Opinion ID: 2524742
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Court of Appeal Judgment

Text: The Court of Appeal first concluded that the city had substantially complied with the Elections Code. It, too, rejected the argument that a challenge to ballot materials may be made only before the election, noting that several courts have considered such challenges postelection. (See California Gillnetters Assn. v. Department of Fish and Game (1995) 39 Cal.App.4th 1145, 1164, 46 Cal.Rptr.2d 338.) Then, relying on Horwath v. City of East Palo Alto (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d 766, 777-778, 261 Cal.Rptr. 108, it considered whether the deficiencies in the ballot measure affected the ability of the voters to make an informed choice. Honvath v. City of East Palo Alto, supra, 212 Cal.App.3d at pages 777-778, 261 Cal.Rptr. 108, held that due process mandates invalidation of a ballot measure only if the materials, in light of other circumstances of the election, were so inaccurate or misleading as to prevent the voters from making informed choices. In conducting this inquiry courts should examine the extent of preelection publicity, canvassing and other informational activities, as well as the substance or content of such efforts. The ready availability of the text of the ordinance, or the official dissemination and content of other related materials, such as arguments for or against the measure, will also bear on whether the statutory noncompliance rendered the election unfair. Finally, courts should take into account the materiality of the omission or other informational deficiency. Flaws striking at the very nature and purpose of the legislation are more serious than other, more ancillary matters. After examining the ballot materials and the circumstances in which Ordinance No. I-97-1 had been placed on the Sierra Madre ballot, the Court of Appeal concluded that the purpose of the measure was clearly and unambiguously set forth in the ballot materials and that any informational deficiencies in the Impartial Analysis were ancillary to the main purpose of Ordinance No. I-97-1. There had been extensive public debate before the election, several public hearings, and the mailing of a sample ballot and a letter clearly explaining the purpose and intent of Ordinance No. I-97-1 and the reason for Ordinance No. 1151. There was no evidence in the record that the voters were confused or that the deficiencies alleged had affected the fundamental fairness of the election. Therefore, the violations of Elections Code section 9280 did not require invalidation of the measure on due process grounds. The Court of Appeal then considered whether Ordinance No. I-97-1 should be invalidated because it was a project subject to CEQA requirements. The court concluded that delisting historic properties was a project within the meaning of CEQA because delisting led to a change in legal status removing the evidentiary presumption of Public Resources Code section 21084.1 that a listed structure is a historically or culturally significant resource and may, in Sierra Madre, remove the property from the jurisdiction of the CHC and the historic preservation ordinance, Sierra Madre Ordinance No. 1036. Although the city might still have the power to review the historical significance of the property when a demolition permit was sought, delisting might have the effect of removing the property from CEQA requirements for other types of use, for building permits for alteration, and for relocation of the property. Thus, delisting constituted a project with an effect that might cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an historical resource. The court also held that Ordinance No. I-97-1 was not exempt under CEQA Guidelines section 15378 as a ballot measure because, before placing it on the ballot, the city council itself had approved Ordinance No. I-97-1. The court reasoned that Guidelines section 15378 was a codification of Stein v. City of Santa Monica (1980) 110 Cal.App.3d 458, 168 Cal.Rptr. 39 ( Stein ), and was not intended to exempt situations that are distinguishable from Stein. Stein held only that placing a rent control charter amendment on the ballot on petition of the voters, where the city did not engage in any other related matters or projects, was not a project subject to CEQA. Thus, the guideline exempting ballot measures from the CEQA EIR requirement applied only when the public agency acts solely in a ministerial manner to place a citizen-initiated measure on the ballot or if the public agency has already undertaken CEQA review for a project and submits approval of the project to the voters. The Court of Appeal held that when the city abandoned its existing procedures in response to the opposition of the owners of the 29 properties to paying for EIR's and turned instead to use of an initiative measure to accomplish delisting, it effectively exercised its discretion to approve the project. The delisting was a discretionary project subject to CEQA because the city could have exercised its discretion to follow a procedure in which delisting would have been allowed or denied on the basis of an EIR, but chose not to. ( Friends of Westivood, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1987) 191 Cal.App.3d 259, 272, 235 Cal. Rptr. 788.) Having reached that conclusion, the Court of Appeal determined, as a matter of first impression, that the appropriate remedy for the CEQA violation was to set aside both the resolution placing Ordinance No. I-97-1 on the ballot and the election because failure to comply with CEQA made the election fundamentally unfair and affected the result.