EDITORIAL

The conjecture, the guessing and the fighting will be over soon

enough.

Developers for the Koll Center announced this month that they are

ready to take their proposed expansion -- 250,000 square feet, including

a new 10-story office tower and two parking garages -- to Newport Beach’s

voters this fall as the first Greenlight test in the city.

Under Greenlight, the slow-growth law that voters approved last

December, developments that add more than 40,000 square feet, 100

peak-hour car trips or dwelling units over what’s allowed in the city’s

general plan must be approved by residents.

During that election, there was endless talk about what the law would

mean for Newport Beach. In the simplest terms, supporters saw it only as

restraining runaway development; opponents painted dire pictures of the

city losing businesses and the much-needed taxes they produce.

The latter scenario seemed to play out in March when the owner of

Toyota of Orange said he was scuttling plans to build a Lexus dealership

in Newport Beach in part because of the obstacles created by Greenlight.

The time and money involved were just too much for him to bear.

It was a financial loss for the city. But many residents said that

businesses such as a car dealership were exactly what they had in mind

when they voted for the measure.

The Lexus decision, however, was not a true test of Greenlight, which

will come only with a vote of the people. And the questions surrounding

the law are not the broad ones bandied about during last fall’s election.

They are specific:

Will residents honestly and carefully weigh the pros and cons of

individual developments, or will Greenlight become a blanket method to

stop all major development in Newport Beach?

Will the forced elections become money-laden battles for public

support, much as the Greenlight election was? Will money rule the day?

And perhaps most importantly of all, what will come after a project is

approved or denied?

Everyone in Newport Beach should be anxious to learn the answers.