Local ballot measures

Voters throughout California will consider numerous local ballot measures June 3, including tax increases for new classrooms and police services, tougher ethics rules and even the creation of a new city.

Covina and Torrance want to extend existing utility taxes, and South Gate is asking voters for a one-cent increase in the local sales tax to help pay for basic city services, including police, park maintenance and street repairs. There are parcel-tax measures on the ballot in the Centinela Valley Union High School District and Hermosa Beach City School District, while the Hawthorne and Los Nietos school districts each seek approval for construction bond measures.

San Clemente voters will decide whether to limit the height of homes in the Shorecliffs neighborhood. Irvine residents will be asked to tighten the city’s lobbying rules. Administrators in the Santa Ana Unified School District will need a two-thirds vote to move forward with a sale of $200 million in bonds – money that school officials say is needed to repair deteriorating classrooms and upgrade security and computer systems.

Residents will determine whether Menifee, Quail Valley, Sun City and parts of Romoland should become their own city, and, if so, whether it should be named Menifee or Menifee Valley. The area has about 60,000 residents and is now governed by the county Board of Supervisors.

Bonds totaling $10.9 million are on the ballot for modernization and other improvements at two schools. Residents also will vote on an $11.5-million bond measure for the Bear Valley Community Healthcare District in Big Bear Lake. The money would go toward retrofitting the emergency department, skilled nursing facility, laboratory and other facilities so they meet earthquake safety standards.

Voters will decide on school funding measures in Somis and Oak Park, and on development issues in Santa Paula and Thousand Oaks. In Santa Paula, residents also will be asked to approve a zoning change that could pave the way for construction of 1,500 houses on 500 acres owned by Limoneira, a major agricultural firm. Thousand Oaks voters will consider requiring an election on development proposals that are expected to generate heavy traffic.

Source: Times Staff Reports