Office Builder to Ask Voters for Green Light

In a key test case that could set the tone for future growth in the city, Newport Beach voters will decide this year whether a 10-story office tower should be erected near John Wayne Airport.

The Koll Center expansion is the first project to come before voters since they approved the so-called Greenlight Initiative, which calls for a special election for each major development in the city.

Newport Beach is the only city in Orange County and one of a handful across Southern California to require this type of public vote, so the outcome of the first referendum is being watched closely by developers and slow-growth advocates across the state.

Experts said Newport Beach makes for an intriguing test case: The affluent town of 70,000 is home to many big businesses and is solidly Republican, but it has a long history of restricting growth.

While city officials remain hopeful that voters will consider the Koll project on its own merits, others believe a “no” vote could stall growth in the city. Some in the building industry, which fought hard against the Greenlight Initiative, are predicting a chilling effect on development should the Koll project be rejected. Already, the family that owns the Newport Dunes resort has put the property up for sale, blaming the Greenlight Initiative for hindering expansion plans.

“I would think [developers would be] thinking twice about whether they want to open up a new office in Newport, especially if it’s going to trigger a Greenlight election,” said Lynne Fishel, acting chief executive officer of Orange County’s Building Industry Assn.

But others who track commercial development disagree, saying Newport Beach’s prime location will always make it attractive to developers even with the referendum.

“The development community is pretty sophisticated, especially in Orange County,” said Paul Shigley, managing editor of the California Planning & Development Report, a monthly newsletter for city and county planners. “It’s unimaginable for them to just walk away from Newport Beach.”

Slow-growth initiatives are becoming popular nationwide as voters seek to limit sprawl and wrest control of planning decisions from government bodies. But the Greenlight Initiative goes further than most by requiring votes on all projects that add more than 40,000 square feet of building space, 100 peak-hour car trips or 100 homes above what is allowed by the city’s general plan.

A sharply divided City Council approved the Koll project last week, setting the stage for a Nov. 20 special election.

“If people don’t want it, people don’t want it,” said Mayor Gary Adams, who voted for the plan. “I’m not going to be an advocate or opponent. Let the process go forward and we’ll see what happens.”

While not the corporate powerhouse of neighboring Irvine, Newport Beach is home to the Irvine Co., semiconductor maker Conexant Systems, Pacific Life Insurance and other major firms. Still, the city has a history of limiting growth that dates from the 1960s, when residents successfully fought plans for a freeway paralleling Coast Highway.

The proposed Koll tower has been talked about since 1972, when the company first began developing commercial properties near the airport. It was unveiled in 1997 and was one of several proposals that sparked the Greenlight Initiative.

Plans call for 250,000 square feet of office space next to a pair of existing towers at Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard. A two-story garage now at the site would be demolished and replaced with a six-story parking structure. An adjacent surface parking lot would be ripped up and replaced--after a lower level is built beneath it.

If voters approve the $50-million project, the developers hope to lure 20 to 45 firms and an estimated 800 workers to the offices. They have agreed to pay the city $3 million for improvements to nearby streets.

Timothy L. Strader Sr., president of Starpointe Ventures and a co-partner in the project, said voters will approve the tower because the project is far from residential areas and independent studies have predicted minimal effects on traffic.

Starpointe, which has already spent about $250,000 studying environmental, traffic and other issues, must pay the $75,000 cost of the special election. The company also plans to spend an $50,000 to campaign for the office tower.

Critics argue the project is too big and will worsen traffic. But instead of coming out swinging against the plan, some Greenlight Initiative advocates said they plan to “educate” voters about the pros and cons of the project.

“It’s important for them to analyze exactly where they want to see the city go,” said Evelyn Hart, a slow-growth leader.

Should the project be rejected, Strader said, the developers will look to other areas, including nearby Irvine.

That’s exactly what worries growth advocates, who spent about $600,000 fighting the initiative. If the Koll project is voted down, they fear that builders will abandon other proposed office buildings and hotels that they argue the city needs to remain vibrant.

“We think it will have an impact down the road, when the city needs to renew itself to compete with other communities,” said Richard Luehrs, president and chief executive officer of the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce.