It’s not just candidates on Orange County residents’ ballots this year. A bevy of measures – mostly dealing with real and hypothetical taxes – will be decided.
Twenty local measures are before voters this year; albeit, voters will only get to decide the ones that are related to their cities. That means some voters might not have any local measures before them at all.
Local measures this year range in topic, from setting term limits for certain councils or school boards to changing the relationship between one city and its attorney.
These measures are different from the seven statewide propositions posed to all California voters this year. Those give voters the opportunity to decide whether sports betting should be legal, if a ban on flavored tobacco products should remain in place and if the right to abortion needs to be included in the state constitution.
MORE: Learn about your candidates in our 2022 Voter Guide
Here’s a look at the local ballot measures that will be decided in Orange County this year.
Measure G: This is a bond measure seeking up to $114 million to fund building and tech upgrades for elementary, middle and high school campuses in Aliso Viejo. It would tax property owners in Aliso Viejo an estimated $44 per $100,000 of the assessed property per year for the next 30 years to repay the bond. While the measure covers schools in Capistrano Unified School District, it will only be before Aliso Viejo voters.
Measure H: This measure would enact term limits for Santa Ana Unified School District board members. If approved, members would be subjected to three four-year terms and would be precluded from serving again once that time is up.
Measure I: This measure, before Aliso Viejo voters, would set term limits for council members to a combined total of two four-year consecutive terms. If this measure is approved, members would be able to serve again after a lapse of service of at least two years.
Measure J: Before Anaheim voters, this measure would require online travel companies to collect on the full cost of a night’s stay the city’s transient occupancy tax, which is levied on hotel guests. Anaheim’s hotel tax is 15%, and the measure’s language suggests up to $3 million more in tax revenue would be collected annually.
Measure K: Costa Mesa voters are deciding on Measure K, which would remove the requirement for a public vote on major developments in some areas of the city. Because of a 2016 resident-driven initiative, projects that would increase density or add a significant number of new homes or car trips now must go to voters for approval; if Measure K passes, that would no longer be required along certain commercial corridors and industrial areas.
Measure L: This Huntington Beach charter amendment would allow the city to construct restrooms or replace existing equipment and infrastructure (as long as the height and footprint don’t change by more than 10%) on parks and beaches without voter input. It changes the previous voter-approved initiative known as Measure C.
Measure M: Before Huntington Beach voters, this measure would strip a requirement for the city attorney to have a degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. It would also allow the City Council to fill a vacancy by requiring four votes rather than a simple majority of those seated and alleviate the city treasurer from being required to submit monthly financial reports as the city’s Department of Finance now handles that.
Measure N: This measure would allow the Huntington Beach City Council to hire outside counsel if the city attorney so requests, if the city attorney or the office has a conflict of interest, or if the legal matter directly relates to the city attorney or the office. It also defines an “attorney-client relationship” in regard to Huntington Beach and its city attorney, and it mandates the city attorney must provide regular status updates on litigation.
Measure O: This measure will allow Huntington Beach voters to decide if a tax on cannabis businesses should be imposed if they are ever allowed in the city. (It does not alter the current ban on cannabis businesses in the city.)
Measure P: This measure would up La Palma’s transient occupancy tax, often called a hotel tax, from 8% to 12% on a night’s stay at a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home, or other similar short-term rentals.
Measure Q: This measure, before Laguna Beach voters, would create criteria for when a development would trigger a public vote but would apply only to proposals along Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road. If one met certain size, parking or traffic thresholds, such as adding more than 200 car trips a day or exceeding 36 feet in height, it would require the proposed development be placed on a future ballot for voters to approve.
Measure R: Before Laguna Beach voters , this measure would set restrictions on density, parking and open space for new hotel developments and larger remodels, and any not confirming would require a public vote before they could build. It would only apply within 1,000 feet along Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road.
Measure S: Laguna Beach voters will decide this measure that would require hotel owners and operators to provide hotel employees a minimum wage of $18 an hour, implement limits on workloads and require panic buttons to be available. It would also ensure workers’ wages increase by $1 every year after 2026 – and allow the City Council to require even higher wages.
Measure T: This measure wouldn’t affect whether cannabis businesses are allowed to operate within Laguna Woods – but it would enact a tax if those businesses were ever allowed in the future. It would set a tax of 4% to 10% of gross receipts or $5 to $35 per square foot for retail cannabis businesses, whichever is higher, and 1% to 10% of gross receipts or $1 to $35 per square foot for other cannabis businesses.
Measure U: Before San Clemente voters, this measure would make the city clerk position appointed by the City Council rather than elected.
Measure V: This measure would instruct the San Clemente City Council to appoint the city treasurer, rather than leave it as an elected position.
Measure W: On Santa Ana voters’ ballots, this measure would restructure the city’s business tax rate. It would change business license tax rates to a flat fee per business classification and decrease the initial tax deposit new businesses must make. It would also provide a “tax holiday” for unlicensed businesses or those with past-due taxes.
Measure X: Santa Ana voters could enact lifetime term limits on local politicians with this measure. It would do away with the eight-year “cooling off period” that allows candidates to run again for an election after they’ve termed out, and would cap service at 20 years (three terms of four years each on the council and four terms of two years each as mayor). This measure would also make other changes to the city’s charter, from mandating a super-majority vote of the council to approve the annual budget to implementing general neutral language in charter descriptions.
Measure Y: This measure would renew the 1% local sales tax in Westminster. The tax was originally adopted by the city’s voters in 2016 and is set to expire at the end of the year.
Measure Z: This measure would rezone the 19 parcels – most of which are close to the city’s main drags: Bastanchury Road, Imperial Highway, or Yorba Linda Boulevard – to allow more than 1,100 new homes (mostly apartments, including some priced for lower-income families).
Source: Orange County Register
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