County elections officials began mailing sample ballots last Thursday for the Nov. 2 election, a spokeswoman announced today.
You can look up your sample ballot at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's website.
Rancho Palos Verdes voters who have followed the saga of Measure P, Marymount College's bid to get voter approval for its campus expansion (most of which was already approved by the city), will be particularly interested.
The sample ballots contain the pro and con arguments and rebuttals for the initiative. The language was changed after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge earlier this month sided with opponents of Measure P in two separate but related lawsuits.
The statements are on page 18 through 21 of the RPV sample ballot, and I've pasted them after the jump. City Attorney Carol Lynch's analysis is on pages 16 to 17.
You can look up your sample ballot at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's website.
Rancho Palos Verdes voters who have followed the saga of Measure P, Marymount College's bid to get voter approval for its campus expansion (most of which was already approved by the city), will be particularly interested.
The sample ballots contain the pro and con arguments and rebuttals for the initiative. The language was changed after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge earlier this month sided with opponents of Measure P in two separate but related lawsuits.
The statements are on page 18 through 21 of the RPV sample ballot, and I've pasted them after the jump. City Attorney Carol Lynch's analysis is on pages 16 to 17.
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE P
Marymount College has been an important asset for Rancho Palos Verdes for 50
years. Your Yes Vote on Measure P will allow the school to build a
state-of-the-art library and a recreational center available to every Rancho Palos
Verdes resident. It will also allow it to build a dormitory for 250 students while
maintaining the existing 793 student enrollment cap.
For more than 10 years, Marymount College worked with the City to obtain
approval for campus improvements. An Environmental Impact Report studied
every feature of Measure P.
Dorm rooms were originally approved for construction more than 20 years ago
but could not be built at that time due to lack of funding. The dorms will be
operated with strict after-hour rules and supervision that are included in
Measure P.
Having dorms on campus reduces student traffic because fewer students will be
commuting from off-campus. Also, Measure P builds more on-campus student
and faculty parking - cars will not need to park on residential streets.
No taxpayer funds are required to build the Marymount Plan. In fact, the City
will receive increased revenue from utility and sales taxes and increased property
taxes that Measure P brings.
Measure P also ensures that Marymount College complies 100% with the City's
building, safety, sound, landscaping, and fire codes. The College will have to
obtain building permits, including strict time limits for construction, from the
City for every part of the plan.
The Marymount Plan was designed so that 2/3 of the campus will remain open
space and the neighbors' views will not be blocked.
Finally, Marymount College is taking extra steps to protect passing cars by
building athletic fields below grade and the College is providing $200,000 to
build a new traffic median to ensure safety
Please vote YES on Measure P
www.MarymountPlan.com
MICHAEL BROPHY
Marymount College President
SUE SOLDOFF
40 Year Rancho Palos Verdes Resident
MARILYN LYON
Former Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor
JAMES SCHMIDT M.D.
27 Year Rancho Palos Verdes Resident
BARBARA DYE
Former Executive Director, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE P
The City Council approved Marymount's campus modernization plan, including
its library, recreational center, classrooms and administration building.
Marymount did not pursue City Council approval of dormitories it wants voters
to approve.
Why, since its modernization plan was approved with minor modifications, has
Marymount spent over $540,000 (through June) to convince voters to support its
Initiative? Their reasons are simple. By this Initiative, Marymount is seeking
approval of two dormitories and to weaken future City oversight over its project.
Approval of the Marymount Initiative substantially weakens future resident
control over development and operation of the campus. Your elected officials,
reflecting residents' values, should have the authority to address future
operational problems that adversely affect City residents.
Please read the Impartial Analysis and City Staff's analysis of the differences
between the Council-imposed conditions and the Initiative's "Campus
Requirements," which replace those conditions. (Staff's analysis can be obtained
from the City and the City's website.)
Because the future is unknown, residents should reject any reduction of their
elected leaders' control over Rancho Palos Verdes land uses. If this Initiative
passes, only another initiative approved at a citywide election would allow the
residents to reassert full City control over Marymount's campus to solve
unanticipated problems. Any subsequent initiative by residents would face a
well-financed Marymount opposition.
Don't allow any person or entity to reduce City control over a project. Don't
allow Marymount to be its own city-within-a-city, with less City oversight than
other projects.
Maintain effective local control by voting "NO."
ANN D. SHAW
Former Mayor, RPV
THOMAS D. LONG
Mayor Pro Tem, RPV
WILLIAM J. JAMES
Chair, Financial Advisory Committee
BRIAN CAMPBELL
Councilman RPV
JEFFREY LEWIS
Immediate Past Chair & Member, RPV Planning Commission
ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE P
We urge a "No" vote on this Initiative.
