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An Orange County Superior Court judge ordered Newport Beach on Thursday, Aug, 27, to ready three resident initiatives for this November’s ballot.
Judge Julianne Bancroft announced her decision in lieu of an afternoon hearing that had been planned Thursday on the City Council’s decision earlier this week to schedule the ballot measures for a 2028 vote .
Bancroft said the council’ s 5-2 vote on Tuesday to place the three initiatives authored by the Newport Beach Stewardship Association on the 2028 general election ballot was an “abuse of its discretion.” “Therefore, this court has the authority,” Bancroft said, “to order the City Council to immediately take the necessary steps to place these three initiatives on the Nov.
3, 2026 ballot, including but not limited to forwarding all necessary materials to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.” The initiatives give voters a say over processes for City Council meetings, term limits and how the public selects council members in districts.
“The city will be reaching out to the Orange County Registrar of Voters to determine what the county of Orange needs from the city to comply with the order,” Georgia Rios, spokesperson for the city, said on Thursday.
Councilmember Robyn Grant was one of two council members who opposed Tuesday’s majority decision to schedule the ballot measures for 2028. “I respect the process, state codes and election codes,” she said.
“After listening to the public, reading the staff report and understanding what the trial and appellate court said, I decided that it was legitimate, lawful and fair to move forward with the 2026 ballot.” “Uncertainty is a real roadblock to our community,” she said.
“We need to have certainty as how we move forward. We have residents and businesses, other stakeholders, and city staff all trying to continue with the business of the city, and we can’t do that if we don’t know for certain what the laws are.
We’ve got a legitimate ballot initiative.” The city challenged whether an earlier housing initiative and these three following initiatives had been properly noticed to the public, saying the publication used was not the newspaper of record. Bancroft ruled the process had met the requirements.
The housing initiative was already set for the Nov. 3 ballot following the court’s decision.
Grant said she thought it was a fair question about the publication, but that has b een resolved. “I know me and all my colleagues want what’s best for residents,” she added.
“These decisions are very nuanced, and the landscape has been very fluid with respect to court decisions. The dust will settle, and we will move in lockstep with the community.
I do have faith in my council for good governance.” Nancy Scarbrough, a resident and activist associated with the initiatives, said Thursday that the court recognized the city’s efforts to “slow walk” the initiatives to avoid putting them to a public vote.
“Judge Bancroft’s order demonstrates the frustration that the city’s antics have caused the court,” Scarbrough said. “The residents have demonstrated by appearances in the Council Chambers and written comments that they are frustrated as well.
Let the voters of Newport Beach weigh in with their own opinions as to the merits of the initiatives by putting these initiatives on the November 2026 ballot.” Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page said he has asked the Superior Court to issue orders resolving disputes over ballot and county voter information guide language for the upcoming election by Aug.
28.
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