IRVINE : Judge Affirms Ruling Nullifying Petition

A Superior Court judge Monday dealt another blow to the effort by a group of Irvine residents to halt the Irvine Co.’s 2,885-home Northwood 5 project.

Judge Mason L. Fenton said he intends to stick with his earlier decision to keep a referendum sought by Irvine Citizens Against Overdevelopment off the ballot. The group had hoped to leave the fate of the development project in the hands of city voters, but Fenton ruled that such a referendum would be illegal.

James Toledano, an attorney for Irvine Citizens Against Overdevelopment, argued Monday that by nullifying the petition, the court is taking away the residents’ right to challenge the City Council’s decision to approve the Northwood 5 project. Marc Goldstone, a member of the anti-development group, said that it plans to appeal the decision. However, members will not have enough time to qualify the petition for the November ballot.

The group submitted its petition with 7,637 signatures to the city last December in an attempt to overturn council approval of the large residential and retail project slated for an area just north of the current Northwood community. Under city law, once the signatures were verified, the council would have been required to either deny approval of the project or place the matter before voters in a referendum.

Instead, the council sued Irvine Citizens Against Overdevelopment to keep the proposed referendum off the ballot. City officials argued that the referendum’s objective would conflict with the city’s General Plan.