HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-63 - 11-7-2006 General Municipal ElectionRESOLUTION NO. 2006-63
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, CALLING AND GIVING
NOTICE OF THE HOLDING OF A GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION
ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2006, FOR THE
SUBMISSION OF A PROPOSED ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, Section 1003 of the Charter of the City of Newport Beach provides that the
powers of the initiative and referendum are reserved to the electors of the City and that the
provisions of the Elections Code of the State of California shall apply to the use of the initiative
and referendum in the City; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to authority provided by statute a petition has been filed with the
legislative body of the City of Newport Beach, California, signed by more than ten (10) percent
of the number of registered voters of the city to submit to the voters a proposed ordinance
relating to voter approval for major developments over "as built condition" of the city; and
WHEREAS, the City Clerk examined the records of registration and ascertained that the
petition is signed by the requisite number of voters, and has so certified; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has not voted in favor of the adoption of the ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council is authorized and directed by statute to submit the proposed
ordinance to the voters.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH,
CALIFORNIA, DOES RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That pursuant to the requirements of the laws of the State of California
relating to Charter cities there is called and ordered to be held in the City of Newport Beach,
California, on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, a General Municipal Election for the purpose of
submitting the following proposed ordinance:
Shall the ordinance requiring preparation of a specific plan for any YES
development project, except in portions of Newport Coast, that
individually or in combination with other projects in the
neighborhood approved during the preceding five years, adds more
than 100 dwelling units, 40,000 square feet of floor area or 100 peak
hour trips when compared to the existing condition of the NO
neighborhood; and action by the City Council; and submittal to the
voters, be adopted?
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SECTION 2. That the text of the ordinance submitted to the voters is attached as Exhibit
SECTION 3. That the ballots to be used at the election shall be in form and content as
required by law.
SECTION 4. That the City Clerk is authorized, instructed and directed to procure and
furnish any and all official ballots, notices, printed matter and all supplies, equipment and
paraphernalia that maybe necessary in order to properly and lawfully conduct the election.
SECTION 5. That the polls shall be open at seven o'clock a.m. of the day of the election
and shall remain open continuously from that time until eight o'clock p.m. of the same day when
the polls shall be closed, except as provided in §14401 of the Elections Code of the State of
California.
SECTION 6. That in all particulars not recited in this resolution, the election shall be
held and conducted as provided by law for holding municipal elections.
SECTION 7. That notice of the time and place of holding the election is given and the
City Clerk is authorized, instructed and directed to give further or additional notice of the
election, in time, form and manner as required by law.
SECTION 8. That the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this
resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED on this 11th day of July, 2006
YOR
ATTEST:
EXHIBIT A
.010 Purpose. This Chapter gives voters the power to prevent Newport Beach from
becoming an overbuilt and traffic- congested city by requiring preparation and Voter
Approval of Specific Plans for Major Developments. The City's circulation system is
already congested beyond current city standards and inadequate to support the current
"As Built Condition" of the City. High- density developments and construction of
increasingly larger buildings threaten the character and quality of neighborhoods
throughout the City. Specific Plans will ensure better planning and provide voters with the
information needed to make informed decisions about Major Development proposals.
.020 Voter Approval of Major Development Projects.
A Specific Plan shall be prepared for all Major Development proposals. Following adoption by
the City Council, Major Development Specific Plans shall be submitted to the voters for final
approval.
.030 Application.
This Chapter applies to all applications for Major Developments in the City of Newport Beach
that have an Application Date later than the date the "Notice of Intent to Circulate this Petition"
was filed with the City Clerk.
.040 Election Procedures.
.041 City approval of a Major Development proposal shall be final only after its Specific Plan
has been submitted to the voters and approved by a majority of those voting on it. Each Specific
Plan for a Major Development proposal shall be submitted to a public vote as a separate and
distinct ballot measure regardless of whether its approval by the City Council was combined with
other Developments, projects or General Plan Amendments. Each Specific Plan for a Major
Development shall be identified on the ballot in a manner that clearly identifies the project it
applies to, i.e. "Specific Plan for XYZ Development ". The City Council shall set any election
required by this Chapter for the municipal election next following city council approval of the
Major Development Specific Plan or by mutual agreement with the Proponent, the City Council
may call a special election with the cost of the special election being shared by their mutual
agreement. An advisory election prior to council approval of a Major Development Specific Plan
does not satisfy the voter approval requirements of this Chapter.
.042 The vote required by this Chapter shall be in addition to all other applicable approval
requirements for Major Development proposals, including environmental review. However, all
subsequent approvals required to implement a Major Development Specific Plan approved by the
voters in accordance with this Chapter shall be in substantial conformance with the Specific Plan
submitted to the voters, and under no circumstances, shall a subsequent approval authorize
greater traffic, density or intensity than was represented to the voters.
.050 Specific Plan Requirements.
