LOCAL ELECTIONS / MEASURES : Irvine Co. Spends $400,000 to Defend 3,850-Unit Project

The Irvine Co. has reported spending more than $400,000 so far in its all-out campaign to defend its proposed Westpark II housing development on the Nov. 5 city ballot, far outdistancing opponents of the project.

The developer has spent a total of $409,165.89 in corporate campaign spending and spending by its Irvine Yes campaign committee on telephone surveys, a slick fold-out mailer to all homes in the city and cable television advertisements, all extolling the virtues of its proposed 3,850-home planned community just east of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

The development project issue will appear on the ballot as Measure B. The company is also supporting Measure C, an advisory measure asking voters whether they want the city to abide by the 1989 open-space agreement that calls for granting development rights to the Irvine Co. in exchange for receiving open-space land from the company.

Measure B was placed on the ballot after a residents group, Irvine Tomorrow, collected enough signatures to overturn the City Council’s approval last December of Westpark II, also known as Village 38. The council placed Measure C on the ballot as a companion measure to gauge support for the voter-approved open-space agreement.

Irvine Tomorrow, through its campaign group, Irvine Citizens Against Rampant Expansion, reported spending $1,504 and raising $3,275 in its campaign against Measure B.

The latest campaign expenditure disclosures report spending from Jan. 1 to Oct. 19. State law requires campaigners to file statements outlining the money they have raised and spent for ballot measures. The latest reports were filed with the Irvine city clerk’s office late last week.

Measure B, if passed, would allow the Irvine Co. to proceed with the Westpark II project. The company has already received all major city approvals for the development.

If the measure fails, the company would have to alter its development plans before resubmitting them to the city, or wait at least a year before submitting the same plans again. In both cases, the public hearing process would begin anew.

Besides the Irvine Co., a residents group called Save Our Open Space is campaigning in support of Westpark II. That group, an offshoot of the Greater Irvine Republican Assembly organization, has reported spending $1,584 to support Measure B by running full-page advertisements in the Irvine weekly newspaper.