City considers special ballot for Greenlight
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Noaki Schwartz
NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council will hold a last-minute special meeting
Friday to decide whether to place the so-called Greenlight initiative on
the same special election ballot as the Newport-Mesa school district’s
bond measure in June.
Mayor John Noyes on Saturday received a letter from Greenlight -- the
group that drafted the slow-growth measure -- proposing that its
initiative appear on the June ballot instead of the November presidential
election ballot.
The decision to hold the last-minute meeting was the result of much
scrambling by city officials, who would have to make the decision by
Friday to meet the 88-day requirement for placing measures on the ballot.
“I think it’s a positive step that they’re meeting,” said Greenlight
spokesman Phil Arst.
The Greenlight group made the same request earlier this year, but it was
shot down by council members, who said that a special election would be
too costly and typically have smaller voter turnout.
At the time, the Greenlight group countered that a fall election might be
too late for residents to vote on several important developments
currently going through the planning process, including the proposed
470-room resort at Newport Dunes.
The Protect From Traffic and Density Initiative proposes to let residents
vote on major developments that require a major general plan amendment.
“Major” is defined as creating more than 100 peak-hour car trips, more
than 100 homes or more than 40,000 square feet of floor area over what
the city’s general plan allows.
Because the measure threatens to dramatically change the city planning
process by giving residents the final say -- even after a development has
gone through the Planning Commission and City Council -- it has stirred
up the emotions of city leaders and residents.
And it could get mixed into the politics of the school bond issue if both
campaigns become heated at the same time, officials said.
The district is asking residents to pass a $110-million bond to repair
deteriorating schools. And by having an early election, district
officials are hoping to have all the necessary paperwork to approach the
state to apply for $53 million in matching funds.
So while Greenlight’s proposal to place the initiative on the special
ballot removes concerns about cost, it opens a new can of worms for City
Council members -- and, undoubtedly, school officials.
District officials would not comment on the matter, saying that they
needed more time to study the issue. While they had previously told Noyes
they were opposed to having the slow-growth measure appear on the special
ballot, they later changed their position.
“John [Noyes] mentioned it to me,” said board member Serene Stokes. “At
this point, I need a lot more information. I’m going to talk to the
superintendent and board members on Friday morning.”
There also could be potential legal conflicts involved in combining a
school bond vote with a municipal issue, said City Manager Homer Bludau.
“The city attorney said the elections code dealing with this issue is
both conflicting and confusing,” Bludau said, adding that the city will
continue to investigate the matter before the special meeting, which has
been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.
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