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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-07-27; City Council; 7098; Initiative Petition - expenditure limitationCIT> OF CARLSBAD — AGENDA BILL AR# 70? ff MTG 7/27/82 DEPT. CC TITLE: INITIATIVE PETITION LIMITATION - EXPENDITURE DPPT HD^-G^V- CiTYATTYRTJ^ niTYMGR. ^ o 8 RECOMMENDED ACTION: This matter is a policy decision for Council. ITEM EXPLANATION An initiative petition has been processed in accordance with the requirements of the California Elections Code. The signatures have been examined per Section 3708 of the Elections Code, and the petition has been certified as to sufficiency. The petition contains signatures of no less than ten percent (10%) of the registered voters of the city. According to Section 4011 of the Elections Code, Council has three options: 1. Introduce ordinance, without change, as submitted; or 2. Place the ordinance on the ballot of the Special Municipal Election on November 2, 1982; or 3. Take no action and the ordinance would be required to be placed on the ballot at the City's next General Municipal Election which will be in June, 1984. Documents have been prepared to allow Council to take the action of their choice. If Council desires to adopt the ordinance, the ordinance has been prepared and is attached. If Council desires to place the matter on the ballot of the Special Municipal Election being held November 2, 1982, implementing resolutions are attached. FISCAL IMPACT If Council places the matter on the ballot at the November 2, 1982 election, the estimated cost of the Special Election would increase from an estimated $2,500 to an estimated $4,500. If Council takes no action and the matter goes before the voters at the next regular municipal election, the cost will be slightly higher since it is based on the number of registered voters and that number generally increases. 1 2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF 3 4 5 6 MORE THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN CITY FUNDS. 7 8 11 20 23 24 RESOLUTION NO. 6953 CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 6934, CALLING AND GIVING NOTICE OF THE HOLDING OF THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN SAID CITY ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1982, TO INCLUDE THE SUBMISSION TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF SAID CITY AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO REQUIRING VOTER APPROVAL FOR THE CITY TO PURCHASE OR IMPROVE REAL PROPERTY COSTING WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6934, calling a Special Municipal Election to be held in said City on Tuesday, November 2, 1982, in order to fill the vacancy on the City Council; and WHEREAS, an initiative petition was processed in accordance with California Elections Code; and WHEREAS, the signatures have been verified in accordance with Section 3708 of the California Elections Code; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 4011 of the California Elections Code, the petition has been certified as sufficient in that it is signed by not less than ten percent of the voters of the City; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad has determined to submit the ordinance to the qualified voters of the City of Carlsbad at the Special Municipal Election being held on November 2, 1982; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, does hereby declare, determine and order as follows: 27 28 1 Section 1. That the above recitations are true.and correct. 2 Section 2. That Resolution No. 6934 is hereby amended to 3 include the submission to the qualified voters of said City an 4 ordinance hereinafter set forth relating to requiring voter 5 approval for purchase or improvement of real property costing 6 more than one million dollars in City funds. Section 3. The ordinance submitted to the voters shall be 8 as follows: 9 The People of the City of Carlsbad do ordain as follows: 10 That Title 1 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code shall be amended by the addition of Chapter 1.24 to require voter authorization for real property purchase or improvement projects in excess of $1,000,000 12 1. Purpose and Intent The acquisition and/or development of 13 real estate by the City of Carlsbad has profound financial impacts upon the budget of the City and upon the the tax burden 14 imposed upon the taxpayers; 15 The City's financial resources have become more constrained as a result of the passage of recent constitutional amendments 16 such as Proposition 13 and the Gann Initiative Spending Limitation, thereby increasing the significance and importance of decisions by the City to spend large amounts of money to purchase or develop real property; 18 In the absence of the provisions of this ordinance requiring voter approval for major land acquisition or development projects by the City these decisions are often made without adequate 20 public review and comment in the context of an overall capital improvements program; It is the intent of this ordinance to provide the citizens 22 and taxpayers of Carlsbad with an opportunity to express directly their preference by vote prior to major city expenditures for the 23 purchase or development of land; 24 It is not the intent of this ordinance to interfere with the normal day to day administration of the City or with routine 25 ongoing capital expenditures; 26 27 28 2 . Definitions. 