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HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 MEASURE F 01-17-00DATE' JANUARY 17, 2000 inter-Oom NO. 18 1-17-00 TO: FROM' SUBJECT: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE- (MEASURE F) SUMMARY On JanUary 3, 2000, it was by consensus of the City Council to agendize the Safe attd Healthy Communities Initiative (Measure F) for discussion attd to limit the public testintony to one (1) hour. RECOMMENDATION That the City Council' Open the meeting to accept public comments and limit testimony.from those in favor and opposed to the Measure to one-half (½) hour each for a maximum of one (1) hour; and, · Take action as it deems appropriate. DISCUSSION The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative (Measure F), proposed by the Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities, will be considered by the Orange County voters on the March 7, 2000 ballot. The complete ballot Measure is attached for the Council's consideration. The major provisions of the Measure are as follows: The Measure limits any new or expanded jails; hazardous waste landfills; or, civilian airports from approval by the County of Orange unless ratified by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Orange County voters at a County General Election. The applicability to jails relates to facilities that will contain or currently contain 1,000 beds or more or which are located within one-half (½) mile or less of one hundred (100) or more residential units. · The applicability to hazardous waste facilities relates to new or the physical expansion of facilities beyond the current legally permissible and authorized limits. · The applicability to airports includes: · "The operation of any existing civilian airport beyond its current legally permissible and authorized level of operations.". City Council Report Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative - Measure F January 17, 2000 Page 2 · "The physical expansion of the facilities of any existing civilian airport beyond the current and legally authorized size, where such expansion would permit a level of civilian operations greater than that which is currently permissible and authorized." · "An expansion or change in operations at any existing airport, whether military or civilian, that increases the amount or changes the type of civilian, or joint civilian and military, cargo operations." The initiative seeks to limit the County's expenditure of funds on any of the projects noted above with the exception of expenditures related to the initial planning process and those requirements provided by law. The Measure establishes that wide spread public notice and at least one public hearing be held for each applicable project. Any amendment to Measure F would require approval by the voters at a County General Election. Director of Community Development Attachment: Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative EAB:kbm\ccreport~safe and healthy Safe and Healthy - Ballot Initiat;'", Text - Citizens for Safe and Heal0"' Communities Page 1 of 5 ~The People of the County of Orange hereby ordain and enact as follows: Section -TITLE One: This Initiative shall be known and may be cited as The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. Section Two: PURPOSE AND FINDINGS The People of the County of Orange find' and declare their rights in the following: A. The People of. Orange County, not politicians, should make the decisions, by a two-thirds vote, on new or expanded jail, hazardous waste landfill, and airport.projects since these projects affect the health. and safety of our neighborhoods and communities. This Initiative puts those decisions in the hands of the voters. B. Politicians should not be able to make big expenditures of our taxpayer money on those projects without our vote. This Initiative prevents that spending of our taxes without our consent. C. No Orange County neighborhood should be forced to accept these projects unless there is wide agreement that they are necessary. This Initiative makes sure that those projects can't be approved unless we agree. D. We deserve and expect communities that are safe and healthy. This Measure will help keep them that way and protect residents in every part of Orange County. E. in order to accomplish these purposes and secure these rights, the enactment of this Initiative is necessary and appropriate. SectiOn Three: LIMITS ON BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' APPROVALS AND REQUIREMENT FOR VOTER RATIFICATION No act by the County of Orange to approve any new or expanded jail, hazardous waste landfill, or civilian airport project shall be valid and effective unless also subsequently ratified by a two-thirds vote of the voters voting at a County General Election. Section Four: LIMITS ON COUNTY EXPENDITURE OF Funds may be expended by the County of Orange as necessary for the planning of any project listed in 5a~e an0. Hea~.t.ay .~a:,,.ot imtmt~ve 'lext ~t~zens Ior 5ale and Healthy t~ommumUes -~ o Section Five: FUNDS REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS Section Six: DEFINITIONS Section Three and for the submission of an approved project to the voters for ratification as required herein, but only upon a vote of the Board of Supervisors after public hearing and only to the extent necessary (A) to define the project; (B) to prepare an environmental impact report or other documentation for the project required by the California Environmental Quality Act, commencing with Section 21000 of the Public Resources Code; (C) for the evaluation and certification of such an environmental impact report or 'documentation; (D) for the hearing or hearings required by Section Five of this Measure and other law, and for approval of the project; (E) for the placement of the approved project thereafter on the ballot of a County General Election for the vote of the People required by this Initiative; and (F) as may otherwise be required by state or federal law. The Board of Supervisors may expend no other funds for any other purposes relating to any such project, until and unless the act by the County to approve the project is ratified by the voters as required by Section Three. Before any act by the County of Orange to approve any project listed in Section Three, the Board of Supervisors shall hold, with widespread public notice, at