Developer Files Legal Challenge to Halt El Segundo Referendum

Continental Development Corp. officials have taken legal action to invalidate a referendum petition designed to halt construction of their 1.1-million square-foot office and retail center at the northwest corner of Rosecrans Avenue and Aviation Boulevard.

A hearing will be held on Oct. 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court to determine if the projects’s approval is subject to a referendum.

The Group United for Residential Rights collected 2,208 signatures--more than twice the 10% needed for a referendum. The council has 30 days to decide whether to repeal approval of the Continental complex or let the voters decide the fate of the project.

In the petition, which was filed last week with the city clerk’s office, the group claims that the complex will cause traffic problems throughout the city.

Continental officials say the ordinance that approved their project is not subject to referendum because the action upgraded the site’s zoning standards from light industry to office and retail to conform to the city’s General Plan. Jerry Saunders, Continental’s planning director, argues that state law requires that zoning must comply with a city’s general plan and says the citizen’s group should challenge the General Plan, which was adopted earlier this year, instead of “singling out” the project.