Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Formation of an Ad Hoc Committee to Review and Select a Qualified Consultant for the Design and Development of the Little Saigon Archway.
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From: Christine Cordon, City Manager
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Adolfo Ozaeta, Assistant City Manager
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
Consider the creation of an ad hoc committee consisting of two council members for the review and selection of a qualified consultant for the design and development of the Little Saigon Archway, and provide direction on selection of ad hoc committee members.
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BACKGROUND
While Little Saigon is generally associated with the area of Bolsa Avenue, between Magnolia Street and Brookhurst Street, it is not clearly identified as a tourist, cultural, or business district. Little Saigon has also expanded into surrounding cities. The desire to highlight Little Saigon as a cultural, business, and tourist district has always been in the forefront of discussions related to economic development and enhancement. The topic brought up most in these discussions is the lack of an archway or gateway to highlight Little Saigon’s location, similar to archways seen in La Mesa, El Cajon, San Diego’s Gaslamp District, San Diego’s Little Italy, Chinatowns throughout the nation, and historic districts nationwide.
Since 2023, the City of Westminster has been working with the County of Orange to advance an archway project. In accordance with state law, the design-build selection process was initiated and included a Request for Qualification process, followed by a Request for Proposal process. The effort was abruptly halted by the County of Orange in November 2023 due to concerns from former District 1 Supervisor Andrew Do’s office regarding the cost of the design, which was grossly underestimated.
On June 25, 2025, at the request of Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen, City Council authorized staff to hire a consultant and reinitiate the design-build selection process and piggyback on existing work conducted by City staff during the 2023 efforts. This includes obtaining a more accurate cost estimate, assessing potential locations along Bolsa Avenue that could support an archway, and creating a new archway concept.
On July 24, 2025, the City of Westminster released a Request for Qualifications inviting qualified and experienced design consultants to submit a Statement of Qualifications for the design and development of a City archway feature in the Little Saigon area. This high-profile gateway will serve as a symbolic and physical entrance to the Little Saigon area and will celebrate the cultural identity, community pride, and historical importance of the Vietnamese-American community in Westminster and the surrounding region.
On August 18, 2025, the City of Westminster received five (5) Statements of Qualifications from interested consultants. While City staff is fully committed to vetting and selecting consultants, contractors, and vendors, the current effort is unique because the selection of the best artistic and cultural components is subjective.
Staff recommends the City Council consider the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee of two council members to review the aforementioned Statements of Qualifications submittals and make a recommendation to the City Council for the selection of a qualified consultant for the design and development of an archway concept in the Little Saigon area. Once the consultant is selected by the Ad Hoc Committee, staff will oversee all technical and administrative efforts related to the development of the archway conceptual design. The process will include several opportunities for the City Council to provide input during the development of the archway concept prior to final approval.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact in considering an Ad Hoc Committee.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
The Mayor and City Council should consider an ad hoc committee consisting of two city council members. This ad hoc committee is advisory and will make a recommendation on the selection of a qualified consultant to the rest of the City Council at a future meeting.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager