GARDEN GROVE

Today voters in Garden Grove will consider Measure H, an ordinance that would raise the city’s tax on hotel and motel rooms from 10% to 13%. The measure was placed on the ballot in December by the City Council, which hopes to capitalize on the Disney expansion in Anaheim and the six new hotels in various stages of development at Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue.

If approved, it would make Garden Grove’s the second-highest hotel tax rate in Orange County, behind Anaheim’s 15%. Former Garden Grove Councilman “Taxfighter” Bob Dinsen opposes the measure, saying that the law would hurt the city’s economy, sending tourists to hotels in cities with lower tax rates. City Councilman Mark Leyes disagrees, saying the measure has the support of the major hotel developers and has a special provision to allow the council to make adjustments for smaller motel operators who will not benefit from the Disney expansion.