Court of Appeal Says Both Growth-Control Initiatives to Appear on Ballot

SAN FRANCISCO-Despite efforts to eliminate the choice, two anti-office-growth initiatives will appear on the November Ballot, the state Court of Appeal in San Francisco rules Friday.

The court upheld an earlier decision by Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay that allows Proposition L to go before city voters. The proposition, designed to further restrict the city’s office development boom, is similar but more restrictive than a measure put forth by Mayor Willie Brown. The mayor’s allies have been trying to remove Proposition L from the ballot.

Court of Appeal Judges James Marchiano, William Stein and Gary Strankman gave no written explanation for yesterday’s decision to keep Proposition L on the ballot. Opponents, led by real estate attorney Jim Reuben, argue the city should not have allowed the measure onto the Nov. 7 ballot because proponents missed the usual filing deadline. City officials got around the deadline by allowing Proposition L proponents to seek a special election, then consolidating that special election with the November ballot. The Court of Appeal has backed them up.

Proposition L would maintain the current 950,000-square-foot annual cap on the amount of office construction and specify that multimedia development be counted under that limit. It would also ban office construction in parts of the Mission District and South of Market and temporarily freeze it in other areas. Brown’s Proposition K would also preserve a 950,000-square-foot annual cap on office space growth, but offers more exemptions, meaning much more than 950,000 sf could ultimately be developed.