July 28, 2009 in City

Council sends ‘bill of rights’ to vote

French proposes adding questions about funding to November ballot

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Spokane City Council members Monday spoke loudly against a proposed initiative that would create nine rights the city would be required to enforce.

But their dislike of Envision Spokane’s “Community Bill of Rights” didn’t stop them from letting residents make the call.

The council voted unanimously to put the measure on the November ballot, a move widely expected since county officials verified supporters gathered enough signatures for a vote.

Among other rights, the initiative would give Spokane residents the rights to affordable preventive health care, access to renewable energy sources and affordable housing.

It also would give neighborhood councils the power to veto development projects if 15 percent of local residents who voted in the prior city election request such action.The rights could be enforced through lawsuits filed by residents or other parties.

Still, the debate about what will appear on the ballot isn’t over.

Next week, the council will decide if it will add two questions to the ballot. They would ask voters if they want to “pursue additional funding sources” or “reallocate funding” if the rights are approved.

Councilman Al French, who proposed adding questions to the ballot, said the votes would help leaders decide how to pay for extra costs.

“My job is to make sure that voters have as much information as possible so they can make a good decision,” French said.

Tom Linzey, an attorney who has advised Envision Spokane, said the council is trying to mislead voters.

“It’s a blatant attempt to try to torpedo the initiative,” Linzey said. “It’s a little weaselly.”

Envision Spokane members have argued that the rights will not add to the cost of government. But council members disagree, saying that at the least, the city would have extra legal expenses because of likely lawsuits.

Council members said they were concerned that the ballot language doesn’t accurately describe the rights. But city attorneys advised them that they didn’t have the power to rewrite the description.

Councilman Steve Corker said voters should make sure they read a full copy of the bill of rights before casting a vote.

“It’s up to the voters to determine the truth,” he said.

Three comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  The_Spovangelist on July 28 at 11:38 a.m.

  The above description of the Community Bill of Rights has two factual flaws:

  1) The City is NOT required to enforce all nine amendments. There are only two amendments, I believe, that require City action (preventive fee-for-service health care plan and access to affordable housing stock). The other seven are optional for the City to enforce. The enforcement clause in the ninth amendment specifically says “MAY” not “SHALL”. There is a *significant* difference. This is the second time Mr. Brunt has inaccurately portrayed the initiative in this regard.

  2) The statement that 15% of neighborhood residents could veto a proposed development is also factually incorrect. 15% of voters would be required to bring a proposal to a vote, whereupon a minimum of 51% of neighborhood voters would need to contest a proposal before it could be rejected. Again, a SIGNIFICANT difference.

  Jonathan, you are a professional news reporter. It is your first duty to get the facts straight. Most of the time you do a great job, but the Community Bill of Rights coverage has been a bit sloppy. Many people will read your coverage in lieu of reading the actual initiative for themselves. While unfortunate, it is imperative that you get the proposal right. Then people can vote it up or down based on real merits, instead of hearsay and half-truths.

• 

  jonathanb on July 28 at 12:55 p.m.

  Hi Spovangelist,

  Thanks for sharing your concerns. You are correct that the enforcement clause in the Community Bill of Rights uses the words “may enforce,” not “shall enforce.” However, it gives “The City of Spokane, or any person, neighborhood, or neighborhood council aggreived by a violation of their rights, or any person seeking to enforce the rights of ecosystems,” the right to “enforce these rights.” As I understand the Community Bill of Rights, that means any person or party could enforce their rights through lawsuits. If a lawsuit is filed, the city could become party to it, either for not following the rights itself or to force other parties to uphold the rights. Also, Envision representatives have said that some of the rights may need additional City Council action to determine specifics. For instance, the first right says “residents have the right to a locally-based economy” and would require banks to to invest in businesses owned by Spokane residents. But standards aren’t defined in the right and likely would have to be created by city leaders.

  You might have a point in that the ultimate enforcer of the rights likely would be a judge - as is the case with all laws.

  Also, my description regarding vetoing develpment projects is correct.

  The wording in my story is:
  “It also would give neighbrhood councils the power to veto development projects if 15 percent of local residents who voted in the prior city election request such action.”

  The wording of the Community Bill of Rights is: “A neighborhood council may veto a land development project if requested to veto that project by a number of neighborhood registered voters equal to or greater than fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general municipal election within that neighborhood.”

  You are correct that if a neighborhood council declined to veto a development after 15 percent of registered voters requested such action, a neighborhood council would be required to veto the project if a majority of registered voters who voted in the last city election requested such action.

• 

  ChefGus/ John Olsen on July 29 at 6:45 a.m.

  Just wondering if it is legal for a city council person to change, and add wording to an approved ballot measure that has been signed by the required number of registered voters… Mr French did that too with the Mayor’s sustainability report that 15 task force members and hundreds of other volunteers worked on for over a year… seems a bit haughty to me… i’ll be glad when mr french is off the council this year.. john