CCMIN012098 - Laserfiche WebLink

comments from those meetings. One of those plans received a recommendation and he believed it to be the consensus of the neighborhood. Obviously, with the number of signatures collected this was not the case. Ponderosa was trying to protect its property with the campaign against the petition. The only tattic authorized by Ponderosa Homes was to present the facts, not to harass or interrupt the referendum process. Henceforth, Ponderosa will not have any consultants speaking on its behalf. He said Ponderosa would be willing to drop the lawsuit with respect to the petition drive contingent on the Council rescinding the ordinance and allowing Ponderosa to work with the residents on the petition issue (traffic). Ponderosa would also request Council to direct staff to contact the County and ask it to immediately cease the signature verification process. Mayor Tarver commented that his request had been to continue the matter until after the holidays. He said he had received a phone call requesting him not to sign the petition until he had received more information. He asked if Ponderosa had authorized the telephone campaign? Mr. Meeks said Ponderosa authorized the telephone campaign, but there was a specific script prepared that was supposed to be adhered to by the solicitors. When he learned the solicitors were telling the residents the phone calls were on behalf of the City Council, he notified the consultants immediately to adhere to the script. Ms. Michelotti asked if Ponderosa would drop the lawsuit if Council were to rescind the ordinance? Mr. Meeks said yes. Ms. Michelotti asked if Council did not rescind the ordinance what would Ponderosa do? Mr. Meeks was not prepared to comment on that tonight. He reiterated the request is to have Council rescind the ordinance and cease the count of the signatures. If this were to occur, then Ponderosa would drop the lawsuit. Ms. Michelotti asked what Ponderosa was trying to achieve with the lawsuit? Mr. Meeks said: 1) to invalidate some of the signatures on petitions that did not have the ordinance attached; 2) show the purpose statement had misleading comments on it; and 3) determine the signatures blocks were not properly constructed. The election law is very clear on those issues. Ms. Michelotti asked if he was aware that Council could still initiate the matter even if Ponderosa won the lawsuit. Mr. Meeks understood. Pleasanton City Council 1/20/98 Minutes 9