EDITORIAL

The train has rolled into town.

The question now: Is everyone on board?

The slow-growth Greenlight Initiative, officially known as Measure S,

has passed in a landslide victory with 63% of the votes.

It crushed its competition, Measure T, which was rejected by 65% of

Newport Beach’s voters.

In the wake of the wreckage, Measure T supporters should rise above

the rubble and try to work with Greenlight.

Clarence Turner and Tom Edwards, the coauthors of Measure T, have

graciously written a statement commending Measure S proponents, their

hard-fought campaign and their victory.

And fortunately, it appears a legal challenge to Greenlight is

unlikely -- an action that would only divide the community even further.

We believe it is imperative that everyone involved move past the bad

feelings that have been stirred up. The time to do that is now.

In that spirit, the Daily Pilot would like to bring both sides to the

table.

We are inviting the proponents of both sides to sit down, have lunch

and talk. Invitations with the specifics will soon be sent to individuals

representing Measures S and T. We’ll pick up the tab.

Here are some things we’d like to see worked out:

* The council needs to mend the division in the city. The campaigns of

the dueling measures were wrought with passion, anger and even fear.

Those emotions will die down, and a logical approach should take their

place.

* City leaders must figure out how Greenlight will be put into place.

* Find a way that both residents and developers can work together to

make the community one in which everyone is proud to live, work and play.

* Above all, find a way to keep the lines of communication between the

public and government open.

As we’ve said before, we don’t believe Greenlight is the best solution

to the threats of too much traffic and overdevelopment. It is not easy to

understand the language of the law; it is not easy to predict how

far-reaching it will be.

It is easy to understand why many residents think such a drastic

measure was necessary. There has been growing concern about losing the

quality of life in Newport Beach. There has been growing frustration

about an unresponsive City Council that didn’t seem to care about the

community’s concerns.

And now not only is it the law of the land, but three new council

members -- one a Greenlight supporter -- have been elected.

It seems sensible that the sitting council members, the business and

development communities take notice and begin to listen.

We certainly have.