The City Council reviewed a recorded Brown Act matter on Oct. 7 involving a councilmember’s communications during negotiations over a parcel of land. The city attorney reported that the council met in closed session on multiple items including real‑property negotiations (Government Code §54956.8). The item had been referred to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, which concluded its review and closed the file after concluding the council’s response was sufficient.

Council members recited a factual timeline: staff and council had conducted multiple closed‑session negotiations about a parcel involving the Transportation Corridor Agencies and other negotiators; a councilmember subsequently discussed aspects of those negotiations with a TCA official and was later disciplined internally. The council voted to waive limited closed‑session confidentiality so that members could discuss what had occurred during the closed session without breaching law. Following discussion, Councilmember Zhen Wu voluntarily recused himself from future closed‑session negotiations with the TCA and related matters; several councilmembers asked that he undertake additional Brown Act education. The council accepted the recusal and asked staff to monitor compliance. No criminal charges were filed by the DA.