Senator Yee withdraws as a co-author of Beachwood settlement bill

Breaking newsposted by Barry Parr on Apr 3, 2008 at 05:51 pm in  Government   Real Estate
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State Senator Leland Yee has withdrawn as a co-author of the AB1991, the bill to guarantee Half Moon Bay’s settlement with Chop Keenan by expediting development of Beachwood and Glencree. When the settlement was announced at Tuesday’s city council meeting, Yee was listed as a “sponsor” of the bill (he actually agreed to be a co-author).

Yee says he will not support the bill until he has had more opportunity to study the settlement and its consequences for the property, the city, and state law. He says he could wait until after hearings on the bill, but that he is still concerned about the possibility that the city could bankrupted.

The settlement and Senator Yee’s sponsorship were announced on Tuesday evening at the Half Moon Bay City Council meeting.

I spoke with Senator Yee on Wednesday evening.  He told me that he didn’t know the details of the agreement until he saw the city’s press release on Wednesday. He had already heard from constituents about their unhappiness with his name being on the bill.

Yee acknowledged that he had not seen the settlement before he agreed to sponsor the bill, saying he had been “privy to the essence of the settlement” and had been very concerned that the city avoid bankruptcy.  He did not know that the city had promised Keenan $18 million if AB1991 did not pass or that the settlement included permission to develop the Glencree property.

AB 1991 would allow the development of Glencree (as well as Beachwood) without review by the Coastal Commission, the state Department of Fish and Game, or other state and local environmental and planning agencies.

On Wednesday, Yee described the city’s $18 million guarantee to me as a “fallback plan”, saying “there seems to be another alternative” to bankruptcy or the passage of AB1991.

Half Moon Bay mayor Bonnie McClung declined to comment for this story.

Comments

Comment 1 by Bob Poole  on  Apr 4  at  9:13am  •  All my comments • 

If any of you are as worried about the ramifications of AB 1991 as am I, then I suggest you do as I did… let Senator Yee and Assemblyman Mullin know. You can Google them and log on to their web sites, and fill out simple e-mail forms to express your feelings.

Comment 2 by Kathryn Slater Carter  on  Apr 5  at  5:55pm  •  All my comments • 

I wonder what each of the Democrat Assembly candidates thinks about this agreement and what he/she would do if elected to the assembly.  Hopefully each will be willing to post his/ or her opinion here.

Kathryn

Comment 3 by Ken Johnson  on  Apr 6  at  1:13am  •  All my comments • 

What do you think about accuracy - The Review wrote “According to the settlement agreement, if the city is unable to allow Keenan to develop the Beachwood property, it must pay him $18 million plus interest. I wrote: “The ‘drop dead’ date then becomes 31 December 2011 when $18 mill (without interest) is due”.   You can read the settlement agreement Page 4, P C(3) (a).

Is there a significant difference between the two quotes? Is it important? Is either, neither or both accurate? Is the difference between “6% per annum, compounded annually”, for four years on $18,000,000 and “without interest” worth the distinction in making?

Ken Johnson

Comment 4 by Kevin Barron  on  May 1  at  11:16pm  •  All my comments • 

Moreover, what can the city of HMB do with the parcel/subdivision… at this point it MUST be flipped towards commercial/residential development… to re-coup.

Comment 5 by Ken Johnson  on  May 6  at  3:51am  •  All my comments • 

Kevin Barron,

Fact Check:
It is zoned for residential development not commercial.

There is also the option of filing for Chapter 9 Reorganization; seeking an evaluation by the court of the Settlement Agreement which is really a contract to purchase property at a price beyond the fair value. There may be the prospect of seeing the dollar amount reduced. It would also be an opportunity to open up the process - did the City Council Majority ‘throw the case’?

Compared to watching the City Council Majority throw our money around like a sailor on shore leave; it doesn’t sound like a bad option.

If the cost [dollar bleed] since 1 April 2008 is not provided Tuesday, 05 May 2008, night at the City Council Meeting, the Citizens of Half Moon Bay should feel outrage!

Ken Johnson

 

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