By Manuel Perez-Rivas and Fern Shen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 23, 1998; Page B1

A Montgomery County referendum that would have let voters settle the contentious debate over whether traffic should be slowed by speed humps was canceled yesterday by a county judge who ruled that the matter must be left to lawmakers.

Circuit Court Judge James C. Chapin removed the issue from the Nov. 3 ballot, ruling that the speed hump question was "unconstitutional, illegal and invalid" because it did not deal with the form and structure of government, as charter amendments are required to do. Instead, he called the proposal "a backdoor effort to adopt local legislation."

The judge used similar language in invalidating a second question yesterday that would have prohibited county officials from contracting with businesses that did not pay employees a minimum "living wage" of $10.28 an hour.

Robin Ficker (Marie Poirier Marzi - For The Post)

His rulings follow his decision this month to declare yet a third referendum invalid. That one, sponsored by anti-tax activist Robin Ficker, would have required that tax increases be approved by the voters before they could be enacted. The judge said Ficker's proposed amendment was unconstitutional because it took away powers granted to the County Council under the Maryland Constitution.

Supporters of the speed hump referendum quickly filed an appeal, which could be taken up by the Maryland Court of Appeals as early as next week. Alan B. Fischler, a leader of Save Our Streets, a civic group formed last year to fight the county's use of speed humps, called the Montgomery judge's decision "extremely disappointing."

"I believe that this decision will also be extremely disappointing to the voters of Montgomery County, because they will not have a say on an issue they feel strongly about," Fischler said.

Speed humps have become increasingly controversial in recent years, as Montgomery County officials have turned to the lowly devices as a deterrent to speeding. More than 300 county streets now have humps placed on them, drawing the ire of countless motorists. Opponents argue that humps are more than just a nuisance, that they can damage cars and delay rescue vehicles.

At the same time, humps also have die-hard proponents, who argue that they help reduce accidents and save lives by slowing traffic in residential communities. Residents of 90 other streets have applications on the waiting list for speed humps, and the county is continuing to install them.

A group of 11 residents supporting speed humps filed the lawsuit that led Chapin to remove the referendum from the ballot. They said yesterday they are forming a new group – called StreetSafe – to lobby in support of humps and other "traffic calming" measures.

"None of us thinks speed humps are the perfect solution," said Kenneth Reid, a North Bethesda resident who is one of the plaintiffs. "However, they are the best and most effective defense we have right now against abusive driving in this day of road rage."

In issuing his ruling, Chapin noted that his opinion did not address the "wisdom or desirability" of speed humps. "Everyone has their own opinion on that," he said. But he told opponents that the proper way to effect change would be by electing officials who share their views, not by amending the charter.

In rendering his decision on the so-called living wage referendum, Chapin called the language of the proposed charter amendment unconstitutionally "ambiguous and misleading."

But he expressed some ambivalence about his decision.

"I'm not as confident with this [opinion] as I was with the last one," Chapin said, referring to the speed hump provision.

The Maryland Restaurant Association filed suit to invalidate the ballot question. Members of Progressive Montgomery, the group backing the living wage measure, said they would appeal Chapin's decision.

"We went in fighting, and we're not going to sit back and watch their cowardly attempts to block the rights of Montgomery County citizens," said Bob Stewart, in a statement read by another member of the group.