save westminster SMALL BUSINESSES
PLEASE HELP SAVE THE LUONG FAMILY BUSINESS
UPDATES
5/1/23
Thank you all for writing to your local reps.
The bill has passed the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee by a vote of 22 to 0. It still has a way to go, but there is progress.
This bill when passed and signed by the governor will give the city an opportunity to request to the state an extension of our state permit starting Jan 1, 2024. This will be a bandaid until the 405 freeway widening project is complete, which is Caltrans' reasoning for not issuing me a permit to extend the use of business in the first place.
More info on the bill here.
4/26/23
Thank you for being you. We are so grateful that you took the time to email, call, pray, tell a friend, spread the good word and/or show up at the council meeting in support of saving our family business.
The fight continues...
Please contact your local Assemblyman and Senator and ask them to support AB1175, that will give us the opportunity to extend our state permit.
It goes to vote very soon as the bill works its way to the Governor's desk for signatures, so please act now.
You can easily find your local rep at this link here.
Click on their name(s) and it will take you to their individual website. Hit the "Contact Me" link and ask them to "support AB1175".
Sample message to send:
"Please support AB1175. Without approval small business owners (some minority owned) operating signs like those described in the bill will be stopped from earning an honest living. Also, without approval of AB1175 there will be less advertising opportunities, which drives supply down, while demand continues to rise. That inevitably will dramatically increase the price of advertising, thereby, pricing out small business owners seeking to advertise"
Thank you for your continued support and stay tuned for more updates as they develop.
1/23/23
Video of the CBS LA coverage with Kristine Lazar that aired this morning at 8:34am. To watch the replay click the video below.
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1/22/23
Watch Emmy Award winning investigative CBS LA news reporter Kristine Lazar on 1/23/23, Monday, around 1040am on KCAL 9 News for her report on the Luong Family Business. To watch it live click HERE.
1/18/23
Great article by Brandon Pho the Voice of OC regarding our efforts to save our small family business. To read the article click HERE.
BACKGROUND
Is it regular, City of Westminster policy for them to deny a business permit extension request so they can steal the lease from under a minority-owned and operated, family small business to replace it with a big corporation that will pay the City more money?
Assistant City Manager, Adolfo Ozaeta, suggesting removing our family's billboard business to place their own to make more money for the City from the June 8th, 2022 City Council Meeting.
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We are trying to Save the Luong Family Billboard Business that supports our family of four. But more importantly we are advocating for all small business, because your business could be next.
I am a Vietnamese American, raised and educated in Orange County and come from a family that fled Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. My wife is an immigrant from Korea. We are a family of hard-working small business owners; starting with my grandmother, a Westminster resident who used to be a real estate agent for a local brokerage; to my parents who are still operating their own individual small businesses in the area. My wife’s parents were also small business owners in the area, before moving back to Korea, recently, claiming that owning a small business in California became increasing difficult as the years went by. When our parents immigrated to the USA decades ago they had nothing and worked so hard to provide us with shelter and the opportunity to gain a formal education.
My family and I live and work in Orange County. My wife is an ER nurse, as well the owner/operator of a photography business. We have 2 school aged children. We are trying to do for our kids what our parents did for us, that is to provide the best opportunity possible for a great education and to pursue a prosperous life.
Aside from my advertising business I am a volunteer martial arts instructor teaching people of all ages and abilities to defend themselves from bullies and violent criminals, CERT (community emergency response team) volunteer filing and delivering sand bags to the homes of the elderly during the recent storms, and volunteer member of a cosplay group that attends children’s hospitals, shelters and orphanages.
The City said they want to get into the billboard business. That’s why they won’t extend our permit. And to this day, they have refused to give us an opportunity to plead our case. Their plan is to allow billboards on City-owned property ONLY thereby creating a monopoly for themselves and whichever billboard conglomerate pays the city the most. Another story of big business and government pushing out a minority-owned small business.
The city recently sent out an RFP (request for proposal) for billboard companies to place a digital billboard on a city-owned parcel directly across from ours.
We have met all the requirements to have our permit extended since it was built in 2011 and spent tens of thousands of dollars in the process. Despite our countless attempts to reach out to the city for a resolution we are not receiving the proper amount of attention.
Mayor-council and staff have been aware for a while our willingness to convert the sign to digital and revenue share with the city. In fact, in 2018 we submitted a city application for just that, however, we are still waiting for Caltrans to issue their permit. We are asking the City to request an extension of our permit from Caltrans pursuant to California Business Professions Code 5273(b) in the meantime.
Our billboard costs the city nothing and provides for our local family. It also makes the city money through permit costs, tax revenue, revenue share and drives more revenue to the city by advertising local business. We are willing to increase revenue share with the city. Unfortunately, that is not enough.
We just want to Save the Luong Family Billboard Business and be treated fairly. Please ask the City to extend the Luong Family Billboard Business permit pursuant to California Business and Professions Code 5273(b).
Here’s the full length video of last week’s Westminster City Council Meeting on 1/11/23. and a big Thank you to the sea of supporters that showed up that day in person and virtually, wearing the "save the Luong Family Business" T-shirts and speaking in support of our small business.
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Next council meeting is on:
wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 7.pm.
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Countdown finished!
Please attend this meeting, fill out a form for oral communicaiton and state this:
"Please extend the Luong Family Billboard Business permit, located at 6491 Maple Ave, pursuant to CA BPC 5273(b)"
8200 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683 VIRTUAL COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS if you can't attend in person: https://www.westminster-ca.gov/departments/city-clerk/virtual-meetings
Get Involved
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A quick email to the Mayor and Council could save our livelihood.
Email the city in one click below:
Or email EACH of them at:
Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen
ccnguyen@westminster-ca.gov
Vice Mayor Namquan Nguyen
nnguyen@westminster-ca.gov
Councilmember Carlos Manzo
CManzo@Westminster-CA.gov
Councilmember Kimberly Ho
kho@westminster-ca.gov
Councilmember Amy West
aphanwest@westminster-ca.gov
And a quick phone call would be a big help too.
Please call 714-548-3178 on 5 separate occasions:
Once for the mayor
Once for each council member
Any day from Monday through Thursday Anytime between 7:30am-5:30pm
And leave them this message:
"Dear Mayor Nguyen and Members of the City Council:
My name is _________. I (state your affiliation with Westminter, for example live/work/visit/shop/own etc) in the city of Westminter.
The decision by staff to put the Luong Family billboard at 6491 Maple Ave out of business is disheartening and I think sets a bad precedent for our community. They have been a part of the community since 2011.
If you shut down the Luong family business, what small business will be next?
I encourage you to find an amicable solution that doesn’t push a good small business out of town. Please stand up for what is right and allow the Luong family billboard business to continue to operate.
Please extend the permit for the Luong family billboard business and if you must please place it on the agenda ASAP so the Luong family can plead their case and our representatives can vote on it.
Please Save the Luong Family Business by extending their permit pursuant to Calfiornia Business and Professions Code 5273(b).
Sincerely,
_________ ”