Deadline extension expected
Deirdre Newman
The City Council is set to automatically approve extending the
deadline for the developer of the 1901 Newport Blvd. condominium
project to drop its lawsuit against the city.
Rutter Development sued the city in August, mainly claiming a
rehearing on its project was granted illegally without the required
presentation of new evidence.
That rehearing finally took place in January and a slightly
scaled-down version of the project was approved. One of the
conditions called for the approval to be voided if Rutter didn’t
dismiss its lawsuit within 105 days after the approval went into
effect.
That deadline expires Monday. So Acting City Atty. Tom Wood has
placed a request for a two-month extension on the council’s Monday
consent calendar -- its list of routine items that typically pass
with little or no discussion -- to give the parties more time to
reach an affordable housing agreement, which is required by the
project.
That request isn’t sitting well with some residents, who say they
don’t see the need for the city to accommodate Rutter with an
extension.
“I don’t feel the city is under any obligation to extend the
deadline, unless there’s some compelling interest or benefit to the
city to extend it,” said Terry Shaw, who lives across the street from
the potential project. “I would like the city to act in the best
interests of the citizens at large.”
David Eadie, Rutter’s CEO, did not return a call for comment.
As part of the project, Rutter is required to provide 12
affordable housing units -- seven for moderate-income and five for
very low-income. The Redevelopment Agency -- the council working
under a different name -- offered to provide the five low-income
units, since it is difficult to do that in an ownership situation
like a condo, said Planning and Development Manager Mike Robinson.
These units will probably be provided by rehabilitating existing
rental units, Robinson added.
The agreement will set the legal requirements for both types of
affordable housing units.
“We’re just down to negotiating the legal points regarding
insurance agreements from the developer, parking requirements, how
they’ll be divided between the condos and the office building --
we’re just down to the nitty-gritty details,” Robinson said.
The project originally called for four four-story buildings in the
parking lot of the Spanish mission-style property. The revised
version that was approved calls for decreasing the building height of
the project along Bernard Street to three stories. As part of the
approval, the council will pay Rutter a subsidy of $1.5 million that can only be used for the affordable housing part of the project. This
was an enticement for Rutter to lower the density.
Wood said he suggested a two-month extension since the
Redevelopment Agency will consider the agreement in June.
* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.
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