Oceanside Wins Again in Slow-Growth Fight : Housing: Judge rules in favor of city’s Proposition A, saying developer’s objections are ‘meritless.’

In the second such decision in less than a year, a San Diego Superior Court judge has upheld Oceanside’s slow-growth initiative, terming “meritless” a lawsuit filed against the city by a local developer.

In an 18-page decision issued Wednesday, Judge Herbert B. Hoffman granted a summary judgment in favor of the city against developer Del Oro Hills--the latest development in a four-year battle in which Oceanside has defended its growth-control ordinance known as Proposition A.

“This is an important day for the city of Oceanside,” said Larry Bauman, a spokesman for the city. “It confirms the argument that we’ve put forth all along, that we have a right to control growth in our city.

“And the way to do that, in our opinion and in that of the voters, is an ordinance that limits the number of new homes each year.”

The ordinance passed by voters in 1987, which limits residential construction to 800 units a year, has been contested by the Building Industry Assn. of San Diego and developer Del Oro Hills, which claim Proposition A has resulted in higher priced homes not affordable by low-income families.

Last August, however, Judge Hoffman ruled that the ordinance was a reasonable safeguard of the residents’ “healthy, safety and welfare” and that, in the long run, far outweighed any impact on low-income housing.

As in his previous decision, Hoffman’s ruling Wednesday said that the city’s growth rate was healthy and that the plaintiff’s attack on Proposition A were, for the most part, meritless.

Donald Worley, an attorney for the developer, did not return telephone calls on Thursday.

In the most recent case, attorneys had claimed that Proposition A was an illegitimate use of governmental power that had robbed the developer the use of its own property.

Bauman said that several California cities facing runaway growth were watching the developments in Oceanside’s battle. He said the city expected an appeal to the most recent decision.

In a release, Interim City Manager James Turner hailed the decision, but acknowledged that the court battle has been costly:

“The only thing I regret is that the plaintiffs have forced the city to spend so much time and money in defense of these rights.”