Riley Labels Irvine Suit as Ballot Ruse : City Alleges County’s Deal With Developers Will Increase Traffic

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley Wednesday blasted Irvine’s decision to sue the Board of Supervisors over its approval of three major housing developments.

“It’s disgusting to me that people are stooping to this kind of politics,” said Riley, who called Irvine’s Tuesday action a ruse to garner support for the county slow-growth initiative that has been placed on the June ballot.

“I think it is incredible that the City Council is spending their citizens’ money on this kind of thing. . . . But I guess not all of us have the same level of honor.”

With just Councilman C. David Baker dissenting, the Irvine City Council voted Tuesday night to sue the county, arguing that the supervisors’ approval of 21,000 homes sidesteps the slow-growth initiative and would mean more traffic moving into the city via the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor.

Sponsor of Pact

Riley, whose 5th Supervisorial District encompasses Irvine and the unincorporated area where the homes will be built, had shepherded the developer agreements through the board Feb. 10.

He said county attorneys have advised him that Irvine’s lawsuit stands little chance of succeeding.

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, a slow-growth leader, said Riley “is way off base. There is nothing that could be more important to the interests of the citizens of Irvine than to defend the city’s environmental and planning interests against these subversive development agreements.”

Agran said the developer agreements would thwart Irvine’s bid to reduce the San Joaquin corridor’s proposed eight lanes by half. Traffic from the planned communities of Aliso Viejo, Marina Hills and Bear Brand would feed into the city from the south, causing congestion, he said.

The agreements approved Feb. 10 allow builders to go forward with those projects--even if voters approve the Citizens Sensible Growth and Traffic Control Initiative in June.

Road Improvements in Return

In return, developers agreed to provide about $67 million for road improvements in south Orange County.

Irvine has 30 days after the board’s vote to file a legal challenge. Agran said the city plans to file suit in Orange County Superior Court by March 11.

Agran said the initial cost of filing the suit will be less than $10,000. He acknowledged that costs could go higher.

But he said he hopes expenses can be kept down if Laguna Greenbelt and Citizens for Sensible Growth and Traffic Control, the initiative’s sponsors, go forward with their plans to file their own suits against the county, seeking to overturn the developer agreements.