March 28, 2006

Judge rules Loma Linda petition invalid

"For the second time in less than a week, a judge has stymied a conservation group seeking to stop two housing and commercial developments and preserve open space in the city.

A federal judge ruled Friday that a petition for a proposed ballot initiative to protect land in the South Hills was invalid because it was not translated into Spanish.

The decision came a day after a San Bernardino Superior Court judge ruled that referendums on two housing and retail projects totaling about 300 acres were flawed because they violated the state Elections Code. The referendums were scheduled to appear on the June 6 ballot in which voters also will elect three council members.

In the federal ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the hillside initiative from being considered by voters. Collins' decision also applies to the two referendum petitions that were thrown out in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Save Loma Linda, the conservation group that was trying to qualify the initiative for the August or November ballot, violated the requirements of the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act, Collins said in her ruling.

The law requires counties to provide election materials in other languages if more than 5 percent of the voting-age population of a particular minority group in that area does not speak or read English well.

The U.S. Census director has determined that San Bernardino County meets the threshold for requiring election materials be provided in Spanish and English.

You can read the story here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at March 28, 2006 10:58 AM