Councilman to Vote Yes on Son’s Project : Ethics: Despite criticism, a Costa Mesa official maintains there is no conflict of interest in backing a housing development that his son is linked to.

City Councilman Orville Amburgey said Monday that he intends to defy neighborhood opposition and vote in favor of a Valley Road housing project that his son is helping to develop.

“There is no conflict,” Amburgey said in an interview Monday. “It’s perfectly legitimate for me to cast my vote. My son is a taxpayer in this city, and he has the same rights as any other taxpayer. . . . He shouldn’t lose those rights just because I’m a member of the City Council.”

The council delayed action for two weeks on the rezoning request Monday night after the project’s architect requested a continuance. As written, the proposal would allow as many as 13 townhouses to be built on the 1100 block of Valley Road, but backers of the project have already agreed to limit it to eight single-family, detached units.

Amburgey said Monday that he plans to support the eight-unit proposal.

As the measure approaches a final vote, however, much debate has centered on the propriety of Amburgey’s support for it, given his son Ron’s financial stake in its approval. Opponents have argued that it is at best improper and at worst illegal for Amburgey to cast a vote.

In addition, Amburgey sent a letter to project opponents last week that intensified the controversy. The letter, printed on city stationery and mailed at city expense, infuriated some observers, who contend that the councilman is close to violating ethical rules governing the conduct of elected officials.

In his letter, Amburgey stopped short of urging residents to support the project, but he attacked opponents for disseminating what he called “misinformation” and distorting the project’s goals.

“I think it’s wrong for a public official to be asking the question: ‘How close can I get to the line before I’m wrong,’ instead of saying, ‘How good can I be,’ ” said Councilwoman Sandra L. Genis. She and other officials acknowledged, however, that Amburgey’s letter does not appear to have violated any laws, a view that was seconded by a city attorney’s opinion.

State officials also backed Amburgey’s contention that the law does not prevent him from voting on a project that would benefit his son as long as it contains no direct financial benefit to the councilman himself. In November, 1988, Amburgey voted for another project that his son developed, over the objections of some neighborhood residents.

State conflict of interest laws, according to Fair Political Practices spokeswoman Sandy Michioku, “require that an official disqualify him or herself whenever his or her financial interests are affected by a proposal.” Elected officials are prevented from voting in cases where their spouses or dependent children are affected, but Amburgey’s son is an adult and is no longer dependent on the councilman.

Still, state laws only govern the minimum acceptable conduct, and officials are not prevented from setting higher standards for themselves. Genis urged her colleague to follow that course.

“Even though he has no direct financial stake, this is his family,” Genis said. “I don’t think it’s right for him to participate.”

Several residents of the neighborhood near the proposed development agreed.

“I still feel it’s extremely inappropriate for him to vote at all, given the financial interests of his son,” said Janet K. Howell, one of 86 residents to sign a petition opposing the proposed development. “It may be legal for him to vote, but I still feel he should abstain.”

Louis E. Fisher, who has lived in the neighborhood for 23 years and who also signed the petition, said that “if it were me, I wouldn’t vote on it.” He added, however, that if the proposal is amended to limit it to eight single-family homes, he would support its approval.

The project failed to win approval from the Planning Commission when it died on a tie vote, but Amburgey said that because the developer has agreed to limit the proposal to eight homes, he believes the council will approve it.

Mayor Peter F. Buffa said he expects to support the revised plan because he believes it will help the city bolster its scant stock of affordable, single-family housing. But Buffa would not comment on whether Amburgey should vote on the matter, saying, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s really up to him.”

Times staff writer Carla Rivera contributed to this report.