Backers of Abandoned Little Saigon Bridge Face $250,000 Tax

A developer may have abandoned plans to build a pedestrian bridge in Little Saigon, city officials said, but there are still bills to be paid for the project.

The City Council voted Tuesday night to levy a $250,000 tax on the group of property owners who had proposed to build a $3-million bridge spanning Bolsa Avenue.

That amount will cover the city’s cost of establishing a special tax assessment district, as well as related legal, financial and engineering fees, officials said.

If the bridge had been built, those fees would have been repaid by a bond issue. Under the plan, the city would have issued bonds to be repaid by a group of six property owners in the tax district over a 30-year period.

The property owners, however, have the option of paying the city the $250,000 by next month if they do not wish to be taxed, city officials said.

Frank Jao, a real estate developer who was heading the bridge-building team, dropped the project last week in response to complaints that a proposed design did not accurately reflect Vietnamese culture.

The 500-foot-long, 30-foot-wide bridge would have been a major landmark in Little Saigon, connecting the Asian Garden mall and the Asian Village Mall.

Jao was not available for comment Wednesday.