Lawsuit: Wording of Greenlight ballot measure ‘confusing’

Greenlight residents group leader Phil Arst is suing the city of Newport Beach over how the city worded Greenlight’s initiative for the November ballot.

The measure, commonly known as Greenlight II but officially called Measure X, would tighten the voter controls on major developments in the city.

With the suit, filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court, Arst seeks to block the ballot language drafted by the city attorney and have it replaced with a description he wrote. The suit says the city’s language is “lengthy, disjointed and confusing to the average reader.”

Arst said Tuesday that what the city wrote will confuse and possibly bias voters because it focuses on technical issues and only mentions voter approval — the hallmark of the measure — at the very end.

“People that signed the initiative petition can’t recognize that what they signed and approved of is being voted on,” he said.

The wording reads: “Shall the ordinance requiring preparation of a specific plan for any development project, except in portions of Newport Coast, that individually or in combination with other projects in the neighborhood approved during the preceding five years, adds more than 100 dwelling units, 40,000 square feet of floor area or 100 peak hour trips when compared to the existing condition of the neighborhood; and action by the City Council; and submittal to the voters, be adopted?”

Arst also charged in the suit that the city’s “clear and concise” description of its own general plan update, also on the November ballot, contrasts with the language used to describe Measure X.

The suit names as defendants City Clerk LaVonne Harkless as well as the City Council.

Harkless said she had not read the suit and so could not comment, but she added that City Atty. Robin Clauson typically writes the official title and summary of ballot initiatives and does the required impartial analysis.

Clauson could not immediately be reached at press time.