(a) POWER TO INITIATE AND RECONSIDER ORDINANCES.--
(1) Initiative.--The electors of the
shall have power to propose ordinances to the Commission and, if the Commission fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a
election, provided that such power shall not extend to the annual budget or capital program or any ordinance appropriating money, levying taxes or setting salaries of
officers or employees, or in regard to any development order, local comprehensive plan amendment or map amendment.
(2) Referendum.--The electors of the
shall have power to require reconsideration by the Commission of any adopted ordinance and, if the Commission fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or reject it at a
election, provided that such power shall not extend to the annual budget or capital program or any ordinance appropriating money, levying taxes or setting salaries of
officers or employees.
(b) COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS.--A minimum of ten electors may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the City Clerk an affidavit (the “Affidavit”) stating they will constitute the petitioners’ committee (the “Committee”) and be responsible for circulating the petition (the “Petition”) and filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and specifying the address to which all notices to the Committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered. Promptly after the Affidavit is filed, the City Clerk may, at the Committee’s request, issue the appropriate Petition blanks to the Committee at the Committee’s expense. Petitioners’ proposed ordinance shall be approved as to legal sufficiency by the
prior to circulation.
(c) PETITIONS.--
(1) Number of signatures.--Initiative and referendum Petitions must be signed by at least ten percent of the total number of electors registered to vote at the last regular
election.
(2) Form and content.--All pages of a Petition shall be assembled as one instrument of filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink and shall be followed by the printed name and address of the person signing. Petitions shall contain or have attached throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
(3) Affidavit of circulator.--Each page of a petition shall have attached to it when filed an affidavit executed by the circulator thereof stating that s/he personally circulated the page, the number of signatures thereon, that all the signatures were affixed in his/her presence, that s/he believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be and that each signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
(4) Filing deadline.--All initiative and referendum petitions must be filed within 60 days of the date on which a proper Affidavit is filed pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section.
(d) PROCEDURE FOR FILING.
(1) Certificate of City Clerk; amendment.--Within 20 days after an initiative Petition is filed or within five days after a referendum Petition is filed, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency (the “Certificate”), upon confirmation by the Supervisor of Elections of a sufficient number of valid petition signatures. If insufficient, the Certificate shall specify the particulars of the deficiency. A copy of the Certificate shall be promptly sent to the Committee by registered mail. Grounds for insufficiency are only those specified in subsection (c) of this Section. A Petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the Committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the City Clerk within two business days after receiving the copy of the Certificate and files a supplementary petition (“Supplementary Petition”) with additional valid signatures within ten days after receiving the copy of the Certificate. The Supplementary Petition shall comply with the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section. Within five days after a Supplementary Petition is filed, the City Clerk shall complete a Certificate as to the sufficiency of the Petition as amended (“Amended Petition”), upon confirmation by the Supervisor of Elections of a sufficient number of valid petition signatures, and promptly send a copy of such Certificate to the Committee by registered mail as in the case of an original Petition. If a Petition or Amended Petition is certified sufficient, or if a Petition or Amended Petition is certified insufficient and the Committee does not elect to amend or request Commission review under paragraph (2) within the time required, the City Clerk shall promptly present the Certificate to the Commission and such Certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the Petition.
(2) Commission review.--If a Petition has been certified insufficient and the Committee does not file notice of intention to amend it or if an Amended Petition has been certified insufficient, the Committee may, within two business days after receiving the copy of such Certificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the Commission. The Commission shall review the Certificate at its next meeting following the filing of such request and approve or disapprove it. The Commission’s determination shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the Petition.
(e) ACTION ON PETITIONS.
(1) Action by Commission.--When an initiative or referendum Petition has been finally determined sufficient, the Commission shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance or reconsider the referred ordinance by voting its repeal. If the Commission fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance within 45 days or fails to repeal the referred ordinance within 30 days, it shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance to the electors of the
. If the Commission fails to act on a proposed initiative ordinance or a referred ordinance within the time period contained in this paragraph, the Commission shall be deemed to have failed to adopt the proposed initiative ordinance or failed to repeal the referred ordinance on the last day that the Commission was authorized to act on such matter.
(2) Submission to electors.--The vote of the
on a proposed or referred ordinance shall be held within 180 days from the date the Commission acted or was deemed to have acted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of this Section. If no regular election is to be held within the period described in this paragraph, the Commission shall provide for a special election, except that the Commission may, in its discretion, provide for a special election at an earlier date than the described period. Copies of the proposed or referred ordinance shall be made available at the polls.
(3) Withdrawal of petitions.--An initiative or referendum Petition may be withdrawn at any time by filing with the City Clerk a request for withdrawal signed by at least eight-tenths of the members of the Committee. Upon the filing of such request, the Petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
(f) RESULTS OF ELECTION.--
(1) Initiative.--If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
(2) Referendum.--If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred ordinance vote for repeal, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results.
(Am. Ord. 2014-15, certified 11-4-2014)