-- The Initiative is not necessary. The City Council granted Marymount College
the authority to build its modern campus with all the buildings (Library, Athletic
Building, Athletic Field, etc.) of the size, design, location and full functionality
that Marymount requested. (There was one minor modification in height to the
Athletic Building and a slight movement of the athletic field farther away from
Palos Verdes Drive East.)
-- The Initiative is really about Marymount's plan to add two high-density
dormitories in one of our single-family residential neighborhoods. Marymount
chose not to ask the City Council to consider or evaluate Dormitories. No
Environmental Impact Report was certified for Dormitories.
-- The Initiative undermines local control by resident-selected leaders who apply
the standards and values of our community to land use decisions, after input
from all interested residents. Rancho Palos Verdes residents founded the City 37
years ago to establish their own government to control land use for the
protection of all residents. Your selected leaders -- your neighbors -- have
diligently evaluated development projects, taken public input, and crafted land
use decisions that reflect our residents' values. This is the process that maximizes
protection of our values and quality of life. The Marymount Initiative
undermines our local control.
-- The Initiative eliminates City oversight. The Initiative supersedes the
Municipal Code making Marymount a land use island, preventing your locally
elected leaders from addressing many issues that arise in the future. The City
Council imposed conditions that allow the City to monitor the development and
operation of the campus to avoid adverse impacts on the City's residents. The
Initiative will eliminate these conditions. The Initiative largely exempts
Marymount from the same rules that apply to all other landowners in Rancho
Palos Verdes.
Vote "No."
DOUGLAS W. STERN
City Councilmember
STEFAN WOLOWICZ
City Mayor
ANTHONY MISETICH
City Councilmember
KENNETH J. DYDA
JON S. CARTWRIGHT
President, RPV Council of Homeowners Assoc
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE P
FACT - Ten years and millions of dollars were spent studying every aspect of
Measure P, including the proposed dormitories.
FACT -- The dorms were extensively studied in the Environmental Impact
Report.
FACT - The City approved dorms in 1979 and 1980. They were not built due to
lack of funding.
FACT -- The dormitories will reduce traffic and noise pollution in our
neighborhoods by lowering the number of commuter students. New on-campus
parking will reduce street parking.
FACT - Measure P maintains the 793-student enrollment cap.
FACT -- The City Attorney's impartial analysis states: Substantial changes to
Measure P would ''require either approval by the City...or voter approval'',
insuring that the projects promised in Measure P are implemented as proposed
FACT -- Measure P creates an independent neighborhood advisory council that
reports directly to the City Council on the implementation of the Marymount
Plan.
FACT -- The City of Rancho Palos Verdes was created by a vote of our citizens.
The future of Marymount College, one of our city's jewels, deserves no less.
Vote Yes on Measure P
www.MarymountPlan.com
BARBARA FERRARO
Former Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor
DE DE HICKS
Past President League of Women Voters
DON REEVES
Co-editor PVP Watch
DICK GROTZ
37 Year Rancho Palos Verdes Resident
JOHN MURNAME
Past Vice President, Ridgecrest Homeowners Association
Marymount College has been an important asset for Rancho Palos Verdes for 50
years. Your Yes Vote on Measure P will allow the school to build a
state-of-the-art library and a recreational center available to every Rancho Palos
Verdes resident. It will also allow it to build a dormitory for 250 students while
maintaining the existing 793 student enrollment cap.
For more than 10 years, Marymount College worked with the City to obtain
approval for campus improvements. An Environmental Impact Report studied
every feature of Measure P.
Dorm rooms were originally approved for construction more than 20 years ago
but could not be built at that time due to lack of funding. The dorms will be
operated with strict after-hour rules and supervision that are included in
Measure P.
Having dorms on campus reduces student traffic because fewer students will be
commuting from off-campus. Also, Measure P builds more on-campus student
and faculty parking - cars will not need to park on residential streets.
No taxpayer funds are required to build the Marymount Plan. In fact, the City
will receive increased revenue from utility and sales taxes and increased property
taxes that Measure P brings.
Measure P also ensures that Marymount College complies 100% with the City's
building, safety, sound, landscaping, and fire codes. The College will have to
obtain building permits, including strict time limits for construction, from the
City for every part of the plan.
The Marymount Plan was designed so that 2/3 of the campus will remain open
space and the neighbors' views will not be blocked.
Finally, Marymount College is taking extra steps to protect passing cars by
building athletic fields below grade and the College is providing $200,000 to
build a new traffic median to ensure safety
Please vote YES on Measure P
www.MarymountPlan.com
MICHAEL BROPHY
Marymount College President
SUE SOLDOFF
40 Year Rancho Palos Verdes Resident
MARILYN LYON
Former Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor
JAMES SCHMIDT M.D.
27 Year Rancho Palos Verdes Resident
BARBARA DYE
Former Executive Director, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE P
The City Council approved Marymount's campus modernization plan, including
its library, recreational center, classrooms and administration building.
