Colorful growth group to seek fees

Deirdre Newman

Through a lawsuit, the Greenlight slow-growth group got the city to

change guidelines that trigger a Greenlight vote, which requires

public approval on some projects.

And now it wants the city to pay for its attorneys fees, claiming

the lawsuit was necessary to make the city fix illegal exemptions

from a Greenlight vote, Greenlight spokesman Phil Arst said.

The vote is required on development proposals that exceed what is

allowed in the general plan by 40,000 square feet.

Since the two sides negotiated a settlement outside of court that

resulted in the changes, a judge never had a chance to consider

Greenlight’s request. But Greenlight is filing a formal request in

September, and there will be a court hearing in October on the fees.

The city does not believe it should have to pay for the fees,

acting City Atty. Robin Clauson said.

Greenlight filed its lawsuit in March. At the crux of the suit was

a disagreement about how the Greenlight law -- approved in 2000 --

judges construction or expansion of hotels.

Before the council changed the guidelines in June, the basis for

whether a Greenlight vote was triggered for a proposed hotel

development was the number of rooms. Hotels were an exception -- as

they long have been in matters of city planning -- because the city

decided the number of rooms was a better measure of how many people

would walk through a hotel’s doors than size alone.

Greenlight leaders disagreed.

Arst argued differently in March, pointing out that a small hotel

with few enough rooms -- 200 or so -- still could include a large

convention center or several conference rooms that would ratchet up

traffic significantly but avoid triggering a Greenlight vote.

The Greenlight committee felt forced into the lawsuit by delays in

promised negotiations with the city over the issue and by a possible

statute of limitations -- depending on the interpretation of the law

-- on its ability to go to court, Arst said in March.

At the time, Greenlight supporters were also upset that the City

Council was planning a vote on its own -- without Greenlight’s

mechanisms -- for the proposed Marinapark luxury hotel on the Balboa

Peninsula.

Greenlight is trying to recoup attorney’s fees in the low $20,000

range, said its attorney, Doug Carstens.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.