Slow-Growth Initiatives Hit and Miss

Voters across Orange County delivered split results in three fiercely fought land-use battles, including passing a Newport Beach measure that allows residents to directly decide the fate of many major developments.

But slow-growth initiatives in Brea and San Clemente were defeated by slim margins Tuesday, with pollsters noting that both measures were sure wins until the opposition was suddenly injected with landowner cash for stepped-up “voter education campaigns.”

Developers got a rude wake-up call from Newport Beach voters’ resounding approval of the Greenlight initiative, which will force many to get project-by-project voter approval. Greenlight, officially known as Measure S, was approved 63% to 37%, despite national and state home builders, Realtors and others pouring money into the opposition. A similarly worded competing initiative, Measure T, didn’t confuse voters--65% rejected it.

“The bad guys were winning for a long time,” crowed Tom Hyans, a Greenlight proponent. “Now it’s time for the good guys to win.”

Opponents said that perceptions of special interests wielding influence may have tipped the scales in Newport Beach. Greenlight opponents raised $405,061, including $187,000 from the Irvine Co. Supporters raised $62,562.

“We played into their picture of developers running the city, which I don’t think is the case,” said former Mayor Tom Edwards, who led the Greenlight opposition. “I almost wonder: If we had run no campaign, would we have done better?”

The avid grass-roots Greenlight effort included scores of volunteers walking door to door, writing personal letters and using phone chains. The wealthy, largely Republican city has a surprisingly long history of trying to slow development at the expense of large property owners. Since 1986, the city’s well-heeled residents have voted on six local land-use ballots, with slow-growth supporters winning three.

In the future, Newport Beach residents will have to ponder many more ballot measures. The one thing Greenlight supporters and opponents agree on is that voters will have to be incredibly well-informed.

“As each individual project under Measure S comes before the voters, it will be incumbent upon all of us . . . to carefully examine all the relevant planning studies and documents . . . in order to make an informed vote,” said Gary Hunt, an Irvine Co. executive vice president and a Corona del Mar resident, in a written statement.

But slow-growth initiatives in Brea and San Clemente that once seemed like sure bets were narrowly defeated Tuesday.

In Brea, Measure N--an initiative that would have required citywide votes on many major developments in the hills north and east of the city and near Carbon Canyon--was rejected 51% to 49%.

A few months ago, the measure was ahead 68% to 16%, said Rick Manter of NCG Porter Novelli, a public relations firm that managed campaigns opposing slow growth in Newport Beach, Brea, San Clemente and elsewhere. In Brea, focus groups showed that residents were unaware of existing hillside protection, and an ensuing education campaign apparently changed many people’s minds.

The opposition raised $327,186, while supporters raised $20,119.

Measure N organizer Claire Schlotterbeck said, “The incredible amount of money that developers put into the campaign to defeat [us] proves our point that money influences the approval process.”

In San Clemente, a measure that would have stopped the city from issuing building permits until a key road segment is built was defeated 53% to 47%.

Until early October, Manter said, support for Measure U had been polling at 63%. In the month before the election, opponents formed a coalition and raised $177,755, including $55,000 each from three major landowners. In contrast, supporters raised $12,786.

Proponents argued that already congested Interstate 5 is the only north-south route into the city. By 2010, they noted, San Clemente is expected to see 6,500 more homes and 80,000 more daily car trips. Proponents worried that if there was a major fire, earthquake or accident at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, gridlock could result.

But through last-minute full-page newspaper ads and mailers, the opposition was able to persuade voters that the measure was unconstitutional and might lead to costly lawsuits.