First Greenlight campaign not too costly

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- The Greenlight Committee collected $42,634 in

donations in 2001, while the opposing Greenlight Implementation Committee

had $60,000 in receipts, all of it from the Koll Center Newport.

The implementation committee is the political entity that supported

developer Tim Strader’s bid to add 250,000 square feet to the existing

Koll Center near John Wayne Airport. Because the project’s scope

significantly exceeds limitations of the city’s general plan, the city’s

Greenlight law requires the question be put to a vote of the people.

In November, voters sided with the “No on G” stance of the Greenlight

Committee, defeating Strader’s project.

Thursday was the deadline for both sides to report the contributions

they received last year to wage their respective campaigns.

Phil Arst, spokesman for the slow-growth Greenlight Committee behind

the city’s Greenlight law, said his group’s reliance on small donations

from individuals affirms its cause.

“It’s a measure of the degree of support we have in the community,”

Arst said. “Greenlight has got wide grass-roots support.”

The Koll Center was the sole donor to the opposing campaign as of the

Nov. 3 reporting deadline.

Arst said that more than $5,000 of his group’s receipts were used to

pay off debts from the November 2000 campaign and, after spending more

than $25,000 on the Measure G fight, about $9,000 remains in its

accounts. The money, he said, will be used for putting out a Greenlight

newsletter, retaining legal counsel to fight some development efforts and

otherwise furthering Greenlight’s goals.

Strader was out of town Friday afternoon and could not be reached for

comment.