DANA POINT : Court Rehearing on General Plan Sought

The attorney for a coalition seeking a vote on the city’s controversial General Plan has asked for a rehearing of a recent appeals court ruling that the coalition’s referendum petition was defective.

Laguna Hills-based attorney Michelle A. Reinglass has asked the 4th District Court of Appeal to reconsider its unanimous July 29 decision that members of the Dana Point Action Coalition needed to have a copy of the General Plan attached to their petition. The court has until Aug. 28 to decide whether to grant the coalition a rehearing, a spokeswoman for Reinglass said.

Reinglass has vowed to file a request for a review of the decision with the California Supreme Court if the appeals court denies the rehearing.

The fate of the city’s General Plan has been in limbo since it was unanimously approved by the council in July, 1991. The plan’s critics, who maintain that it would radically alter the city’s small-town atmosphere, immediately circulated a petition demanding a citywide vote on the plan.

The plan’s supporters, including council members, have insisted that the coalition is misguided and that the plan can be amended. Parts of it can be challenged, they say, but not the entire document.