Signatures Varified

Yesterday, the City Clerk of Rancho Palos Verdes made notifications that the number of valid signatures to potentially place The Marymount Plan's initiative on the November 2, ballot has been approved.

During the June 15 Rancho Palos Verdes City Council meeting, that body MUST vote to do one of just two options, now mandated by law.

The Council has the right to simply adopt ALL aspects currently within the wording of The Marymount Plan's initiative, or they must call for a 'Special Election' which can be conducted in association with the November 2, 2010 General Election.

Having the initiative voted on by registered voters of Rancho Palos Verdes is considered as being a 'Special Election' because the city normally has elections of Council Members in odd-numbered years AND the initiative is the only city-wide matter that is only for Rancho Palos Verdes residents.

All of this was absolutely and completely expected by most folks who have dealt with The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project because of Marymount's removal of considerations dealing with on-campus student housing when THEY pulled those issues off the table before formal votes were taken by the Planning Commission of the city of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Since The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project has met formal approval by the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, voters will be asked to approve ONLY three different aspects between the now-approved Expansion Project and The Marymount Plan;

On-campus residential housing for up to 250 students and up to five advisors.
The potentially restrictive municipal ordinance that could restrict city government oversight on matters relating to the enacting of The Marymount Plan.
Currently, the elimination of the now approved concrete center median barrier along the long curve of Palos Verdes Drive East as it bends around the Marymount Campus.

Are you willing to allow Marymount those THREE changes? I hope not and urge all of you to vote to oppose the ballot measure.

During the voting dealing with The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project by members of the Planning Commission and the City Council, two groups have been repeatedly heard from and their documents read from.

The two groups represented the Administration and supporters of Marymount College and the largest opposition group to that Project, Concerned Citizens Coalition/Marymount Expansion.

It seems that time and time again, the other residents of the city have provided just one voice and far too few documents to illustrate their feelings about the many issues; me.

That will all CHANGE on June 15 when I am joined by many many more voices opposing the initiative on different grounds and by some very familiar names, in our city.

Marymount will now be able to learn more from Save Our City III, a group that does not offer an opinion about the elements of The Marymount Plan, but they do completely object to the way Marymount is trying to use the ballot box over OUR RESIDENTS' representatives WE VOTED FOR to represent us in city matters.

Marymount wants to take our votes away from us and tell us we don't matter. How is that being a 'good neighbor' as Marymount's Administration claims they are?

Marymount wants to have less local residents dictate what will happen to residents of our city who live closer to the Marymount campus than I do or most others do.

Marymount wants to provide a precedent setting vote that could bring many more private business initiatives to our voters to take away the representation we voted for when we elected our City Council members.

Marymount wants to add a brand new municipal code that benefits only that institution and could disallow some critical oversight our city is mandated to do with other projects, residents, and businesses in the city.

Marymount now claims that the taxpayers' costs for the Special Election will now be borne by the College and its supporters but has not offered to cover other taxpayer-funded costs associated with traffic mitigation they only want to pay their 'fair share' of.

Get ready for an onslaught of mailers, DVDs T.V. adds and possibly door-to-door visits by students or other supporters of Marymount College's initiative.

You will be able to return to this blog when I offer the true facts Marymount does not wish to reveal and so far, Dr. Michael Brophy, Marymount's President continues to confirm that this blog offers true facts and has not found one error of fact on this blog, according to statements he made personally to me.

So, if Dr. Brophy doesn't find any misstatement of fact in this blog and I have found numerous misstatements of fact with The Marymount Plan that Dr. Brophy also does not deny, I think this blog has offered more responsible and truer fact-base opinions, assertions, and reading than Marymount has offered.

My challenges to debate still continue. Now in fact, they grow stronger with the real potential that the initiative will appear on the November 2 ballot.

It has been estimated that Marymount will now cover, the approximately, $80,000.00 of taxpayer-funded costs that would have had to come from the city's General Fund to pay for the Special Election. Marymount once claimed that The Marymount Plan would be completed at "no expense" to taxpayers. Until Marymount moved to cover those costs, that statement was untrue.

The statement remains untrue regarding the traffic mitigation and the now-approved concrete center median barrier on Palos Verdes Drive East.

Marymount has offered to pay up to $200,000.00 of the over $285,000.00 potential costs for the median barrier.

Marymount has offered to pay their "fair share" for three other traffic mitigation efforts in both The Project and The Plan, but has so far refused to pay the remainder of the costs that would have to come from the taxpayer-funded General Fund the city keeps.

So, who are you going to trust for real facts and assertions? I must admit, Marymount's trustworthy records are not up to par with mine and I doubt they are up to the records of CCC/ME and now Save Our City III.

Our armor is polished. Our swords of truth are sharp. Our steeds are well fed and have lots of energy. Our associates are informed and eager to wage war. Our cause is just. Our fight is right.