Confronting an insuperable giant, the state legislature, that is undefeated and unscarred in 161 years of statehood, angered members of the Redevelopment Agency last night called the lawmakers and the governor the dirtiest names that would pass public inspection, and then, under technical protest, grudgingly agreed to pay the demanded tribute or hush money to a modern-day Caesar.
There also was a markedly upbeat dimension to the evening.
Declaring victory, Mayor Mehaul O’Leary announced settlement of City Hall’s often criticized three-year-old lawsuit and oil-drilling moratorium against Plains Exploration & Production Co., and Los Angeles County as part of a broader agreement made public last week. The entire document, however, is not scheduled to be formally signed until the end of this week.
Ridley-Thomas at the Wheel
County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the point person and mastermind of the settlement, entered Council Chambers a moment later and lavishly lauded the City Council for its fortitude in pursuing the complex litigation. He cited the commitment of Councilman Andy Weissman as a central driving force in gaining a win for Culver City.
(Precise terms of the agreement are expected to be available this afternoon at the city’s website, culvercity.org)
Mr. Weissman declined to single out the most significant elements of the agreement, saying, “I don’t think you can parse it that way. The most important aspect of the settlement is the settlement itself. Taken cumulatively, the additional mitigations provided for in the settlement agreement were not likely to have been the outcome of the lawsuit. So when you factor in the additional protections that weren’t provided for in the CSD (regulations, known as the Community Standards District), but deemed inadequate by us and others at the time, you have a much stronger, much more protective CSD than we ever would have had.
“Despite vigorous litigation, the city stood its ground because it believed the community deserved better. This agreement will reduce noise, odors and visual blight, improve air quality, and better protect the health and quality of life of those who live near the Inglewood Oil Field.”
One of the final, wedge-causing disputes to be accepted was the $1.6 million reimbursement fee that PXP and the County agreed to pay to the lawyers representing the assortment of petitioners.
City Hall’s share is $710,000, which Mr. Weissman gauged to be 55 percent of the city’s legal outlay.
“As far as the environmental and community groups were concerned,” Mr. Weissman said, “the money was very important. The attorneys representing them were not being paid on an as-you-go basis. Their attorneys were accumulating significant hours. It was always understood to be a potential derailing factor.”
“As far as the communities are concerned, the important part is the settlement, not the individual components, but everything taken together.”
On a Grimmer Note…
And then there was the matter of the Redevelopment Agency dipping into its survival kit to remain intact by paying what members, and City Manager John Nachbar freely referred to as extortion.
They didn’t wink. They didn’t put quotes around such an extreme term.
Said Mr. Nachbar in his invocation, which has become a celebrated, non-traditional out-take at meetings, as established by his predecessor, Mark Scott:
“The protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual forces less powerful entities to pay money, allegedly for protection services against external threats.
“Many racketeers will coerce potential clients into buying protection through property damage or other harassment. The definition does not currently reference governmental activities.
“When it is conducted by government, a much more euphemistic term is used, exaction. That defies semantics.”
(On the off-chance readers are unfamiliar with the term, “exaction” is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as “the act of demanding or requiring that which is not justly due; extortion. Something that is exacted.”
After months of repetition, the story of cities paying off Sacramento for the privilege of at least temporarily keeping their redevelopment agencies intact, is widely known. Gov. Brown began leveling the threat before he took office last January.
The final hammer came down two weeks ago.
With its pay being withheld last month until a balanced budget was produced, the heavily pressured legislature, rushing, included a devastating money-squeezing provision that forced the 400 towns with redevelopment agencies to send millions to Sacramento in exchange for buying time, for staying alive a little longer.
The arcanely arrived at formula for Culver City was to pay $12.1 million next year, and $3 million each year thereafter. Ad infinitum.
Because it is owed? No.
Because it is demanded by the state, which is much more muscular than municipalities, to constantly replenish the coffers of the free-spending Democrat legislature.
The Agency, with disgusted expressions on all five faces, voted unanimously to pay the “extortion” fee that may be wiped out in threatened, but unfilled, legal challenges.
