League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Measure M City Park Use Agreements City of San Jose Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required Pass: 198,999 / 72.60% Yes votes ...... 75,093 / 27.40% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure M

Arguments Against Measure M

Vote Yes on Measure M to improve our parks, without an increase in your taxes. By removing burdensome red tape, Measure M would enable many nonprofit groups and community partners to provide recreational programs at our major parks. How? Currently, the City's charter does not allow the City to lease its park land for more than three years. This limits the City's ability to attract partners to manage a skate park, a pool, a community center, or a soccer field, or to invest in improvements at those sites. Non-profit groups often need longer leases because their foundations and donors will only support a stable, long-term program of services. Private companies often need a longer lease to recover a return on their investments. Measure M gives the community and the City Council the flexibility to decide the appropriate duration of the lease. That decision will be made only after notice to surrounding neighborhoods, only after a review by the citizen-led Parks and Recreation Commission, and only after a full public hearing before City Council. Measure M will make it easier to attract community partners - like the Police Activities League and Happy Hollow Corporation - without spending scarce resources to go to the ballot to change the charter in each instance. Let's remove the red tape. Vote YES on Measure M, to promote community partnerships that will improve our parks. /s/ Chuck Reed Mayor, City of San Jose /s/ Sam Liccardo Councilmember, District 3, City of San Jose /s/ Ken Yeager Supervisor, Santa Clara County/Board Member, Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens /s/ Melanie Richardson Member, San Jose Parks and Recreation Commission /s/ Don Gagliardi President, Soccer Silicon Valley

No Argument Against Measure M was submitted

Full Text of Measure M

N.B. There may be errors in this version. For the official version contact the San Jose City Clerk. EXHIBIT A PROPOSED NEW CHARTER SECTION 1700.1 SECTION 1700.1 Council Authority to Enter into Long Term Agreements The City Council may enter into long term leases, concessions, permits or other agreements ("Agreements")with individuals or non-City entities, to allow use of public parks for terms of up to 25 years at a time, without voter approval, if the Council determines that Agreement would benefit the community and that the following conditions have been met: (i) the Agreement would enhance the designated recreational purposes for the public park;(ii) the public park subject to the Agreement is more than 5 acres in size and has at least 1 Community Serving Amenity, as defined below; (iii) the Agreement complies with an adopted City Council policy for Long Term Agreements in Parks, which defines community outreach standards, requirements for affordable access to the public park, periodic performance reviews, and early termination rights among other things; and (iv) any funds received by the City from the Agreement shall be used for recreational purposes. A "Community Serving Amenity" is defined as one of the following: Pool, Community Center or Reservable Sports Field or Similar recreational improvements in a park and that is described in the City's approved master strategic plan for parks and community facilities. Nothing herein is intended to limit City Council's authority to enter into other long term agreements on parks which have been approved by the voters.