Judge declares general plan initiative invalid

The Salinas Californian
Posted March 23, 2006

Staff Report

A federal judge ruled this morning that a Monterey County general plan initiative violates federal law and can’t appear on the June ballot in its current form.

U.S. District Court Judge James Ware ruled that the initiative, which would dictate where growth occurs in the county during the next 20 years, violates the federal Voting Rights Act because initiative supporters circulated materials only in English, not in Spanish, while collecting signatures to qualify it for the ballot. The act requires that election materials be translated for voters.

Ware’s ruling upholds a decision by county supervisors last month to keep the measure off the ballot.

The initiative would concentrate development in cities and five community areas, including Boronda, Castroville, Chualar, Fort Ord and Pajaro. It also would limit new subdivisions outside cities and community areas and require new developments to have 30 percent housing for low- and moderate-income people — 40 percent if the developments are built on public land.