The campaign committee for Measure I, a ballot initiative sponsored by the city of Dana Point on the June 2016 ballot, will be fined by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to include funding disclosures on campaign banners and printing the disclosures too small on yard signs.
Measure I was one of two competing ballot measures on the June 2016 ballot regarding development in the city’s town center area. It lost.
It’s campaign committee, Save Public Parking: No on H, Yes on I will be fined $3,500, pending approval by the Commission at its April 20 meeting. The committee was appointed by the Dana Point City Council to run the campaign.
According to the FPPC, the committee purchased five large vinyl banners that said “No on H, Yes on I” and included the Committee’s website, but didn’t include a statement describing who paid for the banners.
The committee later bought 300 yard signs saying “No on H, No Vacant Lots” that included the proper disclosure, but in a print that was a third of the size required by law.
Measure I, which was placed on the ballot by the City Council, would have ratified the city’s existing development plan for the city’s Lantern District, which sought to develop the area to attract tourists and compete with neighboring Laguna Beach and San Clemente.
The opposing citizen-backed initiative, Measure H, regulates development of the town center area, including a strict building height limit of 40 feet, and require any changes to the city’s Town Center Plan be approved by voters.
Measure H was approved by voters by 58 percent.
Contact Thy Vo at tvo@voiceofoc.org or follow her on Twitter @thyanhvo.