EDITORIALS:Measure V works for a growing Newport

We agree with many residents of Newport Beach, including those who more than six years ago formed the Greenlight group to fight growth in the city, that there is a troublingly wide divide between the City Council and its constituents.

During the past decade or so, when this division began and then continued to grow, members of the council did not do enough to address the growing discontent. The initial Greenlight measure, which should have been a clear signal that residents were unusually frustrated by their government, instead established the battle lines as both sides hunkered down for the long fight. The unprecedented number of appointments to the council in the past few years — which were done according to city rules, it should be noted — only added to the sense that city leaders were taking little, if any, direction from the people they represent.

A measure on the November ballot, however, signals an opportunity for that divide and that division to ease. Voters should approve that measure, Measure V, the update to the city’s general plan.

Just why might Measure V be a balm for the city’s troubles? Because in the years leading up to this update, hundreds of people had an opportunity to make suggestions about how they wanted Newport Beach to develop, and a committee of dozens of committed residents spent countless hours producing the two-inch-thick updated general plan, which essentially is the blueprint or guide for city growth and development for the next two decades. This process was open and encompassing and was a fine example of how city government should include its constituents in important decision-making. It gave residents of this city ample opportunity to be involved from day one.

Today, of course, this measure is in the crosshairs of election fire, with Greenlight leaders taking aim and saying that “City Hall and some developers … [are] fighting us again this year.”

We find that to be the same old rhetoric that, in this case, does not apply. City leaders, including members of the council and city staff, have worked diligently to make sure the public was involved in the general plan update — a process that state law requires. They cannot honestly be faulted for working behind closed doors or not listening to residents of the city.

It is disappointing that members of the Greenlight group — whose cause we have disagreed with over the years but whose efforts to improve the city we applaud — are retreating to their fortifications instead of taking this opportunity to meet city leaders on a middle ground over a plan that is reasonable, realistic and sound.

But Measure V certainly is not just about salving wounds in the city. It is about carefully and wisely planning for the future in Newport Beach. That future, like it or not, will include growth and development. The updated general plan will handle that growth properly, and for that reason, it deserves voter support.

Obviously, it is this part of the update — officially the “land-use element” — that is the most controversial and where the heated rhetoric is most focused. Much of that debate revolves around the parsing of numbers and whether one uses the totals in the old general plan — in other words, the amount of traffic or housing units that eventually could be allowed in the city but, realistically, never would be — or the amounts of traffic and housing existing today.

We believe neither of those rhetorical tricks are of much use to voters. Yes, compared with the old general plan, the update would produce a reduction of about 30,000 vehicle trips per day. And yes, that amount still would be an increase of more than 100,000 compared with what is on the streets today. Neither point is especially meaningful.

What is important to voters is a simple but undeniable truth: Newport Beach and the cities and county surrounding it will grow, will develop and will get more crowded over the coming decades. There is no way to halt that growth. But there are ways to manage it, and the updated general plan does that well by, among other things:

There is much more in the massive updated plan, which also includes sections on the harbor and bay; historical buildings and sites; recreation; and arts and culture. It is a thorough, exhaustive roadmap for Newport’s future, one that reflects a vision for the city that most residents want: a residential, beach-oriented community with a strong enough business and retail base to maintain the city’s finances.

Newport Beach voters should approve the general plan update by voting yes on Measure V.