DATE: June 21, 2006
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT: Ballot Measure Proposal: Changing the Boulevard
Sponsor Group to an Elected Planning Group
SUMMARY:
Overview
The Boulevard Sponsor Group has formally voted to request that the Board
of Supervisors place an item on the November 2006 ballot that would ask
the voting members of the community if they would like to change the Boulevard
Sponsor Group to an elected planning group. This action would give the
voters within the Boulevard Community Planning Area an opportunity to
determine if the change is desired and then would give the community an
opportunity to elect members to their new planning group.
Recommendations
SUPERVISOR DIANNE JACOB:
- Direct the Registrar of Voters to conduct an election on the November 2006 ballot for the Boulevard Community Planning Area to determine whether or not the registered voters within the planning area want to form an elected planning group for their community planning area through the election procedures pursuant to Board of Supervisors Policy I-1; and
- Direct the Registrar of Voters to place on the same ballot for election pursuant to the procedures of Board of Supervisors Policy I-1, the three even numbered seats (terms expiring in January 2007) currently serving on the Boulevard Sponsor Group provided that voters support the formation of a planning group for their community planning area. In addition, the remaining seats of the Boulevard Sponsor Group (odd numbered) and the individuals who hold them will serve on the newly created seven-member Boulevard Planning Group until the November 2008 election when the odd numbered seats will be up for election
Fiscal Impact
Costs associated with this action can be absorbed within the 2006-07 budget
of the Department of Planning and Land Use and the Registrar of Voters.
BACKGROUND:
Local planning is more responsive to local needs if there is a high level
of citizen participation in the planning process. Planning and Sponsor
Groups are designed to work closely with the local citizenry to advise
appropriate County departments and hearing bodies on development proposals,
rezones, general plan amendments, and similar matters that impact their
planning area. This provides a formal structure for local representation
to help guide the course of growth within each planning area.
Sponsor Group membership is obtained through nomination by the current
membership of the group and ultimately the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
Planning Group members are elected by voters in their respective area
through elections held by the County Registrar of Voters.
The Boulevard Sponsor Group represents the community of Boulevard within
the Mountain Empire Subregion. If this Sponsor Group changes to a Planning
Group, the community will have seven (7) dedicated seats on their respective
Planning Group. This is to ensure full neighborhood representation, and
is pursuant to Board Policy I-1.
The Boulevard Sponsor Group has requested that the voting members of the
community decide if they would like to change their Sponsor Group to an
elected Planning Group. A majority vote of the people in this area will
determine if this change is desired.
Today’s action proposes to let the voters within the Boulevard Sponsor
Group area determine whether they wish to remain represented by a Sponsor
Group or changed to an elected Planning Group. Provided that the registered
voters of the community planning area vote in favor of the formation of
an elected planning group for their community, the planning group shall
take shape by a partial election, where the three even numbered seats
on the newly conformed Planning Group become elected positions for the
November 2006 ballot. In addition, the remaining seats of the group (odd
numbered) will be up for election in the 2008 general election, thus creating
a full elected Planning Group.
I urge your support!
Respectfully submitted,
DIANNE JACOB
Supervisor, Second District