5 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 For purposes of this ordinance, the following words and phrases shall have the following definitions: a. "Effective Date" shall mean the date on which this proposed ordinance was adopted by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad or was passed by the voters at the polls whichever occurs first. b. "Real Property Acquisition" shall mean the purchase or lease of any real property, improved or unimproved, within or without the corporate limits of the City of Carlsbad to be paid for in whole or in part by city funds. c. "Improvement to Real Property" shall mean the actual physical construction of improvements on real property owned, leased, or controlled by the City, or the modification, enlargement, or alteration of existing improvements on such property. d. "City Funds" shall mean City of Carlsbad general fund monies; federal general revenue sharing monies and all other monies, but shall not include categorical federal and state grants available to the city for specific purposes. City funds shall not include special assessments. 3. Vote Required . The City of Carlsbad shall make no Real Property Acquisition and/or no Improvement to Real Property the cost of which exceeds $1,000,000 in City funds, unless the pro- posed acqusition and/or improvement project and the cost in City funds is first placed upon the ballot and approved by a majority of the voters voting thereon at an election. A project may not be separated into parts or phases so as to avoid the effects of this ordinance. 4. Determination of cost in City fundsin City fundlT of a Improvement to Real Property exceeds costs shall be included: Cost. In determining whether or not the proposed Real Property Acquisition or $1,000,000, the following a. The purchase price of the real estate, including improvements, or the present value of a lease, as appropriate; b. The contract price of the improvements; c. All preliminary studies and reports directly related to the acquisition or improvement, including but not limited to, Environmental Impact Reports, architectural renderings, soils analyses, engineering work, and the like; d. Finance cost, if any. 5. Guidelines. The City Council may adopt reasonable guidelines to implement this ordinance following notice and public hearing. 6. Exemption for Certain Projects. This ordinance shall not apply to any Real Property acquisition or Improvement to Real Property which has obtained a vested right as of the effective date of this ordinance. For purposes of this ordinance, a "vested right" shal have been obtained if each of the following is met: a. The proposed project has received its final discretionary approval; and t b. Substantial expenditures have been made in good faith reliance on the final discretionary approval; and c. Substantial construction has been commenced in good faith reliance on the final dicretionary approval, where construction is contemplated. Whether or not a vested right has been obtained in a particlar case is a question of fact to be determined on a case by case basis by the City Council following notice and public hearing. •"•' 27 28 7. Amendment or Repeal. This ordinance may be amended or repealed only by a majority of the voters voting at an election thereon. 15 8. Severability . If any section, sentence, clause, phrase, part~J or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this .ordinance. It is hereby declared that this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion thereof, would have been adopted or passed irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, sentences, clauses, phrases, parts, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional." Section 4. That on the ballots to be used at said special election, in addition to any other matters required by law, and in addition to any other matters specified in Resolution No. 6934, there shall be printed substantially the following: Shall an initiative ordinance be adopted adding | | f Chapter 1.24 to the Carlsbad Municipal Code which j YES | | would prohibit the city from making an acquisition j j j of or improvement to real property the cost of which j ----- | --- | exceeds $1,000,000 in city funds, unless it is first | j | placed on the ballot and approved by a majority of | NO | | the voters voting thereon at an election. _ | | j 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Section 5. That a cross (+) placed in the voting square after the word "YES" in the manner hereinbefore provided shall be counted in favor of the adoption of the ordinance. A cross (+) placed in the voting square after the word "NO" in the manner hereinbefore provided shall be counted against the adoption of the ordinance. Section 6. The ordinance submitted by this resolution shall be designated on the ballot be a letter printed on the left margin of the square containing the description of the measure, as provided in Section 10219 of the Elections Code. Section 7. That the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution; shall enter the same in the book of original resolutions of said City; and shall make a minute of the passage and adoption thereof in the record of the proceedings of the City Council of said City, in the minutes of the meeting at which the same is passed and adopted. