Re “Long-Lingering Parcel B No Cinch to Pass, to Fair or to Choke”
Such is life after the wipeout of California’s Redevelopment Agencies that the new bureaucratic routes developments are forced to follow are guaranteed to make observers dizzy as they attempt to trace the path from vaguely-named-agency-to-vaguely named-agency.
Culver City will get a taste of it at tonight’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting in Council Chambers as Parcel B, the choice middle-of-Downtown plot, begins a winding journey that could end in success, death or something abstract.
The virtually indecipherable 411-word sentence below is City Hall’s notion of explaining to the public Parcel B’s imminent future, starting tonight with the Sucessor Agency voting on the Design and Development Agreement made with builder Combined/Hudson last Jan.31.
Provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied (collectively, the “Conditions”), approve the City’s transfer to the Successor Agency of the residual proceeds received from the sale of the Developer Parcel to the Developer for the Successor Agency’s use and distribution for approved development projects or to otherwise wind down the affairs of the Successor Agency pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 34177(e): a. The Successor Agency adopts the Successor Agency Resolution (as defined in the City Council Resolution); b. The Oversight Board adopts the Oversight Board Resolution (as defined in the City Council Resolution); c. The Department of Finance either does not review the Oversight Board Resolution within the time period set forth in the Dissolution Act and the Oversight Board Resolution and the actions therein are deemed effective pursuant to the Dissolution Act or the Department of Finance reviews the Oversight Board Resolution within the time period set forth in the Dissolution Act and the Department of Finance approves of the Oversight Board Resolution and the actions therein; Provided that all of the Conditions are satisfied, authorize and direct the Executive Director of the Successor Agency, or his or her designee, and the City Manager, or his or her designee, to take all actions and sign any and all documents necessary to implement and effectuate the DDA and the actions approved by this Resolution including, without limitation, approving extensions of deadlines set forth in the DDA and the Schedule of Performance (Attachment No. 4 to the DDA) as determined necessary by the City Manager, or his or her designee, under the DDA, approving amendments to the DDA and its Attachments as determined necessary by the City Manager, or his or her designee, to effectuate the DDA, executing documents on behalf of the Successor Agency and City (including, without limitation, grant deeds or quitclaim deeds), and administering the Successor Agency’s and City’s obligations, responsibilities and duties to be performed pursuant to this Resolution; and Acknowledge that the City does not intend, by adoption of the Resolution, to waive any constitutional, legal and/or equitable rights of the Successor Agency or the City under law and/or in equity, including, without limitation, the effectiveness of the DDA or previous actions taken with respect to the DDA, by virtue of the adoption of this Resolution and actions approved and taken pursuant to this Resolution and, therefore, reserves all such rights of the Successor Agency and the City under law and/or in equity.
“If (the city’s sale of Parcel B) is approved by the Oversight Board,” says Mayor Andy Weissman, “the (state) Dept. of Finance has 10 days from the action of the Oversight Board to disapprove. If they disapprove, we have to go to the next step. If they don’t disapprove, we would be able to move forward the next day. On the 11th day, we could see a fence go up around Parcel B.
“The position we are articulating is, if the Dept. of Finance allows the project to go forward, there will be greater proceeds realized for the various taxing authorities than if we just held a fire sale and sold the property.
“The reason is, there are limitations to what a person could do with the property,” Mr. Weissman said.
“The property is burdened by zoning and entitlements.
“The project got a pass, if you will, on parking because it was allowed to use pool parking. Anybody who buys the property at a fire sale doesn’t get the pass, which means that builder would have to provide on-site parking at a zillion dollars, making the project very non-economic.
“Unless the Dept. of Finance just says no to say no, and doesn’t care about anything except getting whatever they can in a short period of time, we are hopeful they will understand everybody will do better if the planned development goes forward.”
