Yesterday was a pretty good day. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a charter amendment I wrote for the City of Newport Beach in a unanimous decision. The charter amendment locates the future City Hall building on city-owned property adjacent to the Newport Beach Central Library at Fashion Island.
Initiative proponents William Ficker, Jack Croul and Marian Bergeson were responsible for qualifying the initiative for the ballot in February, 2008, but were opposed in the campaign by a majority of the City Council, who had other ideas about where the City Hall should be. STA Campaigns managed the effort for the proponents. After a spirited campaign, the voters decided by a 53% to 47% vote to pass the initiative. Opponent Allan Beek, an "open space" advocate, waged the campaign against the measure, and filed pre-election and post-election Superior Court challenges, losing on all counts. He then took his appeal, and now the decision of the three-judge panel at the Court of Appeals will most likely close this chapter in Newport Beach history.
The Court’s memorandum on the decision has some interesting references to "initiative law" and it is attached.