What Garden Grove is about to decide

The Garden Grove City Council convenes Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 5:30 PM in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Avenue, for a closed session on two legal matters; the regular meeting follows at 6:30 PM in the same room. These are pending decisions from the posted agenda — nothing below has been decided yet. Every item links to the official record.

Source: closed session agenda (PDF) · regular meeting agenda (PDF) · Meeting pages: regular, closed session · Next regular meeting: October 13, 2026, 5:30 p.m.

🗳️ The Nickelodeon Hotel referendum

• Certifying the signatures: a resolution accepting the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ certification of the referendum petition against Ordinance No. 2977, which, the staff report says, “reapproved PUD-141-01(A) for the Site B2 Project for a Nickelodeon Hotel resort project.” Per the report, the petition needed at least 9,674 valid signatures (10% of 96,746 registered voters); the Registrar verified 13,738 of the 14,775 signatures submitted, “of which 9,700 were found to be valid.” Verification cost $46,709.20; the report says the developer will reimburse 50%, or $23,354.60, and asks for a General Fund appropriation of $46,709.20. Item 11
• Repeal it or put it on the ballot: “Discussion and consideration of possible action to repeal Ordinance No. 2977, or submit the Ordinance to the voters pursuant to Elections Code sections 9237 and 9241.” The staff report describes the project as “a 500 guest-room, five-star, luxury resort hotel with ancillary amenities” on mostly vacant property at Twintree Lane and Harbor Boulevard, first approved in 2022, challenged under CEQA by Marlene Perez, Maria Guadalupe Ortiz and Unite Here Local 11 (VietRise joined later), and reapproved by the council in June 2026 after a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report required by the settlement. Because the petition qualified, the ordinance’s effective date is suspended and the council must reconsider it. Item 20
• What staff recommends: “Given the importance of the Nickelodeon Hotel Project for the long-term development, employment and tax base of the City, staff recommends that the City Council call a special election for June 8, 2027.” The report estimates the election at “approximately $1,000,000” and asks for an additional General Fund appropriation in that amount. The council has not acted; repeal is the other option the agenda lists. (The staff report prints the ordinance number as both 2977 and 2997; the agenda uses 2977.) Item 20

⚠️ The Western Avenue chemical tanks

• Emergency extended to November 22: a resolution extending the local emergency “concerning the expected failure of chemical tanks on property located 12122 Western Avenue” for another 60 days. The staff report recounts that on May 22, 2026 one of three tanks “with approximately 34,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate showed evidence of failure,” and that the Orange County Fire Authority’s evacuation area was expanded to cover “approximately 40,000 residents” across Garden Grove, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Seal Beach and Westminster. It says the expected failure “has been abated,” two of the three tanks were completely drained, “the failed tank continues in its red-tag condition,” and whether the tanks will be removed has not been determined. The total cost of the response “is still being reviewed.” Item 12
• A separate Hazardous Materials Incident Update is listed under presentations; the agenda does not describe it further. Item 4

🏨 Hotel worker initiative: the economic report

• Oxford Economics presentation and report: a presentation “on the Potential Fiscal and Economic Impacts of a proposed Hotel Worker Benefits and Protection Initiative Ordinance,” and a consent item to receive and file the report. According to the staff report, the Garden Grove Tourism Promotion Corporation retained Oxford Economics; the proposed initiative “must obtain the required number of valid signatures from registered voters before it may qualify for placement on the ballot”; and it is separate from Ordinance No. 2980, the city’s own hotel worker safety ordinance adopted September 8 and scheduled to become operative January 1, 2027. Receiving the report has “no direct fiscal impact.” Items 3, 17

📜 Also on consent

• A resolution amending the city’s Conflict of Interest Code (designated positions and disclosure categories). Item 10
• A resolution “implementing the terms and conditions of employment for Police Recruits.” The agenda states no figures. Item 14
• Exoneration of the improvement bonds for Tract Map No. 19336 at 5802 Santa Catalina Avenue. Item 13
• Acceptance of the Woodbury Road (Bowen Street to Taft Street) water improvements, Project No. CP1378000, as complete. Item 16
• Overnight travel for one staff member to Emergency Operations Center action-planning training in Santa Barbara, September 29–30 (“Cost: $326”). Item 15
• Five proclamations — the H. Louis Lake Senior Center’s 50th anniversary, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Fire Prevention Week (October 4–10), and October 12, 2026 as both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day — and warrants to receive and file. Items 5–9, 18

📣 Public hearing, council matters and closed session

• CDBG year-end report: a public hearing on acceptance of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. Item 19
• Charter City committee: “Discussion regarding the formation of a Charter City committee as requested by Mayor Pro Tem Brietigam.” No recommended action is listed. Item 21
• Presentations: Community Spotlights for the H. Louis Lake Senior Center’s 50th anniversary and for Orange County Fire Authority Captain Greg Williams and crew “for delivering a baby in a moving ambulance.” Items 1–2
• Closed session, 5:30 PM: two anticipated-litigation conferences — one “potential case relating to facts and circumstances not yet known to a potential plaintiff” under Government Code 54956.9(d)(2), and one potential case the city may initiate under 54956.9(d)(4). Closed session Items 2.a–2.b

Council Brief summaries are produced from official public records by our automated newsroom and reviewed before publication. Items are described as posted; the council may amend, continue, or remove items at the meeting. Spot an error? hello@councilbrief.com — we publish corrections.