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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-12-07; City Council; 12493; Request for Ballot MeasureOF CARLSBAD — AGF "DA BILL AB# MTG. 12/07/93 DEPT.PLN n)CM 1Pn O600) 00C•HT3t-i cd00 0) d COtfl Oen•H T3 cfl 01HOCD CO «aen j- n) c aiu a.cfl a rH 4.a. = 1 1 1 lpC«REQUEST FOR BALLOT MEASURE REGARDING LEGO FAMILY PARK DEPT. HD. CITY CITY MGR T3 0) CU CUfi CO •H ^~e (-1 4-1 CU 0 4—1 r™ CU I-! T3 ttf JZ rH •H <U O J2 C <->3o tiO O ac StDL th D 2) 3) OZ RECOMMENDED ACTION: If the City Council determines to initiate a City-sponsored ballot measure, refer to the City Attorney and City Clerk to prepare the appropriate documents and proposed ballot measure wording. Direction would be needed from the Council on whether the measure should be advisory or binding and on the timing of the election. Should the Council decide not to sponsor a ballot measure at this time, no Council action would be necessary. ITEM EXPLANATION On October 12, 1993, the City Council discussed placing an advisory measure on the ballot regarding citizen opinion on the LEGO Family Park. By consensus, the Council decided to take no action but agreed to revisit the issue once LEGO decides to select Carlsbad as the preferred site for the park. That decision has now been made by LEGO and therefore staff has placed this item on the agenda. There are two basic ways that a ballot question can be put to a vote of the citizens. The following discussion does not cover all of the possible ways that questions can be brought to a vote, but it covers the ways that appear to be applicable in the present case. 1) Citizen-sponsored initiative which would legislatively regulate the way the City addresses an issue in the future. This means that the measure would become law and could only be changed by a subsequent vote of the citizens. 2) City Council-sponsored proposition, which could be either advisory or binding. A referendum is another means of bringing a question to a vote of the citizens, but it applies only to the process of overturning a legislative action. Since the Council has not yet taken any action on the LEGO Family Park, the referendum process does not apply. Staff has researched this matter and has identified three key decisions which need to be made by the City Council at this time: Should the ballot question be City-sponsored or Citizen- sponsored? If City-sponsored, should the proposition be advisory or binding? On what date should the matter be set for election? The alternatives are April 1994, June 1994, and November 1994. Citizen or City Initiated Ballot Measure The first decision to be made by the City Council is to decide whether there should be a City initiated ballot question regarding LEGO. If the Council decides to place the question on the ballot, staff recommends that due consideration be given to the unique nature of the Lego Family PAGE 2 OF AGENDA BILL NO. Park proposal. Historically, staff has strongly recommended against subverting the normal planning process by submitting land use questions directly or prematurely to the voters. It is generally inappropriate to subject land use decisions to a vote of the citizens, in this way, no matter how controversial those decisions may be. "Ballot box" planning is inconsistent with Carlsbad's Growth Management Plan and the General Plan. However, the opportunity presented by the LEGO Family Park is an extraordinary situation which may warrant consideration of this procedure. It is not as much a question of a legislative action or land use decision making as it is a question of the vision that the citizens of Carlsbad have for their community. If the Council does not place the measure on the ballot, a citizens group may propose an initiative if they so desire. This would require the citizens group to prepare an initiative petition, obtain the required signatures on the petition, and meet the processing requirements and timelines contained in state law. These requirements are summarized in Exhibit 1. Because the initiative process would have to be used, the ballot measure would have to be of a "legislative" nature (i.e., land use ordinance, zone code amendment or general plan related). For this reason, a citizen initiative becomes law and cannot be an advisory measure. In other words, only the Council can sponsor an advisory measure. If the initiative petition contains the necessary signatures, the Council would have the option of first adopting the legislation or ordinance. If the Council did not adopt the legislation, it would automatically be placed on the ballot for a citizen vote. Effect of an Advisory Election If the City Council decides to sponsor the ballot measure, the next key decision is whether to make it an advisory or binding one. The City is authorized to submit a broad range of questions to the electorate for the purpose of allowing the voters to voice their opinion on substantive issues or to indicate to the City Council its approval or disapproval of a ballot proposal. The advisory vote must be indicated on the ballot. Under the Elections Code, an advisory vote means an indication of general voter opinion regarding the ballot proposal and the results of the advisory vote are not controlling on the sponsoring legislative body. The results of an advisory election would provide guidance and input to the Council regarding public opinion which the Council would consider along with all other relevant facts and