Residocracy.org founder Armen Melkonians says he and his backers will deliver 13,440 signatures to Santa Monica City Hall this morning at 11 am in order to veto the approval of the Hines development project.
Four of the seven City Council Members voted to approve the 765,095 square foot mixed-use development at 1681 26th Street on Feb. 4, 2013.
Melkonians said its referendum petition needed at least 6,100 signatures – 10 percent of the registered voters in Santa Monica – as the first step to stop this project from moving forward.
Melkonians said there was a 30-day window from the passing of the second reading on Feb. 11 of the ordinance to collect the required signatures.
Melkonians said in less than 30 days later, more than 13,000 registered Santa Monica voters signed the referendum petition to veto this approval.
“This is direct democracy in action,” Melkonians said. “This is the unified voice of Santa Monica residents speaking loudly and clearly. This is the power of Residocracy and our hammer of strength.”
He said more than 350 Residocracy volunteers spent time circulating petitions.
He said a celebration party would be announced after the official verification process is completed by the L.A. County Registrar’s Office within the next two weeks.
See Friday’s edition of The Mirror for full coverage.