IRVINE : City Suit Attacks Northwood Petition
The city filed a lawsuit this week seeking to invalidate a petition submitted last month by residents opposing the Irvine Co.’s Northwood 5 residential development.
The suit asks Superior Court to rule that a group called Irvine Citizens Against Overdevelopment may not challenge a City Council zoning decision of last August that helped clear the way for the 2,885-home project.
The citizens’ group submitted its petition against Northwood 5 in January.
If the petition is ruled valid, the City Council will be required either to overturn its decision approving the residential project or to place the project on the ballot for voters to decide.
In its complaint, the city argues that the petition is illegal on technical grounds. The petition attempts to overturn the council’s zone change decision allowing homes to be built on the land, located north of the current Northwood community. But overturning the zoning law would leave in place the city’s General Plan designation of the land as a residential community. The General Plan is the city’s overall blueprint for future development.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, says that the city’s General Plan and zoning laws must be compatible and that therefore the petition trying to overturn the zoning law is illegal.
Marc Goldstone, a member of Irvine Citizens Against Overdevelopment and a defendant in the city’s lawsuit, said it is imperative that the city’s challenge to the petition fail.
“We believe (the petition) has to be upheld. The voters have a right to rescind City Council decisions,” Goldstone said.
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