General Plan Referendum Attempt Fails : Petitions: The county registrar found enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot, but the city clerk rejected the effort after local officials ruled more than 1,000 names invalid.

DIAMOND BAR — A referendum drive to place the city’s General Plan on the ballot failed after officials determined that petitions submitted last month lacked the required number of valid signatures.

City officials ruled that the proposal--inspired by residents who criticized the new General Plan as insensitive to the environ ment--fell short by 597 names of reaching the required minimum of 2,481 valid signatures, referendum proponents say they were told.

The General Plan, adopted in July, governs zoning and growth patterns in the city, which was incorporated in 1989. It was suspended when opponents began the referendum drive but has gone back into effect and the city is again accepting building permits, officials said.

City Clerk Lynda Burgess refused to discuss why she rejected the referendum, saying the California Public Records Act prevented her from doing so. On Monday, however, she explained her reasons to the proponents, who say they are considering legal action.

“We had more than enough signatures,” said William Gross, chairman of the Diamond Bar Citizens to Protect Country Living, which submitted petitions bearing 4,371 signatures gathered during July and August.

Burgess’ rejection of the referendum effort, Gross said, represented “a disgraceful abuse of her authority.”

The Los Angeles County registrar of voters determined that the petition drive had secured more than enough valid signatures--with 2,967 belonging to registered Diamond Bar voters.

But according to referendum’s organizers, city officials ruled 1,083 of those signatures invalid. Of these, 833 were signatures of registered voters and had been collected by a man whose signature-gathering procedures were called into question by a woman working on the petition drive, Gross said.

The woman notified city officials about the allegedly questionable activities, Gross said, and the officials invalidated the signatures.

But he said the city “did nothing to verify or deny those allegations” and simply took the woman’s word.

In addition, city officials threw out 250 signatures belonging to people who referendum organizers said registered to vote just before signing the petitions. City officials told the referendum proponents that there was not enough proof that the people had not signed the petitions before registering to vote.

Gross said his group is meeting today and Saturday to discuss how to fight the decision.