City considers special ballot for Greenlight

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council will hold a last-minute special meeting

Friday to decide whether to place the so-called Greenlight initiative on

the same special election ballot as the Newport-Mesa school district’s

bond measure in June.

Mayor John Noyes on Saturday received a letter from Greenlight -- the

group that drafted the slow-growth measure -- proposing that its

initiative appear on the June ballot instead of the November presidential

election ballot.

The decision to hold the last-minute meeting was the result of much

scrambling by city officials, who would have to make the decision by

Friday to meet the 88-day requirement for placing measures on the ballot.

“I think it’s a positive step that they’re meeting,” said Greenlight

spokesman Phil Arst.

The Greenlight group made the same request earlier this year, but it was

shot down by council members, who said that a special election would be

too costly and typically have smaller voter turnout.

At the time, the Greenlight group countered that a fall election might be

too late for residents to vote on several important developments

currently going through the planning process, including the proposed

470-room resort at Newport Dunes.

The Protect From Traffic and Density Initiative proposes to let residents

vote on major developments that require a major general plan amendment.

“Major” is defined as creating more than 100 peak-hour car trips, more

than 100 homes or more than 40,000 square feet of floor area over what

the city’s general plan allows.

Because the measure threatens to dramatically change the city planning

process by giving residents the final say -- even after a development has

gone through the Planning Commission and City Council -- it has stirred

up the emotions of city leaders and residents.

And it could get mixed into the politics of the school bond issue if both

campaigns become heated at the same time, officials said.

The district is asking residents to pass a $110-million bond to repair

deteriorating schools. And by having an early election, district

officials are hoping to have all the necessary paperwork to approach the

state to apply for $53 million in matching funds.

So while Greenlight’s proposal to place the initiative on the special

ballot removes concerns about cost, it opens a new can of worms for City

Council members -- and, undoubtedly, school officials.

District officials would not comment on the matter, saying that they

needed more time to study the issue. While they had previously told Noyes

they were opposed to having the slow-growth measure appear on the special

ballot, they later changed their position.

“John [Noyes] mentioned it to me,” said board member Serene Stokes. “At

this point, I need a lot more information. I’m going to talk to the

superintendent and board members on Friday morning.”

There also could be potential legal conflicts involved in combining a

school bond vote with a municipal issue, said City Manager Homer Bludau.

“The city attorney said the elections code dealing with this issue is

both conflicting and confusing,” Bludau said, adding that the city will

continue to investigate the matter before the special meeting, which has

been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.