SAN JOSE -- San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Madison Nguyen Monday announced they are abandoning their support for calling a proposed Vietnamese business district in the city the "Saigon Business District" and now support having city voters decide the issue in November.

Late last year the San Jose City Council approved designating a stretch of Story Road between U.S. Highway 101 and Senter Road as the "Saigon Business District" in recognition for the large number of Vietnamese businesses in the area and the area's central roll in the city's Vietnamese community.

However, controversy almost immediately erupted after a significant and vocal group in the city's Vietnamese community called for the business district to be named, "Little Saigon." The name has serious political and historical implications in the Vietnamese community, as Saigon was the capital of non-communist South Vietnam until the 1975 conquest and unification of the country by the communist North Vietnam.

Both Reed and Nguyen supported the Saigon Business District name. Supporters of the "Little Saigon" have since vowed to recall Nguyen and have staged several protests.

"By doing this, hopefully, we will be able to reach a city-wide consensus that will promote a sense on unanimity and finality on this issue," Reed and Nguyen said in a memo released Monday.

The pair discussed their changes of positions and the proposed ballot measure at a 3 p.m. news conference at San Jose City Hall.