least one public hearing in each Orange County City that would be affected bY the project. This hearing or hearings shall be held following the preparation, evaluation and certification of the environmental impact report or environmental documentation required for the .project. FOr purposes of this Initiative, the following definitions shall govern: A. "Act by the County of Orange to approve" includes, but is not limited to, any legislative action by the Board of Supervisors, in whatever capacity, enacting, adopting, amending, approving, or authorizing any general plan, zoning ordinance, specific plan, development agreement, airport master or master development plan, airport system master plan, management agreement, acquisition or conveyance of land, lease, license, financing decision (including a grant, subsidy, loan, or other form of financial assistance), the formation of any other governmental or quasi-governmental entity, the formation of any non-profit entity, and any other legislative action to permit or facilitate any of the following: (1) the design or construction of any new jail, new hazardous waste landfill, or new civilian airport; (2) the physical expansion of any existing hazardpus Safe and Healthy - Ballot Initiative Text - Citizens for Safe an'd Healthy Communities Page 3 of 5 waste landfill beyond its current legally permissible and authorized boundaries, or an increase in the amount of hazardous waste such a facility may receive above its current legally permissible and authorized limits; (3) the operation of any existing civilian airport beyond its current legally permissible and authorized level of operations; (4) the physical expansion of the facilities of any existing civilian airport beyond their current and legally authorized size, where such expansion would permit a level of civilian operations greater than that which is currently permissible and authorized; (5) an expansion or cha'nge in operations at any existing airport, whether military or civilian, that increases the amount or changes the type of civilian, or joint civilian and military, cargo operations; or (6) the physical expansion of any existing jail that provides additional beds for persons confined therein; provided, however, that no provision of this Initiative shall apply to any expansion of an existing jail where the expansion has been approved in a Stipulation and Judgment either by the City in which the jail is located or by each affected City and Where the expansion is consistent with the Stipulation and Judgment. For purposes of this Initiative, "each affected City" shall mean each City located within one-half mile of the jail. The ratification requirements of Section Three of this Initiative and these definitions govern and are intended to apply only to the extent that the act by the County of Orange to approve is a legislative act that may be subjected to a vote of the People pursuant to Article !1, Section 11 of the California Constitution. B. "Jail" shall mean any building or building complex designated by the County to be regularly used for the confinement of persons held in lawful custody that will contain, or already contains, 1,000 beds or more for such persons, where such building or complex, or any portion of the property on which it is located, is within one-half mile or less of one hundred or more residential dwelling units. C. "Hazardous waste" shall have the same meaning as specified in Health and Safety Code Section. 25117; and "hazardous waste landfill" shall have the same meaning as specified in Health and Safety Code Section 25114. D. "Civilian airport" shall mean any commercial air Section CONSTRUCTION Seven: Section SEVERABILITY Eight: passenger or cargo airpu,, ~n Orange County, including John Wayne Airport and any proposed civilian airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station or the Los Alamitos Armed Forces ReServe Center, and any airport with joint civilian and military passenger or cargo use. Nothing in this Initiative is intended to diminish or otherwise alter the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, commencing with Section 21000 of the Public Resources Code, applicable to any act by the County of Orange to approve a 'project prior to submission of the act to the voters for ratification. Nothing in this Initiative is intended to diminish or otherwise alter the requirements of any other state or federal law governing such approval or consideration of such a project by the County of Orange. The ratification requirements of this Initiative are intended to apply to any act by the County of Orange to approve a project listed in Section Three, even where some other act previously has been taken by the County or its voters relating to the project, including the enactment of the Orange County/El Toro ' Economic Stimulus Initiative (Measure A) by the . voters on November 8, 1994, or any subsequent approvals or actions relating thereto. The provisions of this Initiative shall prevail over any conflicting provisions of any legislation by the Orange County Board of Supervisors that was enacted between the date the Notice of Intention to propose this Initiative was submitted to the Orange County Clerk and the date this Initiative is adopted by the People. If any provision of this Initiative or the application thereof is held invalid by a court, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Initiative which can be given effect without the invalid provision, and to this end the provisions of this Initiative are severable. The People of Orange County find and declare that this Initiative would be adopted with or without the two-thirds ratification vote requirement of Section Three. As a result, if a court holds that requirement invalid, the Initiative shall instead be construed as requiring a majority vote for ratification. In addition, if a conflict exists between this Initiative and any other measure which is approved by the voters at the same election, the provisions of this Initiative shall take effect except to the extent they are in direct conflict with the provisions of such other measure and that measure receives a greater number of votes. Section AMENDMENT This Initiative may be'amended only by a vote of the · · ,. Safe and Healthy - Ballot Initi,*:',e Text - Citizens for Safe and Hea~''-', Communities Page 5 of 5 Nine: People at a County General Election.