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at an adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad held on the 27th day of July , 1982, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Casler, Lewis, Chick and Anear NOES: None ABSENT: Council Member Kulchin J MARY H.7CASLER, Mayor ATTEST: /), n VL/ /) /POCtijg^OL/^. rC* f\ glXA-xLe^-y^^t^,.TOJETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ; City Clerk (SEAL) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 RESOLUTION NO.6954 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING CERTAIN OF ITS MEMBERS TO FILE A WRITTEN ARGUMENT REGARDING A CITY MEASURE. WHEREAS, a Special Municipal Election is to be held in the City of Carlsbad, California, on November 2, 1982, at which there will be submitted to the qualified electors of said City the following measure: Snail an initiative ordinance be adopted adding | Chapter 1.24 to the Carlsbad Municipal Code which | YES would prohibit the city from making an acquisition | of or improvement to real property the cost of which | exceeds $1,000,000 in city funds, unless it is first | placed on the ballot and approved by a majority of j NO the voters voting thereon at an election. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESpLVED that the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, does hereby declare, determine and order as follows: Section 1. That the above recitations are. true and correct. Section 2. That this City Council, being the legislative body of the City of Carlsbad, hereby authorizes Mary Casler Claude Lewis Ann Kulchin Richard Chick Girard Anear 12 13 14 15 16 17 23 24 25 26 27 28 members of said body, to file a written argument against the City measure set forth in the recitals hereof in accordance with Article 4, Chapter 3, Division 5 of the Elections Code of the State of California, and to change said argument until and including the date fixed by the City Clerk after which no arguments for or against said City measure may be submitted to the City Clerk. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at an adjourned regular meeting of the Carlsbad City Council held on the 27th day of July , 1982, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Casler, Lewis, Chick and Anear NOES: None ABSENT: Council Member Kulchin / MARY Hy CASLER, Mayor 18 ATTEST: 20 ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City CierJ (SEAL) MTG.7/27/82 DEPT. CC EXHIBITS 1. Resolution No. L*?.5^3 > which 'would amend the resolution calling the election to include the submittal of the ordinance to the voters on the ballot. 2. Resolution No. fefl^^T , which would allow Council to designate a few or all of their members, or other individuals, to prepare and submit an argument against the proposition. Arguments are limited to 300 words, and the deadline for submittal to the City Clerk would be August 9, 1982. 3. Resolution No. a^tf^T ' i which would rescind a portion of a previously adopted resolution and would prevent the filing of rebuttals to the arguments. This is not a required action, but is submitted for Council discussion and decision. If Council desires to allow rebuttal arguments, this resolution should not be adopted. If rebuttal arguments are allowed, the deadline for submittal would be August 19, 1982, and would be limited to 250 words each. 4. Ordinance No. / £j£~^5~', amending Title 1 of Carlsbad Municipal Code by the addition of Chapter 1.24 to require voter authorization for real property purchase or improvement projects which cost in excess of $1,000,000. 1 RESOLUTION NO. 6955 2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE GIT/ OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, RESCINDING SECTION 2 OF RESOLUTION NO. 5496 AND DETERMINING THAT REBUTT ARGUMENTS FOR CITY MEASURES SHALL NOTygfe FILED.4 WHEREAS, Section 5014.5 of the Elections Code of the State of / the State of California authorizes the/City Council to adopt provisions to provide for the... .fglipg of rebuttal arguments for \>>s^c Q City measures submitted at munioApai. elect ions; and f \ \ WHEREAS, Section 2 of Re^s/51ut\on/No. 5496 which was adopted __ by the City Council on Augj/stXl, ly(7B, allows for rebuttal arguments to be \f iled\x>r/\^ity measures at all municipal ._ elections; and _. WHEREAS, the C^6y Council has determined not to allow14 ^ - rebuttal argnqien£s o\i City measures; 16 NOW, THERE^O^E , B^ IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the _„ City of Carlsbad, £ali\Eornia, does hereby declare, determine and order as follows:_Lo Section 1. That the above recitations are true and correct. Section 2. That Section 2 of Resolution No. 5496, providing n-, for /the filing of rebuttal arguments for City measures submitted at all municipal elections is hereby rescinded. 23 " 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at an adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad held on the day of , 1982, by the following vote, to wit: 4 AYES: 5 NOES: 6 ABSENT: 7 8 9 10 MARY H. CASLER, Mayor 12 ATTEST: 14 15 ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City Clerk 16 1? (SEAL) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 254 26 27 28 ORDINANCE NO. 1255 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSLBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 1 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE BY THE ADDITION OF CHAPTER 1.24 TO REQUIRE VOTER AUTHORIZATION FOR REAL PROPERTY PURCHASE OR IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS WHIG) COST IN EXCESS OF $1,000,000. / i/cThe City Council of the City of Carlsbad/ California does ordain as follows: SECTION 1: That Title 1 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended by the addition of Chapter ^.1.24 which reads as follows: "ChaptejXj-.24 EXPENDI Sections; 1.24.010 I T A?I ON 1.24.020 1.24.030 1.24.0 1 . 24 . 