information in taking final action on the project. It would probably be premature to place an initiative on the ballot at this time before an application has been filed. Staffs concern with such "ballot box" planning is based, in part, on the concept that land use decisions should not be made outside of the prescribed review and public hearing process. That is to say, to a large extent, land use decisions will depend on the facts and testimony presented at the numerous public hearings held in connection with the approval process. Additionally, an initiative measure would be asking the citizens to short-circuit the normal process and make the final decision based on incomplete and inadequate information. In effect, it would deprive Lego of an opportunity to file an application and have it addressed at duly noticed public hearings. To ask the citizens to vote on an initiative measure before they have had an opportunity to participate in the normal environmental and project review process would be asking them to speculate on the ultimate nature and design of the project before it has taken place. Another key decision involves the tuning of when the measure should be placed before the voters. As noted previously, there are three alternatives for timing of the election. If a citizen group sponsors the measure by initiative, the earliest it could go to a vote would be on the next general PAGE 3 OF AGENDA BILL NO. election in November of 1994. This would be primarily because of the procedural steps that must be carried out to qualify and schedule the measure for the ballot, as outlined in Exhibit 1. If the City Council determines to sponsor the measure, the earliest it could go before the voters would be in April 1994 as a special election. To hold the election in April 1994, all necessary actions would have to be taken by the City by December 21, 1993. The next opportunity to place this question on a ballot would be in June of 1994 as a special city election, consolidated with the countywide primary election which would be held at that time. Finally, the City Council could place a City-sponsored measure on the general election of November 1994. Since there is already a City election scheduled for November 1994, it would not be a special election. There are advantages and disadvantages to holding a special election before November of 1994. The primary advantage is an earlier decision. This is important because LEGO is an integral part of the Carlsbad Ranch Specific Plan. Other portions of the Specific Plan are on a shorter schedule for completion, but their planning is to a certain extent dependent on LEGO's schedule. It would be unfair to these other projects to delay them unnecessarily pending the vote on LEGO. The primary disadvantage of an earlier election is that more citizens tend to vote at the general elections and so a June or November vote might tend to be more representative of the community's feelings. The April election date would also have the disadvantages of a very tight timeline and high cost. For these reasons, staff recommends against scheduling the election for April 1994. FISCAL IMPACT If a special election were to be held in April 1994, the estimated cost would be approximately $125,000. If a special municipal election is to be held in June 1994 to coincide with the countywide primary election, the estimated cost would be approximately $10,000 to $15,000 to add the item to the ballot. If the ballot measure is placed on the regular municipal election to be held in November 1994, the additional cost would be approximately $2,000 to $3,000. These costs would be the same for either a City-sponsored proposition or a citizen initiative. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The initiative/proposition ballot measure process is exempt from environmental review. EXHIBIT 1. Procedures for Placing a Citizen Initiative on the Ballot. EXHIBIT "1" INITIATIVE PROCESS The Initiative process is used by citizens who want to force Council to enact an ordinance or some legislative action. 1. Citizen starts the clock by filing Notice of Intention (with text of initiative) with the City Clerk; and at the same time files with the City Clerk a request that a ballot title and summary be prepared. 2. Within 15 days after the proposed measure is filed, the City Attorney shall provide a ballot title and summary to the City Clerk. 3. Citizen must publish the notice of intention and the title and summary (and furnish the City Clerk with a proof of publication within 10 days of publication). 4. Citizen may begin circulating petition after publication referenced in #3. 5. Citizen has 180 days from date of receipt of tide and summary (see #2 above). Petition must be filed with City Clerk within the 180 day time frame. 6. Within 30 days from the date of the filing of the petition, the City Clerk must examine the petition and determine sufficiency. If sufficient, it must be presented to Council at the next regular meeting. 7. The City Clerk certifies the petition at a Council meeting. Council may determine to place the item on the ballot or adopt the ordinance as presented. In addition, Council now has the option of referring the initiative measure for a report (i.e. it's fiscal impact). 8. If referred for a report, the report must be presented to Council no later than 30 days after the Clerk certifies the petition (#7). Council must then determine whether to place the item on the ballot or to adopt as presented.