MISSION VIEJO : Lawsuit on City Hall Measure Lives Again

When a judge invalidated a proposed ballot measure to require that any new city hall building be approved by voters, relieved city officials thought the decision was final.

But Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Robert C. Jameson reversed himself, vacating his order that declared the proposed measure illegal.

A lawsuit filed by the city against the authors of the initiative now starts over again in the pretrial phase.

“We basically go back to Square One now,” said Gary Manley, chairman of the Citizens Action Committee, which backed the initiative. “This restores my confidence in the legal system.”

Other members of the Citizens Action Committee praised Jameson’s action, saying he had jumped the gun with his original ruling.

“He made a decision before we had a chance to put on a defense,” said Stephen Baker, a member of the group who is also a Newport Beach-based lawyer. “Fortunately, he had enough integrity to admit his error.”

The committee had taken almost a year to get 5,000 signatures on a petition to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The initiative asked voters if a special election should be held before any city hall plans are approved.

But the City Council refused to approve the measure and filed a lawsuit against the group’s leaders, saying the ballot question was legally flawed.

On July 14, Baker filed a pretrial motion to have the lawsuit dismissed. However, Jameson agreed with the city, ruling that financing and approving a city hall could be done without holding an election.

After the judge’s decision, the council put its own version of the city hall measure on the November ballot. It, however, calls for an advisory vote, not the mandatory special election backed by the citizens committee.

However, time is running out for the citizen panel. Thursday is the deadline imposed by the county to include the measure on the November ballot.

The city maintains that it must approve the initiative before it can be submitted to the county. City Atty. Peter M. Thorson said the city will not do so unless ordered by the court.

Baker said he would try to obtain a court order to force the city to process the measure.--