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HomeMy WebLinkAbout50B - NS 2670 REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION ~ ~ CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: OCTOBER 4, 2004 TITLE: REFERENDUM PETITION AGAINST ONE BROADWAY PLAZA PROJECT APPROVED o As Recommended o As Amended o Ordinance on 1 sl Reading o Ordinance on 2nd Reading o Implementing Resolution o Set Public Hearing For ~A' ,:: .0a~--- CITY MANAGER CONTINUED TO FILE NUMBER RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. Receive and File Declaration of Sufficiency prepared by the Clerk of the Council 2. Take one of the following actions pursuant to California Elections Code ~ 9241 (Adopt A or B) : A) Adopt an Ordinance repealing Ordinance NS-2649 rezoning the property known as One Broadway Plaza OR B) Continue the matter no more than 45 days, and in the interim establish an Ad-Hoc Council Committee comprised of two Council Members to work in conjunction with staff, the developer and the referendum proponents to recommend an appropriate date for calling an election to submit Ordinance NS-2649 to the voters of the City of Santa Ana DISCUSSION On September 1, 2004, proponents of the referendum petition against Ordinance NS-2649 (One Broadway Plaza) submitted 515 petition sections. According to information provided by the Registrar of Voters, the Official number of registered voters in the City of Santa Ana applicable to this referendum is 84,753. the minimum number of signatures needed to qualify the petition at 10% is 8,475. Following a prima facie count, the Clerk of the Council's staff determined that there were enough signatures to warrant acceptance of the petition. 508-1 Referendum (One Broadway Plaza) October 4, 2004 Page 2 On September 3, 2004, the Registrar of Voters was asked to review and certify whether the petition contained a sufficient number of qualifying signatures. The Registrar was further asked to utilize the random sampling process to verify the signatures. On September 7, 2004, the City Council authorized the Clerk of the Council to reimburse the County for signature verification in an amount not to exceed $35,000. This authorization would allow the County to perform a full count of the petition, if required. On September 13, 2004 the Registrar verified that 360 of 500 signatures examined were found valid. Pursuant to the random sampling formula provided by the Secretary of State it was projected that the petition contained approximately 112.5% of the signatures required by law to be found sufficient. In accordance with the Elections Code, if the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures exceeds 110%, the petition is found to be sufficient. Because One Broadway Plaza is a major project in the City of Santa Ana and interest in the community is extremely high on both sides of the issue, the Clerk did not certify the results based on the random sampling and determined that a full count of the petition would remove any doubt regarding the number of qualifying signatures. The Registrar was requested to continue verifying signatures on the petition and conduct a full count. On September 27, 2004, the Registrar of Voters notified the Clerk of the Council that 8,475 signatures have been verified as valid. Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9241 the City Council must either: (1) put the referendum question to a vote at the next general municipal election or call a special election, or (2) repeal Ordinance NS 2649. If the decision is to repeal Resolution NS 2649,the City Council should adopt the attached repealing Ordinance. With such adoption, the One Broadway Plaza project could not go forward as proposed. Further, the ordinance could not be reconsidered by the City Council for one year. If the decision is to call the next regular municipal election occurring not less an ordinance ordering the scheduled for June of 2006. an election, the election must be held at election (November 7, 2006), or a special than 88 days after the City Council adopts election. The next statewide election is If the Council decides to call a special or a consolidated election, staff is recommending that the matter be continued 45 days so that an Ad Hoc Council Committee can be formed to discuss the various alternative approaches. Staff would need to determine the costs of the various alternative election dates and work with the County Registrar 508-2 Referendum (One Broadway Plaza) October 4, 2004 Page 3 of Voters relative to timelines and scheduling. Additionally, the Ad Hoc Committee would receive input from the developer and the proponents of the referendum relative to an appropriate date to hold an election. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact attributable to repeal of the ordinance. The costs for calling an election would depend on the date chosen. Firm cost estimates have not been provided by the County Registrar, but would be obtained during the work of the Ad Hoc Committee. 