Growth measure will go to a vote

A citizen-backed proposal that would tighten voter controls on development in Newport Beach qualified on Wednesday for the November ballot.

Proponents of the measure known as Greenlight II collected at least 6,088 valid signatures, or 32 more than required, the Orange County Registrar of Voters announced Wednesday. The Newport Beach City Council will vote June 27 to certify the petition for the fall ballot.

“That’s wonderful,” Phil Arst, a leading advocate of the measure, said Wednesday. “We hope to get the word out about the benefits of this to the city and we have high hopes of getting it passed.”

This will be the second round for Newport’s slow-growth supporters. City voters in 2000 approved a measure that requires a public vote on projects that exceed the general plan by any of three thresholds: 100 dwelling units, 100 peak hour car trips per day, or 40,000 square feet of building space.

The new ballot proposal would apply those same three criteria to projects but it would be based on existing development, regardless of whether the general plan would allow more.

Mayor Don Webb said he wasn’t surprised that the measure made the ballot ? the group collected more than 9,000 signatures. Now his goal will be to make sure people understand what they’ll be voting on, he said.

“The petitions were gathered under the short, catchy phrase of ‘no more traffic,’ and what it really means to me is ? if it does pass ? it is ‘no more substantial building in Newport Beach,’ ” Webb said.

Arst said the point of the measure isn’t to stop all development ? it’s simply to give residents the right to vote on projects that will affect their quality of life.

Voters would likely support projects that benefit the community such as an addition to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, he said, but they might be wary of high-rise condo towers that would add traffic and cost more in city services than they contribute in tax dollars.

The next stage is the campaign ? both for and against the measure. Developers will likely oppose Greenlight II. And to further complicate matters, the city’s general plan update is also expected to appear on the fall ballot.

Councilman Steve Rosansky said some voters could support both Greenlight II and the general plan, but he’ll still campaign against the Greenlight measure.

“Approval or disapproval of those projects is a very complex, time-intensive matter that the general public is not equipped to deal with,” Rosansky said. “That’s why they elect representatives.”

But Arst thinks a pro-development council is part of the problem.

“We don’t feel like we have representative government,” he said.