The who-knew-what-when in the city of San Diego’s involvement in the late-minute state redevelopment deal continues to trickle out.
If City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has his way, the trickle will soon become a flood.
Like the City Council, San Diego County and others, Goldsmith didn’t know Mayor Jerry Sanders and others were angling for state legislation that eliminated limits on city-sponsored downtown redevelopment until right as it passed. The bill, known as Senate Bill 863, allows downtown to capture an estimated $6 billion more in property taxes and potentially subsidize a new Chargers stadium.
At a council hearing yesterday, Goldsmith derided the law’s final legal review.
“A lawyer did not go through this is my view,” Goldsmith said.
But at least one lawyer with local ties was involved in the law’s development: prominent Los Angeles redevelopment attorney Murray Kane who serves as counsel for the city’s downtown redevelopment agency, the Centre City Development Corp.
Goldsmith, who oversees CCDC, asked Kane for “all correspondence, legal opinions and notes regarding SB 863” as part of 11 detailed questions about Kane’s role in the bill’s passage.
Should Kane respond fully, it would provide the most complete account of how the bill became law. CCDC head Fred Maas has discussed his role — though not to the extent some on the council had wanted — and Sanders’ office released a sparse memo. Unofficially, both Maas and local Republican Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, the bill’s creator, have given other details.
Reached on his cell phone, Kane said he hadn’t seen Goldsmith’s letter but would answer it.
“I always fully cooperate with anything the city attorney asks,” Kane said.
Please contact Liam Dillon directly at liam.dillon@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5663 and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/dillonliam.