508-3 DECLARATION OF SUFFICIENCY OF PETITION FOR REFERENDUM AGAINST ORDINANCE NS-2649 ADOPTED BY THE SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL ON AUGUST 2,2004 (ONE BROADWAY PLAZA) STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss CITY OF SANTA ANA ) I, Patricia E. Healy, Clerk of the Council of the City of Santa Ana, do hereby certify that on September 27, 2004, I received the Certificate as to Verification of Signatures on Petition by Steven P. Rodermund, Registrar of Voters, Orange County (Attached). Pursuant to that certification, 8,475 of 11,391 signatures examined on the referendum petition against Ordinance NS-2649 have been verified. According to the County Registrar's last official report to the Secretary of State, the number of registered voters in the City of Santa Ana is 84,753 and 10% of said registration would require 8,475 valid signatures to qualify the referendum petition. I further certify that I have reviewed the petition for referendum against Ordinance NS- 2649 adopted by the City Council on August 2, 2004, and in accordance with my duties under the Elections Code, I have found the petition to be sufficient in accordance with the requirements of the Elections Code. ~~L:..u Clerk of the Counc' 508-4 CERTIFICATE AS TO VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURES ON INITIATIVE PETITION State of California) )88. County of Orange) I, Steven P. Rodermund, Registrar of Voters of the County of Orange, do hereby certify that 1 am the county officer having charge of the registration of voters in the County of Orange, and I have examined, or caused to be examined, the attached petition entitled, "Referendum Petition Against Ordinance NS-2649 Adopted by the Santa Ana City Council on August 2,2004". I further certify that from said examination I have determined the following facts regarding this petition: Number of signatures submitted: 13.238 11.391 8.4 75 2.916 Number of signatures examined: Number of signatures verified: Number of signatures found invalid: Number of signatures found invalid because of being duplicate: 148 WITNESS my hand and Official Seal this 2ih day of September, 2004. ~ERMUND REGISTRAR OF VOTERS Orange County 508-5 JWF 9/28/04 ORDINANCE NO. NS-2670 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. NS-2649 THAT HAD ESTABLISHED SD-75 (ONE BROADWAY PLAZA SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT) AND AMENDED SP-3 (MIDTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN). THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. On August 2, 2004, the City Council of the City of Santa, among other actions, adopted Ordinance No. NS-2649 rezoning property generally located in the area bounded by Broadway, Washington, Sycamore and Tenth from SP-3 (Midtown Specific Plan) to SD-75 (One Broadway Plaza Specific Plan) and amending the Midtown Specific Plan to facilitate the development of a 37 story office building and related improvements (the "Project"). B. The other actions taken by the City Council related to the Project included adoption of Resolution No. 2004-020 certifying EIR No. 99-01, Resolution 2004-021 amending the General Plan to accommodate the project, and Ordinance No. NS-2656 approving a development agreement for the Project. With the exception of Resolution No. 2004- 020, the effectiveness of these actions were all dependent upon all the others becoming effective. C. Opponents of the project circulated referendum petitions against Ordinance No. NS-2649, requesting that it either be repealed or submitted to the voters for approval. D. On September 1, 2004, the circulators submitted petitions containing over 12,000 signatures to the Clerk of the Council. A prima facie review of the signatures indicated that there were sufficient valid signatures to accept the petitions for filing. E. In accordance with the California Elections Code, the Clerk of the Council submitted the petitions to the Orange County Registrar of 508-6 Ordinance No. NS-_ Page 1 of 2 Voters for official certification. On September 27, 2004, the Register certified that 8,475 registered voters of the City of Santa Ana signed the petitions, constituting at least 10% of the registered voters of the City. California Elections Code Section 9114 requires the Clerk of the Council to certify the results of the signature verification at the City Council's next regular meeting. F. California Elections Code Section 9237 requires the City Council to reconsider Ordinance No. NS-2649 in light of the qualified petitions submitted. G. California Elections Code Section 9241 requires the City Council to either repeal Ordinance No. NS-2649 or submit it to the voters of the City at the City's next general election or at a special election to be held not less than 88 days away. H. It is in the best interest of the City to repeal Ordinance No. NS-2649 rather than submit it to the voters. Section 2. Ordinance No. NS-2649 is hereby repealed in its entirety. In light of this, Resolution 2004-021 and Ordinance No. NS-2656, by their own terms, shall not become effective. ADOPTED this day of ,2004 Miguel A. Pulido Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: Joseph W. Fletcher, City Attorney Ordinance No. NS- Page 2 of 2 508-7 AYES: Councilmembers NOES: Councilmembers ABSTAIN: Councilmembers NOT PRESENT: Council members CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the attached Ordinance No. NS-2670 to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on , and that said ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. Date: Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Ordinance No. NS- Page 3 of 2 508-8