Official’s Hawaii Deal Is Ruled Legal

A Santa Ana planning commissioner who flew to Hawaii on the jet of a developer appearing before her commission did not violate state law, a state agency has ruled.

Victoria Betancourt flew on Mike Harrah’s private jet to Honolulu 10 days after voting to approve ground-floor plans for the developer’s 37-story Santa Ana office tower, a structure that has generated controversy because of its height and size.

Betancourt traveled to the islands May 5 to view a luxury condominium she was buying from Harrah for $890,000, Harrah said. She also received two days of lodging.

Relying on evidence supplied by Betancourt, the state Fair Political Practices Commission ruled May 25 that she received the same trip that Harrah offered others who bought one of his condominiums.

Therefore, it was not considered a gift, the commission concluded.

Betancourt did not return calls for comment Thursday.

Fair Political Practices Commission General Counsel Luisa Menchaca advised Betancourt that “if the property was offered to you at a discount or below market price, or before being offered for sale to members of the public, that discount would be considered a gift....”

Harrah said he planned to fly other buyers to the property and that the unit was offered at the market price.

The developer, who owns 56 buildings in downtown Santa Ana, said the deal “has nothing to do with fair practices or anything. I knew there was nothing wrong the whole time.

“This is a great business deal,” he added. “This was just brought up by people who have nothing to do but waste time ... and taxpayer dollars.”

Betancourt was accompanied on the plane by other condominium buyers from Santa Ana, including Historic Resources Commissioner Alfonso Bustamante and his wife, Patricia, who has volunteered to promote Harrah’s office tower.

Harrah said last month that Betancourt and the Bustamantes stood to “make hundreds of thousands of dollars” by purchasing the condominiums before his Honolulu project was completed and then reselling them.

Betancourt, named to the Planning Commission by Mayor Miguel A. Pulido in 2005, said she hadn’t thought about the potential conflict of interest during her April 24 vote on Harrah’s Santa Ana project.

Harrah still has several matters pending before the commission involving One Broadway Plaza, a project approved by the Planning Commission and City Council in 2004.

The development’s height and square footage angered some residents who unsuccessfully attempted to block construction through a ballot measure.