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<br /> <br /> <br />substitute or alte.mative for a binding proposition the council is obligated to place on the <br />same ballot. <br /> <br />(5) A non-binding proposition may be placed. on the ballot by the council only when <br />the ballot will contain other matters. The city council shall not call an election at any time <br />solely for the purpose of placing one or more non-binding propositions before the voters of <br />the city. <br /> <br />********** <br /> <br />Rationale: San Marcos has a history of having non-binding propositions placed on the ballot for City <br />elections. The most recent example of this was the ballot proposition for the City's purchase of the <br />Aquarena Center property from Southwest Texas State University. Other non-binding ballot <br />propositions in the past have included: <br /> <br />. Election of Council Members by Districts <br />. Acquisition of Greenbelt Land in Sessom Creek Area <br />. Bilateral Nuclear Weapons Freeze <br />. Extension of Hours for Sale of Alcoholic Beverages <br /> <br />These non-binding election topics must be distinguished from the variety of binding election <br />propositions that appear on City election ballots from time to time, such as: <br /> <br />. Bond Proposals <br />. Leases of Parkland; Removal of Parkland Restrictions from Property <br />. Collective Bargaining <br />. Charter Amendments <br />. Sales Tax Authorizations <br /> <br />Staff members of the Texas Secretary of State's office have recently taken the position that non- <br />binding referendum ballot propositions are not legal under the Texas Election Code, because they <br />are not expressly authorized by state or local law. This issue can be resolved if we amend our <br />Charter to expressly authorize elections on non-binding propositions. We think this authority of the <br />city council should be carefully described and limited as stated in the proposed language above. <br /> <br />6. Amend Section 7.01 re2ardin!! residency requirements for plannin!! and zonin!! commission <br />members as follows: <br /> <br />Sec. 7.01. Planning and zoning commission. <br /> <br />A city planning and zoning commission is established. Commission members shall be <br />appointed by the council and serve without compensation. All commission members shall <br />have their principal physical residence in the city at the time of appointment, and they shall <br />C:\TEMP\charter commission report-2001.doc 5 <br />