Builders Dropping Suit to Remove Slow-Growth Initiative From Ballot

Officials of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California said Friday that they will stop trying to remove a slow-growth initiative from the June 7 ballot in Orange County.

The influential trade group said it is dropping a lawsuit that has already been rejected on narrow legal grounds by two lower courts.

For almost two weeks, the builders and their allies had been considering asking the state Supreme Court to remove the initiative on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

However, if voters approve the measure, the builders may ask the courts to overturn it after the June election, said Donald D. Steffensen, president of the trade association.

Both supporters and opponents of the initiative say they expect a lengthy court fight if the initiative passes.

Steffensen said the builders’ present lawsuit is being dropped “on the advice of our lawyers.”

The court rulings against the lawsuit were no surprise. California courts have been reluctant to prevent initiatives from going before the electorate.

But lawyers in the case say the courts are less reluctant to overturn initiatives once they have been approved by voters and become law.

The countywide initiative would prohibit new construction in neighborhoods with heavy traffic until congestion is reduced. The measure would not apply to freeways, which are state-owned, and would cover only unincorporated areas, most of which are in south Orange County.

In November, voters in several coastal cities will decide whether to approve nearly identical initiatives that would apply to development within their boundaries. So far, initiative proponents have not mounted successful petition drives to qualify similar ballot measures in the inland cities.

Builders contend that the initiative sets such high standards that it would shut down most construction, harming the county’s economy and forcing up housing prices and rents.

Polls show a majority of voters--upset by crowded streets and freeways--favor the initiative.

With the court fight settled for now, the debate over the initiative turns to the political arena.

Steffensen said in an interview Friday that the trade group will not launch its own political campaign. The builders are sensitive to the possibility of alienating voters by assuming a high profile in the campaign.

Steffensen said builders would instead individually contribute funds to another group, Citizens for Traffic Solutions, which purports to have a broader political base.

Steffensen also said he did not think the Building Industry Assn.’s lawsuit turned off many voters because they would realize that it was simply protecting builders’ constitutional rights.