ELECTION REDONDO BEACH : Vote on Rebuilding Pier Is Delayed From June Ballot

The advisory question of whether and how to rebuild the Redondo Beach pier will not go on the June ballot after all, but it will be presented to the city’s voters in a special election some time before Sept. 1, the City Council decided Tuesday.

Also on the special election ballot may be several measures proposed by Councilman Ron Cawdrey, who is now in his second and final term. Cawdrey wants the voters to decide whether the city’s two-term limit for elected officials should be lifted. He also has suggested that the City Charter be amended to create a sixth council district and to give the mayor a vote, and he wants those issues placed on the ballot.

The special election was announced after Mayor Brad Parton informed the council that the June primary ballot is so crowded that once all the candidates and state and county initiatives are listed, there might not be room for local questions.

Marcia Ventura, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office, said that “there’s a limited amount of space” on the computerized cards used to tally votes in major elections. Cities have until March 9 to ask that their local elections be consolidated onto the county ballot.

“But with all the judicial, legislative and state constitutional offices, the ballot is already pretty full,” Ventura said.

Ralph Heikkila, assistant registrar-recorder for technical services, said there are 312 slots on the perforated computer cards, on which votes are cast by punching a hole. But initiatives and referendums--which often include long, wordy questions and sometimes even maps--can use up dozens of the punch positions, eating up a sizable chunk of the ballot, he said.

Although council members noted that voters might be confused if a local election fell between the regular, statewide June primary and the November general election, Parton said “the county can’t say whether there will be room for any of Redondo Beach’s measures.”

Moreover, Parton said, the pier issue is only an advisory question that is being put to the voters pending a court appeal on whether the city has an obligation to rebuild. State and county candidates and initiatives get top priority on the ballot, he said. Binding city issues are next in line, and non-binding advisory questions--such as the pier issue--are automatically rejected if the ballot becomes too full.

Nearly half of the Redondo Beach pier was destroyed in 1988 by a fire and a series of storms. Since then, community opinion has been split on whether it should be rebuilt. Some people charged that the old pier was a crime-riddled eyesore, but others lauded its historical significance.

In January, a Superior Court judge ruled that the city was obligated to rebuild the pier under its contract with businesses that leased space there. But this month, the City Council voted to appeal that decision and to put the issue before voters in the form of an advisory question.

The council has already decided to place the pier question on the special election ballot and will decide on other measures at a later date.