Newport Beach Ca Elections

In a key test case that could set the tone for future growth in the city, Newport Beach voters will decide later 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 all major developments in the city.

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.

Councilwoman Janice A. Debay will run for a second term this fall. Her name was among a list of seven other council hopefuls released Wednesday. The list includes businessman Barry E. Zanck, who wants to challenge Debay on Nov. 5. None of the hopefuls have returned their nomination papers for qualification, city officials said. The final day to file the papers is Aug. 9. Debay, elected in 1992, is credited with pushing for ordinances to control parties and noise.

In a key test case that could set the tone for future growth in the city, Newport Beach voters will decide later 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 all major developments in the city.

The city has been reimbursed $35,239 for the cost of a citywide special election last November on the controversial Measure A. The Irvine Co. and the Newport Conservancy last year agreed to pay for the cost of the election. Voters were asked to decide whether to purchase 138 acres of prime acreage near the Upper Newport Bay for $68 million. Earlier this month, the Irvine Co. paid its half and on Monday, the Newport Conservancy paid its portion, said Councilwoman Jean H.

A week after the election, some city council races remain nail-biters as the Orange County registrar of voters tallies about 48,000 absentee ballots. By Wednesday, new results could flop a 26-vote lead in Newport Beach or turn a 150-vote Santa Ana victory on its head. The weeklong uncertainty has proved emotionally trying for the candidates.

Thousands of signatures from residents who want to limit City Council terms were brought to City Hall on Thursday morning by a group that organized a petition drive to put the issue on the November ballot. Officials of the group, Newport Residents to Limit City Council Terms, said they gathered 8,584 signatures during their monthlong petition drive. The group needed to gather 6,504 signatures for the issue to qualify for the ballot.

The county Registrar of Voters has confirmed that Newport Beach residents seeking to limit City Council members to two terms have collected enough signatures to qualify a measure for the November ballot. City Clerk Wanda E. Raggio received word Tuesday that of the 8,553 signatures submitted in support of the term-limit measure, 6,833 were verified as registered voters. Term-limit supporters needed at least 6,504 valid signatures, or 15% of the city's registered voters.

A forum for candidates seeking City Council seats in Tuesday's election will be held tonight at 7 at the council chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd. The event is sponsored by the West Newport Beach Assn. All seven candidates vying for three City Council seats are expected to discuss their views on the problems confronting West Newport, the part of town called the "war zone" because of its unruly party atmosphere. Planning Commissioner Janice A.

Planning Commissioner Janice A. Debay leads a field of six candidates in campaign fund raising for the Nov. 3 election to fill three seats on the City Council. Debay has raised more than twice as much money as her opponent, account executive Richard Banks, in the race to succeed retiring District 2 Councilwoman Ruthelyn Plummer, according to financial disclosure forms filed this week. Plummer is vacating her seat in the district, which covers West Newport, after 12 years in office.

City voters this fall will decide the fate of a 250,000-square-foot office building in the first referendum on a development in the wake of November's Greenlight Initiative. The measure, overwhelmingly approved by voters last fall, requires a citywide vote on developments that exceed the city's general plan by 100 residential units, 40,000 square feet or 100 peak-hour car trips.

Orange County cities sorted out election results Wednesday in several hot city council races that centered on open space issues, development of El Toro and political rivalries. In Irvine, two of three candidates picked by anti-airport mayor-elect Larry Agran succeeded in winning seats on the City Council, creating a majority block.

Voters across Orange County delivered split results in three fiercely fought land-use battles, including passing a Newport Beach measure that allows residents to directly decide the fate of many major developments. But slow-growth initiatives in Brea and San Clemente were defeated by slim margins Tuesday, with pollsters noting that both measures were sure wins until the opposition was suddenly injected with landowner cash for stepped-up "voter education campaigns."

Fiercely debated land-use battles in three Orange County cities were yielding split decisions Tuesday night. In Newport Beach, with half the votes counted, a measure that would force individual citywide votes on many major projects was cruising to victory. Jean Watt, former city councilwoman and Measure S Greenlight supporter, said, "The time seemed to be just about right in Newport."

A slow-growth ballot measure in Newport Beach has alarmed developers and lobbying groups statewide who are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to kill an initiative they say would cripple the economy of the ritzy seaside city and spark similar efforts elsewhere. The developers have raised $405,061 in support of a dueling initiative, Measure T, that would cancel Measure S, the grass-roots initiative that would require citywide votes on major developments.

Two hotly debated, conflicting growth measures in Newport Beach are shaping up to be among the more costly city elections in Orange County history, according to campaign finance forms turned in Thursday. Organizations representing development interests have spent more than $378,000 fighting the so-called Greenlight Initiative, which if passed would let voters decide on an individual basis the fate of many major projects.

A group of city residents are working under a one-month deadline to collect thousands of signatures for a ballot initiative that would limit the number of consecutive terms City Council members can hold. Headed by Maria Hedges, whose husband, Councilman John Hedges, is serving his first term in office, the days-old group, called Newport Residents to Limit City Council Terms, plans to stake out shopping malls and canvas neighborhoods this weekend to kick off the signature drive.

Backed by a survey that suggests overwhelming opposition among business people to a $58-million land-acquisition measure on the November ballot, the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that it will oppose the environmental project. Out of 187 business and commercial property owners who responded to a Chamber of Commerce survey, 80% said they "strongly oppose" the public acquisition of three parcels that overlook the Upper Newport Bay, the chamber said.

When voters in Newport Beach decide whether to impose a stringent anti-growth measure next month, they may also be indirectly deciding the fate of two major development proposals that have been in the works since long before the Greenlight Initiative won a place on the ballot. The manager of the 30-acre Newport Dunes project said Thursday it might be scaled back significantly. And communications chip maker Conexant Systems Inc.

The Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce's Business and Community Political Action Committee has endorsed three City Council candidates for the Nov. 7 election. The committee's 12-member board of trustees unanimously endorsed Gary L. Proctor for District 2, Steve Bromberg for District 5 and Robert L. Wynn for District 7.