Pinecrest rejects referendum requiring 60% voter approval for zoning code changes
The village of Pinecrest rejected a controversial charter change that would have required 60% voter approval for updates to the zoning code and land development regulations.
Unofficial election night results Tuesday showed the charter amendment failed 63% to 37%.
Over 7,000 residents cast ballots in the vote-by-mail special election. That represents about 53% of the village’s registered voters.
The results mark the end of a contentious election cycle that divided the community, incurred tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees for the village and led to police investigating the theft of campaign yard signs.
READ MORE: ‘I have not seen this level of ugliness.’ Pinecrest divided over special election
“Tonight, Pinecrest gave a vote of confidence to our 27 years of professional and scandal-free government, to our Village Council, and to the democratic system that created the beautiful Village we love,” Pinecrest Friends, the PAC that represented the “no” campaign, said in a statement. “We are humbled and proud to have worked to support VOTE NO, which prevailed today.”
Laura McNaughton, who founded Concerned Citizens of Pinecrest, which represented the “yes” campaign, said in a statement that her group will “continue to be vigilant watching over important issues that affect Pinecrest like overdevelopment, preserving our green spaces, protecting our trees, our safety, and our quality of life.”
“Regardless of the election results,” McNaughton said, “our initiative increased awareness and activated resident participation like never before.”
Mayor Joe Corradino, who opposed the charter change, said in an email statement, “I applaud Village residents for being an engaged and informed community.”
“Now it’s time to get back to the day-to-day business of running our Village,” Corradino added. “It’s time to come together again as one community, listen to our neighbors, understand and be respectful of our differences and embrace our similarities.”
Campaign spending
The village spent over $210,000 on the special election, including over $64,000 in legal fees from litigation with Concerned Citizens of Pinecrest, $86,509 for “legal charter revision” costs, $2,000 for social media, $3,000 for Community News ads, over $3,300 for legal advertising and about $2,200 for postcards with voting information.
The PAC behind Concerned Citizens of Pinecrest raised over $42,000, according to the most recently available campaign finance reports.
The Pinecrest Friends PAC, formed in late 2022, raised over $15,000, including a $2,000 contribution from Corradino, and $1,000 contributions from Councilmember Katie Abbott and Vice Mayor Anna Hochkammer.
Approval would have meant that future changes to the village’s zoning code and land development regulations would go to referendum.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 7:55 PM.
.jpg)