Special election may cost $45K

April 15, 2008

A push by open space advocates to place the fate of Redwood City development into voters’ hands could cost the city $45,000 if a measure to amend the city charter qualifies for the November ballot.

The real financial unknown — and concern — is how much the city will be charged for future elections if voters pass the measure, Mayor Rosanne Foust said Friday.

The November election is presidential, meaning its cost will be split between all jurisdictions involved. Special elections like those that theoretically will be needed to approve open space development will be city-specific, leaving only Redwood City holding the bill.

“Have these proponents thought out the repercussions of that?” Foust said. “This isn’t about one piece of property”

Foust met with three of those proponents Tuesday but said she declined to discuss the matter with them before taking the opportunity to speak with the council.

Monday night will be the first opportunity for the panel as a whole to have an open discussion.

An Open Space Vote Coalition spokeswoman did not return an inquiry into their attendance at Monday’s meeting. The group, however, isn’t sitting idly by.

It began collecting signatures Saturday to qualify the measure. The group has 180 days from April 2, when the ballot title and summary were published, to collect signatures from at least 15 percent of the city’s voting pool. Redwood City has 35,009 registered voters as of March 25, according to the San Mateo County Elections Office.

The estimated $45,000 cost requires money not currently available. The funds will need to be allocated to City Clerk Silvia Vonderlinden’s budget if the measure qualifies for the ballot, according to a staff report from her and Interim City manager Peter Ingram which will be presented to the City Council Monday night.

Vonderlinden will need to request the extra money during the June budget hearings since the November election falls in the next fiscal year, said City Attorney Stan Yamamoto.

While the city is legally required to pony up the cost, “it is still $45,000 we could be using for other things,” Yamamoto said.

The measure will also cost San Mateo County an estimated $2,200 to $6,500 depending on whether the Elections Office performs a random sampling or full check of the signatures submitted for approval.

Aside from the challenge and cost of getting the initiative on the ballot, the effort has frustrated city officials who say they wanted to work with the environmental groups rather than have their authority challenged.

“The question is, why now?”  Foust asked shortly after the initiative’s unveiling, citing the city’s embarkation on a 20-month general plan process to govern future development

On Friday, Foust held the same stance, particularly after the meeting earlier in the week. She wishes the other side would attend Monday’s meeting to answer the council’s questions.

Coalition members will be at the meeting and both Ralph Nobles and Save the Bay Executive Director David Lewis will speak, said Save the Bay spokeswoman Jessica Castelli.

Foust said residents should learn not only what the coalition says but what is also held back.

 “What I find interesting is what they are not sharing. This ballot initiative only needs a simple majority to pass but what they’re proposing requires two-thirds. That means any land use decision could be vetoed by a minority,” Foust said.

The measure would change the city charter to require any development placed on open space lands be approved by that simple majority. Building or expanding public recreation facilities on open spaces doesn’t require such a vote.

“The open spaces in Redwood City are precious and limited,” Lewis said in an announcement of the signature gathering kickoff.

Lewis, who is helping spearhead the effort, has maintained city officials should be happy with the proposal. Officials like Foust, however, disagree and say it is divisive to a community only recently healed after a grassroots fight over the proposed Marina Shores development.

Foust has expressed disappointment the city was not alerted to the ballot initiative and worries a city charter amendment will be harmful to the pre-vote public hearing process in the long run.

The effort is a smack at the pending Cargill saltworks plan although proponents are hesitant to say so. The Cargill site, approximately the size of the Presidio in San Francisco, is the largest untouched land parcel on the Bay and the subject of intense scrutiny for more than a year as developers, the city and the public grapple with its future.

Instead of targeting Cargill directly, those pushing the initiative, particularly nonprofit group Save the Bay, say a charter amendment is a way to broaden democracy and involve voters directly in rezoning decisions.

The measure affects two zoning districts, tidal plain and the Redwood Shores Bay Front, according to the staff report.

The measure also affects all city parks and the uses of five privately held areas of land:

• Cargill salt ponds

• Docktown marina

• Marsh land south of Galveston Drive, adjacent to Redwood Creek

• Wetland area of the Preserve at Redwood Shores

• Oracles parcel along Belmont slough

Yamamoto said he even is unsure exactly what will be said or if the council will consider any proactive action against the initiative.

“I guess all I can say is, stay tuned,” Yamamoto said.

Foust plans to rely on education of the residents and put her faith in the democratic process.

“I just feel like when you sign something you need to know what it is and that is the council’s job, to educate,” Foust said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.