HUNTINGTON BEACH : Ballot to Be Final OK for Some Projects

Proposed beach or park projects will be placed on the ballot only after they have received all city approvals, the City Council has decided.

Voters in 1990 overwhelmingly passed Measure C, which gives people the right to vote on construction proposed on beach or park land.

But the measure left unclear at what stage a project should be put to a vote of the people, whether it should be advisory on a project’s master plan or a final vote on an approved project.

Ron Hagan, community services director, said a council subcommittee determined that Measure C intended the latter. “Once council approves a project, it then requires a vote of the people to do the project,” Hagan said.

Councilman David Sullivan, one of the authors of the measure, said voters should know exactly what the final project would be.

Councilman Jim Silva cast the only vote against the policy, saying that nonprofit groups would not be able to raise the money needed to go through the city approval process for their projects.

“It’s a clear vote against youth sports,” Silva said, referring to a proposed youth sports complex at Central Park that will fall under Measure C criteria.

Councilmen Victor Leipzig and Earle Robitaille were absent from the meeting.

Some people have expressed concern that it is both costly and risky to go through the extensive planning, environmental and design processes for a project that ultimately might be rejected by voters.

But Hagan said that projects affected by Measure C could be presented to residents in an informal poll included in their water bills before they go through the extensive city approval process.