Carlsbad

A Carlsbad citizens group has asked the Vista Superior Court to force the city to enact a growth-control initiative that won a majority of the vote in November but was declared a loser.

Proposition G, which was backed by the grass-roots group Concerned Citizens, got 51.5% of the vote in the Nov. 4 election, but the City Council refused to enact the measure because a competing initiative, Proposition E, got more votes.

Proposition E included a stipulation that, if both propositions passed, the one receiving the higher number of votes would become law. Under the so-called “killer clause,” Proposition E was the victor with 57.9% of the vote.

Backers of Proposition G, however, maintain that such a killer clause can only be used if the two measures conflict. They say Proposition G, which would put an annual cap on housing construction, in no way contradicts Proposition E, a measure designed to help ensure that city services keep pace with future development.

Carlsbad city officials, however, maintain that the two measures are in conflict, in particular because Proposition G would slow growth so severely that the public facilities called for under Proposition E could not be built.

The city has 10 days to respond to the motion filed by attorneys for Concerned Citizens.