North: Zoning war heats up
Yorba Linda's battle over the 'Right to Vote' initiative
is likely to move into the courts before voters get their
say.
By CINDY ARORA THE
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
- Sunday October 2, 2005
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YORBA LINDA – Wrangling
over a ballot initiative that would give voters approval
power for major projects didn't end when the City Council
said it should go on the ballot.
If anything, it simply
moved into a new forum - the courts.
The initiative, born
out of frustration over housing densities considered for
a downtown redevelopment, would take control of major planning
changes out of the City Council's hands.
But the city clerk refused
to certify the initiative, saying petitioners failed to
include the text of the city's general plan and other documents
it would affect when seeking signatures.
And, even as council
members pledged Sept. 20 to place it on the ballot, they
prepared to mount a legal challenge that could invalidate
the initiative before a vote would occur.
Michael Colantuono,
the attorney representing City Clerk Kathie Mendoza, said
the city's decision to move forward with an election while
consulting on legal challenges is not unusual.
"The city believes
the initiative to be illegal," he said. "So,
when you are uncertain what your obligations are, you can
ask the courts to make the decision. Sorts out the tensions
between the two."
Members of Yorba Linda
Residents for Responsible Redevelopment - the group behind
the initiative - say the move is a stall tactic that will
fail in court.
"This is kabuki
theater," said Chris Sutton, an attorney who helped
draft the petition. "Saying it is illegal but then
allowing it to go on the ballot doesn't make sense."
Sutton, who often represents
redevelopment opponents, said the lack of the general plan
information doesn't constitute a "real defect" in
the initiative petition.
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