Council Should Heed Voter Rebuff on Growth

San Diego voters showed a considerable measure of sophistication in casting their ballots Tuesday. They turned out of office a two-term councilman whom few seem to dislike but many view as incompetent, and they made the strongest imaginable statement about future development, seizing control for themselves of 52,000 acres mostly in the northern part of the city.

The runaway victory for Proposition A is a clear rebuke to the majority of the City Council and to the developers who have pushed to build on land set aside in the city’s General Plan as undevelopable until 1995. We opposed Proposition A as the wrong way to correct the perceived failings of local government. But we don’t share the gloomy forecasts of the development industry that its passage will lead to the choking of the inner city with unchecked growth.

The General Plan provides for growth in the areas of the city already urbanized, and development is naturally going to occur there. If City Council members respond to passage of Proposition A by lowering the standards of that development, they may face angry voters and serious opponents at the next election.

Voters also demonstrated in this election that they can be smarter than political consultants give them credit for being. The No on A forces, with more than $600,000 at their disposal, did all they could to confuse voters and cloud the issues: they stole the pro-A campaign’s slogan; former City Manager Ray Blair sent out a mass mailing that intentionally fuzzed up the fact that he no longer works for the city; the president of Campus Crusade for Christ International, which hopes to build a graduate university and industrial park in La Jolla Valley, termed the referendum a spiritual battle between God and “the homosexual community” among others. Despite the record campaign expenditures, the people knew their minds and spoke them loudly and clearly.

As with most initiatives, there are problems with Proposition A’s “meat ax” approach. At worst it may be illegal; at best it’s a simplistic approach to a complex problem. But for now it’s law. When Proposition 13, another flawed initiative, was approved in 1978, most smart California politicians saw the budget-cutting light overnight. That’s the way the City Council had better act now. It’s true that no one can stop population growth in San Diego. But the council, including new members Abbe Wolsheimer and Judy McCarty, must wrestle with it sensitively.