“Now the city is going to be able to have that new City Hall in a logical place,” Lacy said. “It’s too bad it took so much litigation — Beek lost at every turn.”
Beek first sued Newport Beach and former City Clerk LaVonne Harkless over the legality of Measure B in an attempt to stop the election from moving forward. The City Council later voted unanimously to support the measure after voters passed the initiative with about 53% of the vote.
Beek then filed a second lawsuit claiming the council’s vote violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the city’s general plan. He alleged that the council’s vote to support Measure B was illegal because the city already dedicated the land as open space.
In June, the California Fourth Appellate District Court upheld the voters’ right to decide where to put the city hall.
The panel of three judges unanimously upheld Measure B and rejected all of Beek’s claims. The appeals court also rejected Beek’s request to rehear the matter in July.
“I’m not surprised,” Beek said Wednesday. “[The Supreme Court] only takes about 1% of cases.”
COUNCILMAN BLUDAU?
Clad in a green plaid blazer over his multicolored Hawaiian shirt, Newport Beach Councilman Don Webb at Tuesday’s City Council meeting promised to give retiring City Manager Homer Bludau a straw hat similar to his own before his last day at City Hall this week.
“I want to make sure you’re ready for retirement,” he told Bludau from the dais.
Webb, who is ineligible to run for reelection in 2010 because of term limits, also urged Bludau to consider a bid for his District 3 council seat.
“Since you’re in my neighborhood and the position is up for grabs the next election, I think we need to start calling you ‘Walking Homer,’” Webb said.
