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Cheryl King, spokeswoman for Friends of the Downtown, the citizens group fighting the construction of a multi-level parking garage at Second and Wall streets, shows some of the referendum petitions gathered thus far. Karl Ory, former Chico mayor and member of the group, said he expected to have more than 5,000 signatures turned in to the city clerk by the deadline, which was June 16. A total of 3,845 valid signatures from registered voters who live in the city is required. If successful, the referendum would force the City Council to either reverse its vote to extend the hours of parking meter enforcement or else put the matter on the ballot, possibly in November. The extension in meter enforcement to evenings and all day Saturday was designed to help pay for the $15 million to $18 million structure. “I’m proud of this effort, and it is a significant number of signatures,” Ory said. “I see a majority of the council recognizing there really is concern among the citizens for the need to revisit this on a basic level. This presents an opportunity for people to get together for a consensus plan.” It’s not the legal aspects of the referendum that is important here, Ory said, “but rather the dramatic display of community interest we’ve seen.”