General Plan

Politics, concerning land-use planning under the proposed update to the general plan, have plummeted to a new low. I hope the half-truths and misrepresentations associated with the anti-Greenlight side will be considered by the Pilot as part of the community's and the newspaper's support for ethics in the election process. Here is what bothers me and is not getting through to the voters. The proposed general plan vision statement demonstrates the desire of our community to retain a beach-style atmosphere with slow growth and free-flowing streets and highways.

As we have with previous Greenlight measures and votes, we oppose Measure X, the so-called Greenlight II ballot initiative, going before voters on Nov. 7. As this initiative is the strongest growth-control measure yet in Newport Beach, we also oppose it the most ardently. Voters absolutely should vote against Measure X. Six years ago, when the first Greenlight measure was on the ballot, we wrote, "The city needs to know there is a better option than Greenlight." More important, we also noted, "Greenlight would render useless our representative government's role of giving careful study to development plans and seeking compromises and consensus from builders."

We agree with many residents of Newport Beach, including those who more than six years ago formed the Greenlight group to fight growth in the city, that there is a troublingly wide divide between the City Council and its constituents. During the past decade or so, when this division began and then continued to grow, members of the council did not do enough to address the growing discontent. The initial Greenlight measure, which should have been a clear signal that residents were unusually frustrated by their government, instead established the battle lines as both sides hunkered down for the long fight.

NEWPORT BEACH Measure V supporters detail general plan update The city's general plan update — on the ballot as Measure V — would change the amount of development allowed over the next 20 years so that car trips in the city would be reduced by 30,000 trips per day, the total amount of nonresidential development would shrink by 461,224 square feet, and the number of homes could grow by 1,149 units, Measure V proponents said...

Since 2000 and unlike in most cities, Newport Beach residents have the right to vote on major developments. Supporters of Measure X, an issue on the city's Nov. 7 ballot, say their initiative will protect that right. At the polls next month, city voters will decide on Measure V, an update to the city's general plan that will guide development over the next 20 years. But they'll also make a choice on Measure X, which could dramatically alter how much development is allowed. The general plan sets development limits — it's the reason why people can't build two extra houses on a single family lot, for example — but those limits typically can be changed by city government.

When Newport Beach voters decide on Measure V next month, they'll essentially be determining how the city should be developed through 2025. If it passes, it will overhaul the city's general plan for the first time since 1988. Supporters have worked hard to convey how the city will be shaped if Measure V passes. But what happens if it fails? The easy answer is the existing general plan stays in place. But in the long run, the city will have to address the issue again. This is the fourth in a series of stories about the general plan update and how it would affect the city.

Measure V, which updates the city's general plan, is one of three local measures that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot in Newport Beach. But it arguably could have a bigger effect on the city's future than anything else on the ballot — with the exception of Measure X, which requires public votes on some developments. If Measure V is passed, it will guide development in the city for the next 20 years. This is the third in a series of stories discussing major aspects of the general plan update and how it will affect the city.

While the races for six Newport Beach City Council seats on the fall ballot may be sexier than a plan for the city's development, that plan is no less important to the city's future. Voters will decide Nov. 7 whether to support or reject Measure V, the first major update to the city's general plan since 1988. The updated general plan would act as the blueprint for all kinds of development in Newport Beach through 2025. This is the second in a series of stories exploring big questions about the new general plan and how it would affect the city.

On Nov. 7, Newport Beach voters will face a number of challenging decisions about the future of their city. Topping the list will be whether to support or reject Measure V, an update to the city's general plan. Considered a blueprint for the next 20 years of development, the general plan lays out what kind of buildings will be allowed and where, how much traffic they'll generate, and how the city will handle it. City officials and volunteers have worked for more than three years to create the plan, which hasn't had a major overhaul since 1988.

Newport Beach's police and firefighter associations have announced they're supporting Measure V, the city's general plan update, and opposing Measure X, an expansion of the slow-growth Greenlight law passed in 2000. The police and firefighter unions opposed the first Greenlight initiative, but this time they have a new ally: the city lifeguards association. The original Greenlight law required a public vote on projects that would add more than 100 homes, 100 peak-hour car trips or 40,000 square feet of building space to what the city's general plan allowed.