Mathis Winkler
NEWPORT BEACH -- The Newport Beach Police Employees Assn. announced
this week that it opposes Measure S on the November ballot.
Police union officials said the measure would not raise funds to cover
road improvements and deal with increased traffic.
"Without funds to cover road improvements, the city will be forced to
divert funds from elsewhere in the budget," said union spokesman Paul
Salenko, "putting public safety funds in danger of being reduced."
Measure S, also known as the Greenlight initiative, proposes to put
developments that allow an increase of more than 100 peak hour car trips
or 100 dwelling units or 40,000 square feet over the General Plan
allowance before a citywide vote.
Measure T would add parts of the city's traffic phasing ordinance to
the city charter and nullify Greenlight, should voters approve both
measures.
Measure T supporters said that police union members had come to see
that T rather than S would pay for traffic improvements.
"They also feel that by stopping growth, it eventually inhibits the
city to keep up with [growth in] surrounding cities," said Clarence
Turner, co-chairman of Measure T, adding that the group had given a
presentation on both measures to the union. "There would be less money in
city coffers and that also affects their pocketbooks, their quality of
life."
So far, only the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce has endorsed
Measure T.
Stop Polluting Our Newport, an environmental activist group, remains
the only organization to endorse Measure S.
Greenlight proponents said the union's opposition didn't come as a
surprise.
"What drives the [police] union is just one thing and that's pay
increases," said Philip Arst, a spokesman for Measure S. "Under unlimited
development, there will be more money in the city and that's it. Period."
Arst said his group had not been invited to make a presentation to the
police union.
"I don't think they got an unbiased description of both [measures,]"
he said. "Greenlight actually can raise more money [for traffic
improvements] than the present system. It leaves all current laws in
place and in addition imposes voter oversight."
He added that under Greenlight, voters could require developers to pay
to full cost of road improvements. Measure T requires developers to pay a
portion of the road improvements needed to make up for increased traffic
produced by development.
While it is unconstitutional to ask developers to pay for more than