Marymount did not pursue City Council approval of dormitories it wants voters
to approve.
Why, since its modernization plan was approved with minor modifications, has
Marymount spent over $540,000 (through June) to convince voters to support its
Initiative? Their reasons are simple. By this Initiative, Marymount is seeking
approval of two dormitories and to weaken future City oversight over its project.
Approval of the Marymount Initiative substantially weakens future resident
control over development and operation of the campus. Your elected officials,
reflecting residents' values, should have the authority to address future
operational problems that adversely affect City residents.
Please read the Impartial Analysis and City Staff's analysis of the differences
between the Council-imposed conditions and the Initiative's "Campus
Requirements," which replace those conditions. (Staff's analysis can be obtained
from the City and the City's website.)
Because the future is unknown, residents should reject any reduction of their
elected leaders' control over Rancho Palos Verdes land uses. If this Initiative
passes, only another initiative approved at a citywide election would allow the
residents to reassert full City control over Marymount's campus to solve
unanticipated problems. Any subsequent initiative by residents would face a
well-financed Marymount opposition.
Don't allow any person or entity to reduce City control over a project. Don't
allow Marymount to be its own city-within-a-city, with less City oversight than
other projects.
Maintain effective local control by voting "NO."
ANN D. SHAW
Former Mayor, RPV
THOMAS D. LONG
Mayor Pro Tem, RPV
WILLIAM J. JAMES
Chair, Financial Advisory Committee
BRIAN CAMPBELL
Councilman RPV
JEFFREY LEWIS
Immediate Past Chair & Member, RPV Planning Commission
ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE P
We urge a "No" vote on this Initiative.
-- The Initiative is not necessary. The City Council granted Marymount College
the authority to build its modern campus with all the buildings (Library, Athletic
Building, Athletic Field, etc.) of the size, design, location and full functionality
that Marymount requested. (There was one minor modification in height to the
Athletic Building and a slight movement of the athletic field farther away from
Palos Verdes Drive East.)
-- The Initiative is really about Marymount's plan to add two high-density
dormitories in one of our single-family residential neighborhoods. Marymount
chose not to ask the City Council to consider or evaluate Dormitories. No
Environmental Impact Report was certified for Dormitories.
-- The Initiative undermines local control by resident-selected leaders who apply
the standards and values of our community to land use decisions, after input
from all interested residents. Rancho Palos Verdes residents founded the City 37
years ago to establish their own government to control land use for the
protection of all residents. Your selected leaders -- your neighbors -- have
diligently evaluated development projects, taken public input, and crafted land
use decisions that reflect our residents' values. This is the process that maximizes
protection of our values and quality of life. The Marymount Initiative
undermines our local control.
-- The Initiative eliminates City oversight. The Initiative supersedes the
Municipal Code making Marymount a land use island, preventing your locally
elected leaders from addressing many issues that arise in the future. The City
Council imposed conditions that allow the City to monitor the development and
operation of the campus to avoid adverse impacts on the City's residents. The
Initiative will eliminate these conditions. The Initiative largely exempts
Marymount from the same rules that apply to all other landowners in Rancho
Palos Verdes.
Vote "No."
DOUGLAS W. STERN
City Councilmember
STEFAN WOLOWICZ
City Mayor
ANTHONY MISETICH
City Councilmember
KENNETH J. DYDA
JON S. CARTWRIGHT
President, RPV Council of Homeowners Assoc
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE P
FACT - Ten years and millions of dollars were spent studying every aspect of
Measure P, including the proposed dormitories.
FACT -- The dorms were extensively studied in the Environmental Impact
Report.
FACT - The City approved dorms in 1979 and 1980. They were not built due to
lack of funding.
FACT -- The dormitories will reduce traffic and noise pollution in our
neighborhoods by lowering the number of commuter students. New on-campus
parking will reduce street parking.
FACT - Measure P maintains the 793-student enrollment cap.
FACT -- The City Attorney's impartial analysis states: Substantial changes to
Measure P would ''require either approval by the City...or voter approval'',
insuring that the projects promised in Measure P are implemented as proposed
FACT -- Measure P creates an independent neighborhood advisory council that
reports directly to the City Council on the implementation of the Marymount
Plan.
FACT -- The City of Rancho Palos Verdes was created by a vote of our citizens.
The future of Marymount College, one of our city's jewels, deserves no less.
Vote Yes on Measure P
www.MarymountPlan.com
BARBARA FERRARO
Former Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor
DE DE HICKS
Past President League of Women Voters
DON REEVES
Co-editor PVP Watch
DICK GROTZ
37 Year Rancho Palos Verdes Resident
JOHN MURNAME
Past Vice President, Ridgecrest Homeowners Association
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