Greenlight Initiative could be changed

June Casagrande

The debate over whether to change guidelines of the Greenlight

Initiative cut to the very heart of the measure and the movement on

Tuesday as council members and Greenlight leaders squared off on

big-picture issues as well as the fine print.

City Atty. Bob Burnham initiated Tuesday’s study session by

pointing out some aspects of the Measure S guidelines that the

council might want to clarify or change. At the heart of the talks

was the question of how to measure hotels’ effect on the community.

Current guidelines measure general plan amendments for hotels by

the number of rooms in the proposed hotel.

Greenlight leaders want the language to include the square footage

of hotels as well, because it is one of the three measures that can

trigger Greenlight elections.

“This feels like deja vu,” Councilman Steve Bromberg said. “We

discussed all this three years ago and now we’re revisiting it

again.”

Greenlight spokesman Phil Arst and Greenlight founder Allan Beek

both chalked it up to experience.

“We amateurs have now realized we missed something,” Arst said,

explaining that he wished he would have pushed for the square-footage

rule on hotels three years ago.

Clear battle lines were drawn between supporters and opponents of

the measure that called into question the very intent of Greenlight.

Council members, including Mayor Tod Ridgeway, said that the message

of the Greenlight people three years earlier had been solely about

traffic. But Beek and others said that giving residents control of

neighborhood character was also a goal of the Greenlight Initiative.

Burnham’s carefully worded staff report suggested that council

members might want to agree on the hotel issue -- adding square

footage in the general plan amendment language. Though an outspoken

Greenlight opponent, Ridgeway asked for the matter to be brought back

for a vote at a regular council meeting and indicated he would

support it.

“I’m worried that if we don’t, a good project could get held up

for years because you sued over this,” Ridgeway said. “If there’s a

way for me to stop a lawsuit on a good project before it happens,

that’s what I want to do.”

Burnham also suggested that the council clarify what it means when

they vote on a general plan amendment that will then go to a

Greenlight vote. Such a vote, Burnham said, might mean only that the

council approves sending the matter to voters and not that the

council has said yea or nay on a specific general plan amendment or

project. This idea proved less popular.

“I’m prepared to sit here and vote and let everybody know how I

feel,” Ridgeway said.

These details could be squared away in a few months or less, but

Tuesday’s talks made it clear that the bigger battle between

opponents and supporters of Greenlight is likely to continue.

“The only way to see it now is flat-out anti-growth,” Bromberg

said.

Councilman John Heffernan, one of only two sworn Greenlight

devotees on the council, had a different perspective: “Greenlight is

alive and well.”

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.