| (May 18, 2010) -- LBReport.com requested and obtained today from the City Attorney's office under the Public Records Act, and provides for our readers in the public interest, a copy of the SE LB open space/wetlands-for-Public Service Yard Exchange Agreement (which has been executed by both parties) with deed (covenant) restrictions on future development of the Public Service Yard.
LBReport.com requested these items on short notice and hasn't reviewed them in detail; we provide them for public access now. The Exchange Agreement (roughly 20+ pages) as linked here doesn't include all its attachments (which would make it over 100 pages long). It has been executed (signed) by the parties although we've deleted the signature pages.
LCW is signed by "LCW Partners, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company" by "LCW Holdings, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company by its sole member, Jeffrey Berger, President." The City of Long Beach is signed by Pat West, City Manager.
We did include the deed (covenant) restrictions on future development of the Public Service Yard, which the City Attorney's office indicates would be binding on LCW (party to the exchange) and subsequent parties acquiring the indicated land. We consider this verbiage significant. It's our understanding that the City (LB taxpayers) would remain liable for clean-up costs on the property resulting from future development on the property, and any terms/restrictions noted would govern that development. The terms/restrictions could also have an affect on future impacts on neighborhoods nearby from future use of the property. The text is on the last two pages of the attached document.
To view the document, click here.
LBReport.com photo: Public Service Yard
In pertinent part, the text provides that the grantee (LCW) agrees to provide city management with 90 days written notice of any proposed development "likely to give rise to material remediation costs" to the City under an Environmental Indemnity and Access Agreement [not attached]. The City must then submit to the grantee within 60 days "a reasonable design alternative and any other reasonable requests concerning limiting the City's liability under the Indemnity. "Grantee shall reasonably accommodate such proposed design alternative if such alternative does not require Grantee to incur material additional cost."
Additionally: "The covenants set forth in this paragraph shall expire on the date that is 20 years after the recordation thereof."
The agreement also provides both parties (grantee and city) a 30 day due diligence/inspection period to enter each other's property for the purpose of conducting "inspections, tests, studies, analyses, and activities" that each party reasonably deems appropriate BUT explicitly does NOT allow the City to perform a delineation study [to ascertain what portions are or aren't wetlands] prior to the close of escrow (re City's rights, paragraph 6).
As previously reported by LBReport.com, LB city management has opened escrow, and anticipates closing by the end of May, on the swap of part of the city owned Public Service Yard (developable industrial property) in exchange surface rights to part of the SE LB open space/presumed wetlands (owned by LCW, a Tom Dean-related LLC) by the end of May.
Tonight (May 18), an item agendized by management seeks Council approval of some changes to the transaction approved by the Council in an August 4, 2009 5-4 vote [Yes: S. Lowenthal, DeLong, O'Donnell, Andrews Lerch; No: Garcia, Schipske, Reyes Uranga, Gabelich]. For coverage of these details, see LBReport.com coverage here.
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