Tightening the Measure S loopholes

Richard F. Taylor Jr. and Philip Arst

It is a matter of concern that actions by our city government have

created loopholes that could permit some avoidance of a city law that

requires voter approval of major developments and their traffic. This

law, enacted as Measure S by a vote of 63%, was designed to maintain

the high quality of living in Newport Beach. It did so by requiring

voter approval on major traffic-producing developments. The voters

were given the choice of whether we want to be a metropolitan city

like another Santa Monica or remain as an outstanding place to live.

The problem first appeared in the Marinapark hotel general plan

amendment. Hotel officials, who proposed the project to occupy some

of the last public beachfront on the peninsula, were told that it was

uncertain whether the city would require a Measure S election

approval. This was because the city had defined hotels in terms of

their number of rooms and omitted the size (square footage)

definition required by the Measure S law. If followed through, this

action could create a precedent for many future hotels to circumvent

the voter approval required by the Measure S law.

Another example of the city’s attempts to create loopholes in the

Measure S law is a recent general plan amendment for the Balboa

Theater. The City Council voted to define it in terms of its number

of theater seats, not its size in square feet. While the Balboa

Theater is small, this action would have set a precedent for

exempting still another class of possible future developments from

the Measure S law and its required voter scrutiny and approval.

The intent of the Measure S in requiring the measurement of a

projects square footage was to avoid exceptions based upon artful and

deceptive language and definitions such as that used by the city for

hotels and the Balboa Theater project. Under the city’s documented

wording to describe these types of projects, a 200-room hotel could

include a traffic-creating 50,000-square-foot convention center that

could evade a vote under the Measure S law.

Greenlight is a residents’ volunteer group formed to maintain the

quality of life in Newport Beach. Its emphasis is on limiting traffic

congestion caused by overdevelopment. This residents’ group has

determined the Marinapark Hotel and Balboa Theater projects to be

test cases as to whether the City Council intends to obey the Measure

S law.

When proof was in hand that the city had laid the groundwork to

possibly circumvent the Measure S law, a letter was sent to the city

pointing out its nonconformance with the law. The city’s response was

unsatisfactory, and Greenlight was forced to advise the city that it

was preparing a lawsuit to protect the rights of Newport Beach

voters.

Subsequently, Greenlight received a letter from the city attorney

that stated that he would recommend that the City Council approve the

two main conditions requested by Greenlight to protect residents’

interests. That meant -- provided the City Council agreed -- that the

city and this large residents’ group would be making good progress on

maintaining your legally required right to vote on major

developments.

However, the city attorney rejected our request for more election

information for the voters. He will also recommend adding a new

provision to the city’s administrative guidelines that we believe may

be a further violation of the existing law. One other hitch is that

because of legal considerations, Greenlight’s lawsuit must be filed

by early March. Hopefully, remaining differences will be resolved in

time to prevent this further action.

When the original Measure S initiative was passed by the Newport

Beach voters, it appeared that the issue of maintaining the quality

of life of the residents was solved. Unfortunately, as the old saying

goes, “money talks,” and the City Council’s attempts to evade the

will of the voters continues. And so must Greenlight’s efforts to

protect the will of the citizens of the city.

Greenlight is encouraged by the city’s offer to work with us. They

state that our potential lawsuit had nothing to do with their

decision. We accept that in good faith. With the help of every

concerned Newport Beach resident, the hard-won right to vote on the

level of development and traffic congestion in this premier city will

be preserved, and the City Council will adhere to the requirements of

existing and future laws.

* RICHARD F. TAYLOR JR. is a member of the Greenlight Steering

Committee. PHILIP ARST is the spokesman for the Greenlight Committee.