Ana’s city council are prepared to change their votes on the approval of an apartment complex planned for development opposite the Discovery Cube.
City voters could be given a chance to decide on the project, although a lawsuit is threatening to keep that from happening. In the face of mounting resistance, the developer has mentioned that he is willing to sell off part of the land so that it can be used as an open space or a park. Six acres of the land is already in the process of being sold to the Discovery Cube to be used as parking.
Ryan Ogulnick, the developer, also said:
“We’re willing to work with the city for a plan that city officials favor and the community favors. We want to be in communities where people want us, where city officials are imploring us to move forward.”
An office complex currently sits on the plot and the plan is to tear it down and put up 256 apartments. The lawsuit to keep the vote from going public was filed by Ogulnick. He and his legal team feel that the pro-referendum group was unable to meet an important deadline, and this renders the claim invalid. Brochure printing can be used to let the public know about the status of an ongoing development like this.
The council had already voted to let the matter go to a public citywide vote, but several councilmembers have already made it clear that they wish to change their votes, citing concerns that the project will not be able to proceed as planned.
