The most contentious race was between Measure S, the so-calledGreenlight Initiative, and Measure T, a traffic-phasing ordinance.Voters gave Measure S a 63.4% to 36.6% margin of victory. As aresult, developers must wait for a vote of the electorate forapproval of a proposed project that fits within the requirementslaid out by the initiative. The concern for developers is theprocess.

"With the passage of Measure S, it is now crucial for itsproponents, working with the City Council, to promptly clarify forall the residents and businesses in Newport Beach the confusingambiguities of the measure and to clearly explain exactly how itwill be implemented," says Gary Hunt, executive vice president ofthe Irvine Co., in a prepared statement.

Measure T, which was backed by developers and industryassociations, lost 35.1 % to 64.9%. It would have requireddevelopers to pay for infrastructure improvements to mitigatetraffic congestion caused by development of a project. If bothmeasures had passed, the one with the most votes would havewon.