Upon presentation to the council of such petition, signed and verified by qualified electors in number equal to fifteen percent of the total vote cast at the last preceding general municipal election, asking for the submission to the electors of an ordinance that the council itself might adopt, it must either adopt and enact such measure without alteration, or submit the same to the electorate at the next city election occurring subsequent to sixty days after the filing of said petition. But if said petition requests the calling of a special election and is signed and verified as herein provided and by electors in number equal to twenty-five percent of said vote, then such ordinance, if not so adopted and enacted by the council, must be submitted to the electorate at a special election to be called within sixty days from the presentation of such petition.
Editor's note: The first sentence of this section was amended by Charter Amendment No. 2, ratified by the qualified electors of the city on June 8, 1954.