COUNCIL BRIEFS

Craft Guild schedule approved

The City Council on Tuesday approved the Laguna Craft Guild’s proposal for 14 shows in 2007 at the cobblestone area of Main Beach and El Paseo.

Spring shows will be held Feb. 11, March 18, April 1 and 22, May 13 and 27, and June 10, followed by a summer hiatus. Fall shows will be held Sept. 9 and 23, Oct. 14 and 28, Nov. 11 and 25 and Dec. 16.

The city code allows nonprofit organizations to hold arts and craft shows at the park, limited to 14 shows in a calendar year with no more than two shows per month.

Lot sales fees approved

The City Council on Tuesday approved payments of up to $30,000 to Realtor Audrey Prosser for representing the city in the sale of lots on Olive, Linden and Poplar streets.

Prosser agreed to represent the city on a pro bono basis, with the caveat that the city offer a 2% fee to any real estate agent who represented a successful buyer and that she be eligible for the fee if she found the buyer or buyers.

All six lots sold to one buyer shortly after they were put on the market, according to Assistant City Manager John Pietig. The buyer was also a realtor and waived the fees to make the offer more competitive

Three lots have closed escrow, with a profit of $3.8 million for the city. The remaining three lots are expected to close in 2008, when the city vacates the parcels and net another $3.4 million.

A seller’s agent typically would earn 2-3 percent of the sales price — in this case fees of about $144,000 to $216,000, Pietig said.

Prosser will be getting $5,000 per lot at close of escrow, which Pietig estimated saved the city $114,000-$186,000 in fees.

By Barbara Diamond