San Diego Rules Committee Meeting on Housing Bond, School Elections, and Term Limits - April 13, 2018
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San Diego Rules Committee Meeting on Housing Bond, School Elections, and Term Limits - April 13, 2018
The San Diego City Council Rules Committee met on April 13, 2018, to discuss several ballot measure proposals and receive an update from the San Diego Unified School District. The primary agenda items included a proposed housing bond by the San Diego Housing Federation, a charter amendment to clarify term limits for council members, and an informational update regarding school board elections. The committee heard extensive public testimony in support of the housing bond and re-docketed the item for May 16, 2018. The term limits clarification proposal was referred to the city attorney for drafting. The school district update was received as informational only.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Housing Bond Proposal (San Diego Housing Federation): Multiple speakers expressed strong support, including Matthew Jumper (President of SD Housing Federation), Stephen Russell, Michael McConnell, Omar Passins (candidate for County Board of Supervisors, shared personal connection to public housing), Christopher Tabor (Solari Enterprises), Jackie O (Community Housing Works), Elisa Flores, Jenna Savoski, and David Allen (Trestle Development). Speakers emphasized the need for local funding to compete for state resources and address the affordable housing crisis. Council Member Ward also commented, acknowledging the need but cautioning that the bond would involve a property assessment and urged public outreach.
- School District Update (San Diego Unified School Board Elections): Public testimony included Sally Smith and Daniel Simovski, both advocating for term limits and district area elections for school board members. They expressed concerns about the school elections committee process, alleging it was being used to introduce unrelated issues and that the committee did not represent the public.
Discussion Items
- Housing Bond Proposal: The committee discussed re-docketing the proposal to May 16, 2018, to allow for further staff analysis and public input. Council Member Ward highlighted the need for a two-thirds voter approval and the importance of community education.
- School District Update: Dr. Sharon Whitehurst Payne, Vice President of the San Diego Unified School Board, presented an update on the committee's progress in response to a grand jury report. She outlined listening sessions and a parent survey, with a goal to bring a recommendation to the city council by early June. The committee took no action, as this was an informational item.
- Term Limits Clarification (Item 1A): Council Member Ward and Pro Tem Bree proposed a charter amendment to clarify that council members may serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms, addressing ambiguity in the current charter. The committee voted to refer the proposal to the city attorney for drafting.
- Women Occupy San Diego Proposal (Item 1B): The item was introduced but not discussed in detail due to the truncated transcript; no action was taken.
Key Outcomes
- The housing bond proposal was re-docketed for a future rules committee meeting on May 16, 2018.
- The term limits clarification proposal was referred to the city attorney's office to prepare draft language for further discussion.
- The school district update was received as information; no vote was required.
- All votes on the term limits motion were unanimous (no opposed).
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I will not call the rules committee meeting of April the 1118 order, but the record reflects that committee members reward and vice chair cursey are present. Committee member Kate will arrive at 1 30 p.m. For members of the public, that's here for the item related to the further consideration of a ballot measure proposal by the San Diego Housing Federation regarding a proposed housing bond for Council Policy 000-21 for the November 2018 ballot. This item will be placed on the rules agenda for May 16th. If you have questions, please contact my committee consultant Marissa Marou Marubin. Sorry. Her information is on the front page of the agenda. Okay. The committee record. Okay. All right, we should do that more often. Just saying. The committee record of actions from March 7, 2018 will be approved by unanimous consent, and let's pull for discussion. So now to non-agenda public comment, we do have a number of uh public wishing to speak on non-agenda public comment. So the public comment will be limited to one minute per person. And the first person is please. Okay, we have Matthew Jumper, followed by Stephen Russell, followed by Michael McConnell. One minute. Thank you. I'm Matthew Jumper. I'm the president of the board of the San Diego Housing Federation. Uh Madam Chair and Committee members, I want to thank you for placing our uh measure on your uh next agenda. Uh as you well know, we have a huge housing crisis here in San Diego, and the housing federation is really trying to put some uh traction uh into that issue and make sure that there's housing for all income levels here in San Diego. So again, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Stephen Russell. Yes, uh Council President Cole. Uh your nameplate needs to be changed, by the way. What is this story now? I'm just always looking out for you, Miss Myrtle. I got your front. Thank you. Can I reset the clock? Thank you. Council President Cole and members of the committee. We appreciate very much the vote two months ago here in this room to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance placing a homelessness and affordable housing bond measure on the November ballot. We know that these resources are critical. We were very much looking forward to the opportunity to discuss that draft ordinance today. And while we're disappointed that it was withdrawn, we really appreciate your placing us on the May docket. It will allow us the time we need to have the public discussion. Clearly, there are a lot of questions to be answered in drafting such a measure, and we uh look forward to participating in that discussion. It's extremely difficult to pass a measure requiring a two-thirds vote. And to pass the measure needs to reflect community values and priorities. We hope that the public discussion here will help that measure be shaped to better fit the priorities of the public. And we thank you for the opportunity to come back on May 17th and have that discussion. And I know there's a lot of folks here who are on this issue. Some of them may want their names announced, some may or may not want to speak, but I appreciate the opportunity for for those who want to speak just to make have their words. Matthew McConnell file by Lorraine London.
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