Greenlight’s first test to arrive today

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Today, voters will get the final word in a yearlong

fight over the $50-million Koll Center expansion. But Measure G will

measure more than the future of the 250,000-square-foot office complex

proposed for the site at Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard.

Today’s vote is the city’s first Greenlight-mandated special election.

As such, it will also decide how that slow-growth initiative will guide

development in the future.

“Turnout is essential; every vote counts,” said Phil Arst of the

Greenlight Committee, a major opponent of the project. His group

advocates a “no” vote on Measure G.

He said the main reason people should oppose the project is because of

the traffic it will bring. Though the figures are debated, Measure G

opponents cite a report that shows the project will add about 2,700 car

trips a day.

“We need to be vigilant to protect ourselves against ever-increasing

congestion,” Arst said.

Koll Center expansion supporters are quick to point out that not all

these car trips will take place on Newport Beach streets or during peak

hours. They estimate that only 270 car trips will actually be added to

Newport Beach streets and that the project is far away from most of the

city’s residential areas.

“It’s a good project for the city. It’s in the right place and

deserves our support,” said Tim Strader, president of Koll Center

developer Starpointe Ventures.

He said voters should keep in mind that the city Planning Commission

and City Council approved the project after lengthy hearings.

Voters last year approved the Greenlight Initiative, which requires

that a special election be held to decide on projects that add more than

40,000 square feet of building space, 100 peak-hour car trips or 100

homes above what the city’s general plan allows. The initiative stopped

developers’ long-standing plan to expand its existing office complex with

a 10-story office tower and added parking facilities.

In the year since voters approved Greenlight, the name itself has

become something to fight over. Supporters of the Koll Center expansion

who advocate a “yes” vote on Measure G named themselves the Greenlight

Implementation Committee. Project opponents who make up the Greenlight

Committee charged that this was a deliberate tactic to confuse voters who

supported the Greenlight Initiative’s goals of stopping large projects

such as Koll.

“I think people should make sure they understand the confusion in

names, and know which side is which when they cast their vote,” Arst

said.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .

FYI

To find a polling place or for general information about today’s

special election, call (714) 796-8322 or (714) 567-7600, or visit o7

https://www.oc.ca.gov/election/Polling/polling.htmf7 .