Pacific Grove council to consider ballot measure reducing number of councilmembers
The Pacific Grove City Council will meet Wednesday, voting on whether to approve a ballot measure that would reduce the number of council seats from six to four.
If approved, the ballot measure would be on the November election ballot and be implemented in November 2026. Approving the measure would also be the first step in the council deciding whether to move to a by-district voting system.
Currently in Pacific Grove, the at-large voting system means everyone can vote for all the council member seats whenever an election happens. A by-district system, would separate the city into districts and voters would select from candidates running for a single seat. Monterey, Salinas, Marina, Greenfield and King City are county cities that currently have district elections.
During council discussion in March, several council members and Pacific Grove residents spoke out against having a by-district system with a mayor and six council members. Pacific Grove only has about 15,000 residents and there were concerns that the city is too small to be separated into so many districts.
Lowering the number of council members would allow the council to vote on the by-district system with fewer districts and would allow the council to be more in line with other California city councils, which consist of four council seats and a mayor.
The topic of having fewer council seats stems from a letter sent to the council from The League of United Latin American Citizens back in August 2022, requesting the city change its at-large voting system to a by-district voting system for city elections in order to be in line with the California Voting Rights Act. If the city fails to take action, the citizens group threatened to take legal action and seek judicial assistance “to enforce our remedies at law,” the letter read.
Additionally, if the city chooses to keep its at-large election system and defend itself against a threatened lawsuit, it could cost several million dollars in attorney’s fees and court costs.
According to city attorney Brian Pierik, no jurisdiction has ever won a California Voting Rights Act-based lawsuit. Pacific Grove voters also had the opportunity to vote for fewer council seats before in 2022, but the measure lost by 13 votes.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the council will host a public hearing on a lease agreement for the site of the former Lovers Point Grill, which has been closed since March. The council will vote on a five-year lease between the city and Sunset Hospitality Group, which currently operates Stokes Adobe in Monterey.
If approved, the new establishment is proposed to be called Lover’s Point Snack Bar, featuring burgers and chicken sandwiches, sides like fries, pretzels and clam chowder, beverages and desserts. It would be a walk-up ordering and take-out service only.
The proposed timeline is to have the lease agreement start on Aug. 19.
Another public hearing is scheduled about the collection of annual sewer fees, but the city staff is going to recommend that the council continue the discussion to another date.
For the last year, Monterey One Water has been preparing cities for its decision to change its billing from a bi-monthly fee to an annual fee. This was proposed to be a cost-saving measure for Monterey One Water, by collecting fees through county property taxes. However, during the last Monterey One Water board of directors meeting, the board failed to meet the voting requirements to move forward with the decision.
This has led several cities to halt approving any changes including Seaside, Salinas and Monterey.
The city council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Grove City Hall, 300 Forest Ave. and can be watched online via Zoom at https://www.cityofpacificgrove.org/Zo....
