Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
San Diego - A ballot measure which could decide the fate of the San Diego Chargers may go up in smoke - and it all depends on the outcome of a legal battle involving medical marijuana in Upland.
San Diego's city attorney is asking the California Supreme Court to expedite its decision in a case a pro-marijuana group has filed against the city of Upland, saying the outcome could affect two measures on the November ballot, one directly related to the San Diego Chargers' effort to stay in town.
The first, backed by the team itself, would raise the hotel occupancy tax to fund a new stadium downtown. A second, called the citizens' plan, would raise the hotel tax to guide tourism in the area and includes dedicating the Qualcomm Stadium property in Mission Valley for educational use and parkland. It also would require voter approval for any public funds spent on building a downtown stadium.
Whether these ballot measures will require a 50 percent-plus-one vote to pass or a two-third's majority may hinge on how the state's highest court decides the Upland conundrum.
It's the "legal 'perfect storm'" - that's how San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith described the situation in a letter to the state Supreme Court Wednesday.
In the Upland case, the California Cannabis Coalition argues its citizen-backed initiative to allow three medical marijuana dispensaries to operate legally in Upland by paying a yearly $75,000 licensing and inspection fee is not a proposed tax hike. It therefore should be put before voters as soon as possible, in a special election.
Upland argued the $75,000-per-dispensary is a tax, and as such, it needs to be on a general election ballot like other proposed taxes.
Earlier this year, the Fourth District Appellate Court sided mostly with the coalition, saying the salient point is that the initiative was backed by the citizens, not the government. It ruled the initiative should go on special election ballot.
Believing the ruling could form an end-run around how new taxes come about in California, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association stepped in to represent the city in an appeal to the state's highest court. That triggered the San Diego city attorney's reaction.
In his letter, Goldsmith said San Diego needs resolution on the matter: Officials need to know how many votes it takes to pass the November measures.
"Accordingly, I write this letter to request help that only this court can provide - to make an expedited final determination ... in the Upland case," Goldsmith's letter to the chief and associate justices says.
Attorney Roger Jon Diamond, who is representing the coalition, said he was contacted by Goldsmith, who asked if he opposed the request.
Diamond said he does not.
"I've never seen it before," Diamond said Thursday, referring to an outside party asking for a case to be accelerated. "It's a very bizarre situation where two subjects are linked in a very strange way."
Diamond compared this case to Roe v. Wade, where the outcome of one woman's lawsuit became the law of the land.
What's more, if the state Supreme Court can't make a decision in time for the November election, Goldsmith is asking the justices to step in and decide the approval requirements for the San Diego initiatives anyway.
Where the Chargers play next year hangs in the balance, Goldsmith wrote. He envisioned a scenario in which the two measures receive more than 50 percent voter approval but less than two-thirds.
If that happens, then "the city and its citizens would have been denied an accurate election result which could result in the San Diego Chargers making an irrevocable decision to leave the city of San Diego."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: How The Fate Of The San Diego Chargers Could Hinge On Upland's Marijuana Battle
Author: Liset Marquez
Contact: 909-987-6397
Photo Credit: Sean M. Haffey
Website: Daily Bulletin
San Diego's city attorney is asking the California Supreme Court to expedite its decision in a case a pro-marijuana group has filed against the city of Upland, saying the outcome could affect two measures on the November ballot, one directly related to the San Diego Chargers' effort to stay in town.
The first, backed by the team itself, would raise the hotel occupancy tax to fund a new stadium downtown. A second, called the citizens' plan, would raise the hotel tax to guide tourism in the area and includes dedicating the Qualcomm Stadium property in Mission Valley for educational use and parkland. It also would require voter approval for any public funds spent on building a downtown stadium.
Whether these ballot measures will require a 50 percent-plus-one vote to pass or a two-third's majority may hinge on how the state's highest court decides the Upland conundrum.
It's the "legal 'perfect storm'" - that's how San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith described the situation in a letter to the state Supreme Court Wednesday.
In the Upland case, the California Cannabis Coalition argues its citizen-backed initiative to allow three medical marijuana dispensaries to operate legally in Upland by paying a yearly $75,000 licensing and inspection fee is not a proposed tax hike. It therefore should be put before voters as soon as possible, in a special election.
Upland argued the $75,000-per-dispensary is a tax, and as such, it needs to be on a general election ballot like other proposed taxes.
Earlier this year, the Fourth District Appellate Court sided mostly with the coalition, saying the salient point is that the initiative was backed by the citizens, not the government. It ruled the initiative should go on special election ballot.
Believing the ruling could form an end-run around how new taxes come about in California, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association stepped in to represent the city in an appeal to the state's highest court. That triggered the San Diego city attorney's reaction.
In his letter, Goldsmith said San Diego needs resolution on the matter: Officials need to know how many votes it takes to pass the November measures.
"Accordingly, I write this letter to request help that only this court can provide - to make an expedited final determination ... in the Upland case," Goldsmith's letter to the chief and associate justices says.
Attorney Roger Jon Diamond, who is representing the coalition, said he was contacted by Goldsmith, who asked if he opposed the request.
Diamond said he does not.
"I've never seen it before," Diamond said Thursday, referring to an outside party asking for a case to be accelerated. "It's a very bizarre situation where two subjects are linked in a very strange way."
Diamond compared this case to Roe v. Wade, where the outcome of one woman's lawsuit became the law of the land.
What's more, if the state Supreme Court can't make a decision in time for the November election, Goldsmith is asking the justices to step in and decide the approval requirements for the San Diego initiatives anyway.
Where the Chargers play next year hangs in the balance, Goldsmith wrote. He envisioned a scenario in which the two measures receive more than 50 percent voter approval but less than two-thirds.
If that happens, then "the city and its citizens would have been denied an accurate election result which could result in the San Diego Chargers making an irrevocable decision to leave the city of San Diego."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: How The Fate Of The San Diego Chargers Could Hinge On Upland's Marijuana Battle
Author: Liset Marquez
Contact: 909-987-6397
Photo Credit: Sean M. Haffey
Website: Daily Bulletin