0 5 0 24.060 24.070 24.080 Purpose VzfnH Intent De\iniL4bnsN Vot\Rfequ\ire< Dete)toina\ion\ of Cost Gu i/e\ine sN Jx,jemptVon for Certain Projects endmAnt or Repeal /SeVer ablity 1.24.010 Puypose an>LJ[ntent The acquisition and/or development of real estate by the City of Carlsbad has profound financial impacts upon the budget of the City and upon the the tax burden imposed upon the taxpayers; The City's financial resources have become more constrained as a result of the passage of recent constitutional amendments such as Proposition 13 and the Gann Initiative Spending Limitation, thereby increasing the significance and importance of dec/sions by the City to spend large amounts of money to purchase or/develop real property; In the absence of the provisions of this ordinance requiring 'voter approval for major land acquisition or development projects by the City these decisions are often made without adequate public review and comment in the context of an overall capital improvements program; 1 It is the intent of this ordinance to provide the citizens and taxpayers of Carlsbad with an opportunity to express directly 2 their preference by vote prior to major city expenditures for the purchase or development of land; o It is not the intent of this ordinance to interfere with the normal day to day administration of the City or with routine ongoing capital expenditures; 5 1.24.020 Definitions.6 For purposes of this ordinance, the following words and ' phrases shall have the following definitions: a. "Effective Date" shall mean the date on which this proposed ordinance was adopted by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad or was passed by the voters at the polls whichever occurs first. 10 b. "Real Property Acquisition" shall mean the purchase or 11 lease of any real property, improved or unimproved, within or without the corporate limits of the City of Carlsbad to be paid 12 for in whole or in part by city funds. c. "Improvement to Real Property" shall mean the actual physical construction of improvements on real property owned, leased, or controlled by the City, or the modification, enlargement, or alteration of existing improvements on such property. d. "City Funds" shall mean City of Carlsbad general fund monies; federal general revenue sharing monies and all other monies, but shall not include categorical federal and state grants available to the city for specific purposes. City funds shall not include special assessments. 1.24.030 Vote Required. The City of Carlsbad shall make no Real Property Acquisition and/or no Improvement to Real Property the 20 cost of which exceeds $1,000,000 in City funds, unless the pro- posed acqusition and/or improvement project and the cost in City funds is first placed upon the ballot and approved by a majority of the voters voting thereon at an election. A project may not be separated into parts or phases so as to avoid the effects of this ordinance.23 1.24.040 Determination of Cost. In determining whether or not 24 the costin City funds of a proposed Real Property Acquisition or Improvement to Real Property exceeds $1,000,000, the following 25 costs shall be included: 26 a. xhe purchase price of the real estate, including improvements, or the present value of a lease, as appropriate; fc i 88 1 b. The contract price of the improvements; 2 c. All preliminary studies and reports directly related to the acquisition or improvement, including but not limited to, 3 Environmental Impact Reports, architectural renderings, soils analyses, engineering work, and the like; 4 d. Finance cost, if any. 5 1.24.050 Guidelines. The City Council may adopt reasonable 6 guidelines to implement this ordinance following notice and public hearing. 7 1.24.060 Exemption for Certain Projects. This ordinance shall 8 not apply to any Real Property acquisition or Improvement to Real Property which has obtained a vested right as of the effective 9 date of this ordinance. For purposes of this ordinance, a "vested right" shal have been obtained if each of the following 10 is met: a. The proposed project has received its final discretionary approval; and 12 b. Substantial expenditures have been made in good faith 13 reliance on the final discretionary approval; and 14 c. Substantial construction has been commenced in good faith reliance on the final dicretionary approval, where construction 15 is contemplated. Whether or not a vested right has been obtained in a particlar case is a question of fact to be determined on a case by case basis by the City Council following notice and public hearing. 18 1.24.070 Amendment or Repeal. This ordinance may be amended or repealed only by a majority of the voters voting at an election thereon. 20 1.24.080 Severability. If any section, sentence, clause, phrase,part,orportion of this ordinance is for any reason held 21 to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the 22 remaining portions of this ordinance. It is hereby declared that this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, 23 phrase, part, or portion thereof, would have been adopted or passed irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, 24 sentences, clauses, phrases, parts, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional." 25 26 27 28 1 EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall be effective 2 thirty days after its adoption, and the City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance and cause it to be published at least once in the Carlsbad Journal within fifteen days after its adoption. 6 INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a regular meeting of the ' Carlsbad City Council, held on the day of 8 1982, and thereafter 9 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of 10 said City Council, held on the day of , 1982, •'••'• by the following vote, to wit: 12 AYES: 13 NOES: 14 ABSENT: 15 16 MARY H. CASLER, Mayor ATTEST: 18 19 20 ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City Clerk 21 (SEAL) 22 23 24 25 26 27 4. 