.051 Specific Plans required by this Chapter shall be prepared in accordance with Section
65450 et seq. of the Government Code and shall include all information deemed necessary by
City Council or Planning Director. hi addition, all Specific Plans for Major Developments shall
include the following information:
a. Project Description. Include a plot plan or diagram, drawn to scale, showing the
arrangement of buildings, driveways, pedestrian ways, off - street parking and off -
street loading areas, landscaped areas, fences and walks. Include drawings,
renderings or sketches, drawn to scale, showing all elevations of the proposed
buildings as they would appear upon completion.
b. Neighborhood Compatibility. Describe the project's consistency or lack of
consistency with existing Neighborhood uses, i.e. commercial, residential etc. To the
extent the proposed project differs from existing uses, identify the implementation
measures including regulations that would be used minimize adverse neighborhood
impacts.
c. Summer Traffic Analysis. In addition to traffic studies otherwise required by the
City, analyze the project's impact on peak traffic levels during the months of July and
August. The analysis shall, at minimum, include a survey of existing traffic levels
during July or August at a time and date the City's traffic engineer determines is best
for determining peak summer traffic levels. Identify the implementation measures
including regulations that would be used to minimize summer traffic impacts.
d. Significant Increases in Traffic, Density or Intensity. Describe the Significant
Increases in Traffic, Density or Intensity, as defined in this Chapter that would result
from the Major Development proposal. Identify the implementation measures
including regulations that would be used to minimize any adverse impacts.
.052 Where applicable, existing Specific Plans may be amended to include the additional
sections required by this Chapter in lieu of preparing an entirely new specific plan. Voter
approval of the amendment in accordance with this Chapter shall be required.
.053 To minimize delay for affected applicants, the City may process and approve
discretionary applications required for a Major Development prior to a public vote on its Specific
Plan, provided, however, that all approvals shall be provisional and only become final and
effective if the applicable Specific Plan has been approved by the voters. If the applicable
Specific Plan is not approved by the voters, the Specific Plan and all provisional approvals shall
be automatically deemed disapproved.
.060 Exceptions.
1) Remodeling, construction or reconstruction of a single building by individual property
owners in R -1, R -1.5 or R -2 zoned parcels are not included in this Chapter.
2) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the extent that they would violate
state or federal laws.
3) This Chapter shall not be applied in a manner that would result in the unconstitutional
taking of private property.
4) This Chapter shall not apply to any Major or Minor Developments that have received
all discretionary approvals prior to the Effective Date in Section .090 below.
5) This Chapter does not apply to construction of public utilities or public transit
facilities.
6) This Chapter does not apply to affordable housing projects required by state or
federal law.
7) This Chapter does not apply to construction of public schools or hospitals.
8) This Chapter does not apply to properties within the Newport Coast Statistical Area
"N," described and shown on City of Newport Beach Statistical Areas Map dated
March 2005 that remain subject to County of Orange municipal land use and
permitting authority. This Chapter shall apply to properties within Statistical Area
"N" for which responsibility for municipal land use and permitting responsibility has
been transferred to the City of Newport Beach, except to the extent such application
would cause the City to violate legal and/or contractual commitments regarding
development of the properties.
.070 Relationships to City Charter Section 423 and Municipal Code.
1) Should a conflict arise that cannot be reconciled, the provisions of Charter Section
423 shall prevail over this Chapter. The provisions of this Chapter shall supersede all
conflicting provisions of the Municipal Code either existing or adopted in the future
except those adopted by a vote of the people.
2) If a Major Development Specific Plan proposal includes a related General Plan
Amendment ( "GPA ") that requires a Charter Section 423 vote, the two may be
combined into one ballot measure that will satisfy the requirements of this Chapter,
provided that no other Development project or GPA is included as part of the same
ballot measure.
3) Each Major Development Specific Plan not approved as part of a City Charter
Section 423 vote shall require approval by the electorate under the terms of this
Chapter notwithstanding previous voter approval of the General Plan Amendment.
.080 Amendments.
This Chapter shall not be amended or repealed except by a vote of the people.
.090 Effective Date.
If the voters at a scheduled election approve this Chapter, the effective date for purposes of this
Chapter shall be retroactive to the date of the filing of the Notice of Intent to Circulate its
enabling petition.
.100 Definitions.
"As Built Condition" refers to residential units, buildings, and traffic existing on the
Application Date.
"Application Date" is the date a request for approval of a Development proposal is first
submitted to the City.
"Development" is a discretionary "project" as defined in the California Environmental Quality
Act (Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq.), the CEQA Guidelines, and relevant decisional law
without regard to whether any environmental document is required for the project.
"General Plan" is the General Plan of the City of Newport Beach adopted on October 24, 1988
as subsequently amended and in force at the time of filing of the Notice of Intent to Circulate this
Initiative.
"Major Development" is a proposed Development that would "Significantly Increase Traffic,
Density or Intensity above the "As Built Condition" of a "Neighborhood ".
"Minor Development" refers to all Developments that do not qualify as a Major Development.
