Bel Mar & #233;, the $80 million boutique shopping center due to break ground by year’s end on Newport Beach’s Mariner’s Mile, may close a chapter for the city.
The 56,000-square-foot project could be one of the last sizable developments in Newport Beach for some time if a ballot measure known as Greenlight II gets enough votes on Nov. 7.
The slow-growth measure, backed by activist residents, would require public votes on major projects in the city, just as the original Greenlight initiative did in 2000.
The first Greenlight requires city votes on commercial developments larger than 40,000 square feet, housing developments larger than 100 homes and on any project that adds 100 peak-hour auto trips beyond what Newport Beach’s general plan allows.
The measure has stopped most projects in Newport Beach, with most developers not even trying to take plans to the voters.
Greenlight II would continue the restrictions of its predecessor and expand them to existing development, both housing and commercial.
Critics contend the initiative, which appears on the ballot as Measure X, unfairly would stymie smaller projects.
Some home renovations and upgrades to commercial buildings could end up triggering the measure’s vote requirement if they stand to exceed the city’s density or traffic limits within a 500-foot area.
“I have some concerns about the measure, in terms of property values,both residential property values and commercial property values in particular,” City Manager Homer Bludau said. “There’s a big concern over what this will mean for revenues for the city.”
That existing homes could be affected by Greenlight II is the biggest difference from the original measure, said Jeff Flint, campaign strategist for the No On Measure X group.
“Two-thirds of the homes in Newport Beach are subject to those provisions,” he said. “Even if you’re for restricting large development, the measure is flawed. It makes a mockery of the planning process.”
The “no” side has raised about $40,000, including $20,000 from the local chapter of the Building Industry Association.
Greenlight II proponents, led by resident Philip Arst, have raised about $60,000.
As more homeowners get wind of the measure’s provisions, opponents think support will turn their way. They face an uphill climb: The original Greenlight easily passed, getting about 63% of the votes.
Greenlight has had a big impact.
In 2001, voters shot down a 10-story office building at Koll Center Newport. In 2004, they nixed plans for a resort at Newport Dunes and a boutique hotel on the Balboa Peninsula.
Some projects have made it around Greenlight.
The $65 million Newport Lexus dealership that opened this year at Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard already had zoning in place and was approved by the city in 2005.
The Irvine Company also was able to build a 50,000-square-foot office building at Newport Center in 2003 because the site already was zoned for the building.
The Irvine Co.’s Newport Coast housing development would be exempt from Greenlight II.
Neighboring cities have benefited from Greenlight.
Pacific Medical Plaza, a 75,000-square-foot medical office building going up in Costa Mesa, was built just over the city line, a stone’s throw from Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.
A planned medical project by Hoag in Newport Beach could provide the first big test of Greenlight II, if the measure passes.
Earlier this year, Hoag bought the 14-acre Newport Technology Center near its campus. The hospital wants to turn the center into medical offices and add parking.
At the time of the buy, the hospital said it recognized “that there are city approvals required and will work closely with the city to transition the property.”
If Greenlight II passes, expect to see opponents take the matter to court.
“It’s horribly flawed,” said Kristine Thalman, chief executive for the Orange County chapter of the Building Industry Association. “It is bad public policy, and they’ve set themselves up for legal challenges.”
