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Council approves omnibus charter cleanup and a change to lease/sale approval thresholds
Summary
Council adopted a package of charter cleanup items and forwarded a targeted charter amendment on real property leases/sales to the ballot; the amendment clarifies that no city real property (including tidelands) may be leased for more than 10 years or sold except by a four-member affirmative vote of council.
The council approved a set of charter 'cleanup' amendments and advanced a focused charter amendment addressing the council’s approval threshold for sales and leases of city real property. The clerk and city attorney described the changes as modernizing language, aligning charter text with current practice and clarifying certain commission qualifications. Several members said they would have preferred a broader public vetting process for omnibus charter changes but supported moving a cleanup package forward for voter review.
A specific change to Section 3.10 governing leases and sales clarified that no real property of the city, including tidelands, shall be leased for a period in excess of 10 years or sold except upon the affirmative vote of four members of council. Economic-development staff told council that shortening ordinance delays and reducing the need for a two-reading ordinance process would improve the city's attractiveness to prospective tenants seeking multi-year leases, while other members said the higher threshold protects voter input on long-term commitments of public land. The council adopted the resolution to submit the charter amendment to the November ballot and designated council authors to prepare the pro/con arguments for the county ballot materials.