28 ACT presentation to City Council re AB #7098 Initiative Petition, July 27, 1982 I represent the Association of Carlsbad Taxpayers, Incor- porated. Copies of this statement are available to the Council and to the media representatives. As promised six months ago, ACT is here for a repeat performance of the million dollar initiative. But this time, we appear with the direct support of 2,149 - 11# - of your voting constituents. This percentage is a statistically valid sample of the voting population. If projected, it would mean that more than $0$ of Carlsbad's voters would have signed the million dollar initiative if offered the opportunity. Furthermore, based on the experiences of the petition circulators, a large majority of those who signed did so not because they wished to put the measure to a vote but because they wanted the initiative enacted as the law. Accordingly, ACT believes there is extensive support for its proposal and urges the Council to introduce at this meeting Ordinance 1255 amending the Municipal Code to require voter authorization for real property purchase or improvement projects which cost in excess of $1,000,000 in City funds. This action would support your often-repeated intention to be responsive to the desires of your constituents. It would, most certainly, be consistent with your recent decision supporting the citizens' desires to elect a councilmember to fill the seat vacated by Kayor Casler. In the,case of the million dollar initiative, you have a tangible and widespread expression of the desires of the voters. Your recent attempts to increase citizen participation in the development of the city's capital improvement program are laudable and desirable. In pursuing this aim, you should construe the -2- initiative as one of the best means toward that end. What better way to obtain citizen feedback than through the dialogue preceding an election, with the final decision in the ballot box? Admittedly, the initiative will place some constraints on the "freewheeling" the Council has been accustomed to in the expenditure of capital funds. But these constraints wil not unduly hamper our city's government. Y/e are, after all, not recommending constraints in the formulation of Operation and Maintenance budgets where time is of the essence. Capital budgets, on the other hand, should be constructed with deliberation and with careful consideration of the consequences. The largest single expenditures of taxpayers monies are committed in the capital program and, thus, have a significant impact on not only present* residents but on their children's children as well. Capital budgets are not the place for "shooting from the hip". Nor should they be used for pork barrel projects to further political careers. Having played a key role in the making of the first Five-Year Capital Improvement Program in this City and in its refinement and execution over several years, I am thoroughly familiar with the process. I know the million dollar initiative is workable. Should you, despite this logic, still feel you can defeat the initiative at the polls, ACT urges the adoption of Resolution No. 6953» which will place the million dollar initiative on the ballot along with the contest for councilmember at the next election intthis City scheduled for November 2, !Sb2. To delay the vote on the initiative until the election in 1984 - an option the City Legal Office contends you have - would put you in the position of resorting to MHMlBfe political chicanery based solely on a legalistic definition of "regular municipal election". -3- ACT lias relied on tlie assumption that, if sufficient signatures were obtained in time to place the initiative on the November, 1982 ballot, the Council would act fairly and do just that. We came to this meeting confident that our reliance on your fairness is not misplaced. Now, having covered ACT'S main concerns, I would ask your consideration of two other concerns. ACT is mystified as to the recommendation by your Legal Office to rescind the opportunity for rebuttal arguments on city ballot measures. That rescission would save some space on the sample ballot, but that hardly justifies the action. A brief rebuttal is considered essential in presenting a more complete argument and is fairer to both opponents and proponents. ACT recommends Resolution No. 6955 be filed without action. A final point ... ACT suggests that that the question to be put before the voters as worded in Resolutions No. 6953 and 6954 is confusing. We are certain it wasn't meant to be and recommend it be reworded in the positive and in simple, direct language as follows: "Shall an initiative ordinance be adopted into lav/ which would require voter approval at an election before the City of Carlsbad could spend more than $1,000,000 in city funds on a single project in the Capital Improvement Program involving the purchase or improvement of real property." This concludes ACT's presentation; however, before yielding the floor I would like to extend to the City Clerk a commendation from ACT's Board of Directors for so ably and responsibly dis- charging'her duties as an elected official. When we delivered our bundle of petitions to her office she expeditiously counted the signatures to ensure UtU'L prima facie evidence as to the number of signatures. Her efficient, business- like approach to the task inspired confidence. We thank you for your attention and the opportunity to make this statement.