La Verne : Initiative Request Denied
The City Council has refused a request from the La Verne Small Town Preservation Committee to put an initiative on the November ballot prohibiting construction of theaters and auditoriums that can seat more than 1,000 people.
The committee objects to a 12-screen Edwards Cinema complex proposed for the intersection of B Street and Foothill Boulevard. Members argued that if the council did not put the measure on the November ballot, the city would be forced to spend about $25,000 for a special election after the group collects enough signatures. Committee leader Bob Mastro said the group has about 1,000 of the 2,500 signatures required to force an election.
Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Harvey said the special-election argument was an attempt to blackmail the council into placing the measure on the ballot before the group obtained sufficient signatures.
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