Homeowners Association Debates Charter Initiative

Months of work by the city to draft a Rancho Palos Verdes charter seems only now to be catching the attention of residents as they scramble to understand what they’ll vote for in an election that’s just weeks away.

Members of the Rolling Hills Riviera Homeowners Association met Wednesday night to hear a debate on Measure C, the city’s charter initiative. The debate is one of many scheduled in the coming weeks and took place the same time as one with the League of Women Voters at Hesse Park across town.

Charter City Committee members Dave Emenhiser and Jon Cartwright came to speak in support of the measure and Ken De Long, chair of the PVP Watch group spoke in opposition.

Information was made available before the meeting such as a copy of the city’s proposed charter, pamphlets from the city explaining the benefits of moving from a general law city to a charter city, and fliers from opposing group No on RPV Measure C.

Residents sat with documents in hand as speakers took the floor.

Cartwright and Emenhiser touted the power a charter would give to the city, which could often mean protection from the state.

“A city knows more about local affairs than the state does,” Cartwright said. “(This is an) opportunity, not for city council to take power, but for residents to take power from the sate.”

Voting for the charter city initiative on March 8 could protect millions in city tax dollars, Emenhiser said.

“We are under a threat in this city,” he said.

But De Long disagreed with the proposed benefits and addressed his fears of a concentration of power in city council.

“There’s too much power in the hands of three people,” he said. “We think that rushing it on the ballot with little public input can lead to mischief.”

Emenhiser said the council's structure now is not much different.

“If you’re afraid of three, you’re afraid of democray,” Emenhiser said.

While De Long does see merit in the idea of a charter city, he doesn’t agree with the two-page charter proposed for the special election vote. He expressed frustration with a lack of community outreach in the form of workshops or a call for public input.

In response for De Long’s call for more outreach on the measure, Cartwright said the issue has been on the agenda at city council meetings, appeared in newspapers and other publications.

“Anyone who does not know anything about Measure C has just got their head in the sand,” he said. “They certainly have got lots of opportunities.”

Pete Lacombe said from the audience that most people he talked to felt “literally blindsided by this.”

“We have our lives, we’re busy, we’re doing things … we don’t show up at city council meetings all the time,” he said.

He said while he’s not necessarily opposed to the charter, “doing it in an echo chamber with a whole bunch of people who agree with you might not be the best way to do it.”

Cartwright said there had been little visible opposition to the charter until recently and there was some fear among council members that if action was not taken, the city would be hurt.

John Maya, one of the attendees, was concerned with the city spending tens of thousands of dollars to hold a special election. He questioned the benefits of the proposed charter.

“There’s no guarantees here,” he said. “You guys aren’t guaranteeing anything and neither is the charter.”

Upcoming debates and presentations on Measure C:

• 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at Council of Homeowners Associations monthly meeting
  

• 7 p.m. Feb. 16 Los Serenos de Point Vicente Docents Measure C Forum at Point Vicente Interpretive Center

• 2:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in the Peninsula Center Library with the Peninsula Democratic Club