Petitions containing 1,095 signatures were turned over to city officials Monday night in an apparently successful drive to give residents the right to vote on major commercial developments proposed for the city.
Chuck Newton, spokesman for the unnamed citizens group that backed the drive, said that 51 petition circulators gathered the signatures in three weeks, accumulating what is believed to be a record number of signatures in the 5,200-resident community.
If about 600 of the signatures are validated, Del Mar City Council members will be required to pass an ordinance putting all major downtown commercial development proposals to a public vote, or to place the initiative issue on the ballot for voter approval at a special election.
The main targets of the petition drive are proposals to build a shopping center, hotel and offices on the site of the former Del Mar Hotel and a planned redevelopment of Del Mar Plaza. Both are at 15th Street and Camino Del Mar.
