Fighting foolish growth

Regarding the Oct. 9 Daily Pilot editorial “Greenlight shows

no-growth agenda,” none of the major concerns of the residents of the

city were addressed. To paraphrase a former president: It’s the

traffic congestion, stupid! It’s the quality of life of the

residents! It’s the potential decline in the property values of the

residents! It’s the dysfunctional City Council!

First and foremost, the original Greenlight Initiative --

Greenlight I -- that passed in 2000 has been an overwhelming success.

Ten major developments that added up to 40,000 average daily auto

trips to our streets would normally have been rubber stamped into

approval by the City Council. Instead, the residents spoke and, by a

63% majority vote, indicated they didn’t want that traffic. Can the

Pilot deny we are better off today not having to try to drive through

all those additional vehicles on our already congested streets?

Greenlight is not “no-growth,” as claimed by the Pilot. Greenlight

is for consideration of residents’ wishes for the city by giving them

the vote on major projects. If the residents vote down developments

that would produce excessive traffic, that is their will. Does the

Pilot believe the Greenlight Residents Group is making the voters

vote against their best interests? Or is it the newspaper’s fear that

the voters will continue to vote against the special interests that

the Pilot now so blatantly supports in concert with a majority of the

City Council.

Nowhere does the Pilot mention the 200,000 additional daily auto

trips that can be added to the city by the current general plan or

the 150,000 being proposed by the city’s update to that plan. Is this

because the pro-development Pilot knows that the city’s streets are

already congested and cannot accommodate the proposed additions

without incurring massive traffic congestion throughout the city?

Nowhere does the Pilot mention that over- congested streets and

high-density development will change the character of the city,

resulting in lower quality of life and lower property values for the

residents.

The Greenlight II initiative is both an extension of the original

Greenlight law and closes a loophole in it. It is designed to apply

the same voter approval requirements to the hopelessly outdated

current general plan. Unfortunately, an equally unsound general plan

update that adds more major development is now well on its way to

City Council approval. While the current Greenlight law will require

a vote on parts of the general plan update, both initiatives are

needed to bring excess development plans under control.

This new resident-protection initiative is needed because three

out of the five pro-development City Council members were originally

appointed to the council. The pro-development councilmen who were

elected did so with overwhelming campaign-money advantages and Pilot

endorsements. As these actions have produced a “single party” system,

the only realistic way for residents to get a voice in the City

Council is via this initiative process.

Another reason direct democracy is needed in the city is the

council is again disregarding the wishes of the residents and is

considering a massive politically and economically unachievable

street system augmentation. An official city poll reveals that

residents strongly oppose the massive widening of streets next to our

neighborhoods and provision of overpasses that would be needed to

accommodate all this additional traffic.

We do appreciate the Pilot’s editorial cartoon that shows a shark

labeled “Greenlight II” waiting to devour a poor innocent developer,

depicted as a small helpless female, seeking to make millions in

development profits in Newport at the expense of the residents. Shame

on the Pilot for taking up the cause of protecting the “poor”

developer and opposing the right of the residents to have a vote on

the future direction of the community, their property values and

quality of life.

The Pilot calls Greenlight “no-growth” for trying to provide the

residents of the city the right of approval on major developments

that will negatively impact their lives and property values. However,

we firmly believe the residents will vote positively for meritorious

developments like additions to Hoag Hospital. The Greenlight II

initiative enables the residents to vote for the growth they want,

and we in Greenlight will support them.

* PHILIP ARST is the spokesman for the Greenlight Residents Group.

JOHN FRANSEN is a member of the Greenlight steering committee.