"Neighborhood" is all property within 500 feet of any parcel or lot that that is part of a
Development proposal. If a portion of a legal lot or parcel is within 500 feet of a Development
proposal, the entire lot or parcel shall be included in the neighborhood
"Peak Hour Trips" means the number of peak hour vehicle trips that would be generated by a
proposed Development, as defined and calculated using the most recent version of the Trip
Generation Manual of the Institute of Transportation Engineers ( "ITE Manual ") in effect on the
Application Date of the Development.
"Proponent" is the Property owner and/or authorized applicant for a Development.
"Significantly Increase" means exceeding one or more of the following thresholds over the
present As Built Condition of a Neighborhood: Traffic - over 100 additional Peak Hour Trips;
Density - over 100 additional dwelling units; Intensity over 40,000 additional square feet of floor
area. Intensity of a Development includes the square footage of all dwelling units and
commercial buildings including hotels, timeshares, theaters if they are developed on the same
property as any of these commercial land use categories. A Significant Increase occurs if a
Development proposal on its own exceeds one of these thresholds or if the combination of a
Minor Development proposal and other Minor Developments in the same Neighborhood that
were approved within five years of the Application Date exceed one of the thresholds. "Other
Minor Developments" shall not include those approved pursuant to this Chapter nor approved
prior to the Effective Date of this Chapter.
"Specific Plan" for purposes of this Chapter means a specific plan or specific plan amendment
that complies with Government Code section 65450 et.Seq. and this Chapter.
(End of amendment. But the proposed ballot measure also includes the following "Second"
through "Seventh ".)
Second. Findings. (1) The people of Newport Beach find that their quality of life and
property values are severely impacted by excess development, with its overcrowding, traffic
congestion and gridlock.
(2) The City's street system has not kept up with the City's growth and traffic congestion has
resulted. To prevent this situation, state law requires the land Use Element of the General Plan to
be consistent with the Circulation Element. But this doesn't help, because land uses are built
promptly, while the street system will be built in the future or never as it is subject to funding
availability and community acceptance of over passes and wider roads.
(3) Traffic Engineers measure congestion in Intersection Capacity Utilization (ICU). The
people find that any ICU over the current City standard of 0.9000 is unacceptable congestion.
There are already six intersections in the City with ICU over 0.900.
(4) The people, whose quality of life and Property Rights are at stake, should have the power
to judge the merits of a proposed development. They should have the power to decide if a
proposed Major Development is worth the congestion and density it will cause beyond that
which can be accommodated by the Circulation Element as it exists at that time, including
roadway projects that are funded and certain to be constructed within the following three years.
Third. Implementation. 1. It is the intent of this Chapter of the City of Newport Beach
Municipal Code that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, it be applied to all Major
Development proposals that have not received final, discretionary approval as of its effective
date. However, this Chapter shall not apply to a Development for which the Proponent has
obtained a: (i) vested right pursuant to state law; (ii) final approval and execution of a
Development Agreement authorized by the California Government Code; or (iii) approval of a
vesting tentative map.
2. The City Council is encouraged to adopt guidelines to implement the foregoing Chapter
following public notice and public hearing, provided that any such guidelines shall be consistent
with this. Any such guidelines shall be adopted and amended only by the affirmative votes of not
less than six members of the City Council.
3. All ballot measures required by this Chapter shall be worded such that a YES vote
approves the Major Development Specific Plan and a NO vote rejects the Major Development
Specific Plan, and any such election in which the ballot measure is not so worded shall be void
and shall have no effect.
4. The ballot pamphlet describing the ballot measure shall contain both Pro and Con
Arguments about the Measure and Rebuttals by both Pro and Con proponents if they so desire.
The City Council is encouraged to select outside proponents and opponents of the measure to
prepare arguments, instead of its own members.
Fourth. Defense. The City shall vigorously defend this Chapter and its underlying initiative
against any legal challenge.
Fifth. Special Election. In the event that this Initiative is signed by 15% of the valid registered
voters in the City of Newport Beach at the time of the filing of the notice of intent to circulate it,
the City Council is requested to call a special election at the earliest date permitted by the State
Election Code under these circumstances.
Sixth. Construction. Nothing herein shall be construed to make illegal any lawful use presently
being made of any land in accordance with the land use regulations, in force at the time of filing
of the Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition.
Seventh. Severability. If any part of this initiative is declared invalid on its face or as applied to
a particular case, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts, or their
application to other cases. It is hereby declared that each part of this initiative would have been
adopted irrespective of the fact that any one or more other parts be declared invalid.
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
I, LaVonne M. Harkless, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do
hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council is seven; that the foregoing
resolution, being Resolution No. 2006 -67 was duly and regularly introduced before and adopted by
the City Council of said City at a regular meeting of said Council, duly and regularly held on the
11th day of July 2006, and that the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit:
Ayes: Curry, Selich, Rosansky, Daigle
Noes: Nichols, Mayor Webb
Absent: Ridgeway
Abstain: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affied the
official seal of said City this 12th day of July 2006.
(Seal)
City Clerk
Newport Beach, California