A Beverly Hills initiative that would mandate two hours of free parking in city lots is back on the March 8 ballot, but the legal battle over its validity isn’t over yet.

The California Court of Appeal granted a stay Thursday of an earlier Superior Court order that invalidated the measure. The stay, the latest development in a fight between city officials and a group of businesses led by medical office owner G&L Realty Corp., puts the measure back on the ballot pending further court order.

Earlier in the week, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones had ruled that the voter initiative was “impermissibly vague and clearly invalid.” She agreed with officials that the initiative, known as Measure 2P, improperly directs the Beverly Hills City Council to enact legislation, rather than act as an ordinance itself.

Since Jan. 7 is the deadline for the city to submit ballots for printing, the stay could mean that the measure will end up on the ballot no matter what happens next. But whether the votes will ultimately be allowed to be counted is still up in the air.

The ruling is a temporary victory for Beverly Hills-based G&L, which owns five medical offices in the city and led a $108,000 initiative campaign. Part of that money went toward gathering more than 2,600 resident signatures.

“We’ve always said the initiative was valid,” wrote Harvey Englander, a political consultant hired by G&L, in an e-mail statement Friday. “We trust the voters and we want the city to trust them as well.”

City officials, who have cut $27 million from the budget in the last two years, filed a legal challenge last month against the measure, which they estimate would cost the city $1.3 million in annual parking revenue. Officials also placed a cheaper, competing free parking measure known as Measure 3P on the same ballot. Officials estimate Measure 3P, which would guarantee three hours free parking to residents only, would cost $400,000 annually.

City officials could not be reached for comment late Friday.