Home Ranch referendum drive fails

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Developers, politicians and interested Costa Mesans

collectively exhaled Friday afternoon when the city clerk’s office

announced that a referendum effort to overturn the Home Ranch project had

fallen short by 1,784 signatures.

The city clerk sent a letter to the leaders of Costa Mesa Citizens for

Responsible Growth on Friday afternoon informing them that the referendum

effort challenging the Home Ranch project had failed. City Clerk Mary

Elliott said 4,643 signatures were needed and only 2,859 were turned in.

Earlier reports said the final count would come from the Orange County

registrar’s office, but there was no need to even send the petition to

them because the numbers were so low, Elliott said.

“We counted assuming they were all valid, and even if they were, there

still aren’t enough. There is no point in going forward,” Elliott said.

Jay Humphrey, a member of the responsible growth group and a former

mayor, said the organization will proceed with the referendum process.

He’s just not sure how.

“There are a variety of issues stemming from a different understanding

of the amount of signatures that needed to be collected,” Humphrey said.

“We need to find some things out and go from there.”

Until Friday it was unclear whether opponents needed to gather 10% of

all Costa Mesa registered voters or 10% of Costa Mesans who voted in the

last gubernatorial election, Humphrey said. The difference between the

two is about 2,000 votes.

Humphrey, who was instrumental in the referendum process that

overturned an earlier Home Ranch incarnation, said the group was told by

the secretary of state’s office it only needed to collect signatures of

those who vote in the gubernatorial election.

On Dec. 8, those who opposed the Home Ranch project, which called to

develop 93 acres of former lima bean farm just northof the San Diego

Freeway, started a referendum campaign to overturn the City Council’s

approval of the project. After two weeks -- and 180 hours -- of

collecting signatures, members of Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible

Growth dropped off the completed petition packets at City Hall on

Wednesday.

And then waited to see if they had gathered enough to stall the

development.

Friday the question was answered.

Mayor Linda Dixon said she looked forward to seeing the project come

to fruition and added that she respected the opponents’ right to organize

a referendum.

“They thought it was the right thing to do and I admire their

tenacity,” Dixon said.

Paul Freeman, a spokesman for the Segerstroms, also gave kudos to

those who objected to the project, saying they played an instrumental

role in refining and improving the project.

“There is no question that their effort helped to reduce the scale of

the project and increase the community benefits,” Freeman said.

He also said he believed the Home Ranch project -- the third proposal

for the land in 19 years -- had a broad base of community support and

that was one of the reasons the referendum effort did not gain more

support.

Councilman Gary Monahan agreed, saying he was not surprised the effort

came up short.

“It’s a very good project. It would be very difficult to collect as

many signatures as were needed of people who are against it,” Monahan

said.

He also said he is ready to move ahead with the development, which

calls for a flagship Ikea furniture store, 192 homes and a mix of

industrial and commercial land use.

“I’m looking forward to Ikea,” he said.

But for those who are counting on ordering Swedish furniture catalogs,

Humphrey had some advice:

“It ain’t over yet.”