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Costa Mesa council recesses to closed session to confer on multiple pending lawsuits after public comment
Summary
The Costa Mesa City Council recessed into closed session July 15 to meet with legal counsel about several pending lawsuits, after a property owner raised claims about boarded properties, alleged state housing approvals and potential cost to the city.
The Costa Mesa City Council recessed into a closed session July 15 to confer with legal counsel on several pending lawsuits, after a public commenter urged settlement of long-running property disputes.
Dennis D'Alessio of D'Alessio Investments told the council during the public-comment period that he previously evicted tenants from several properties and that multiple legal claims related to those properties have been pending for about five years. "It's costing the city. We're forced to file two federal lawsuits... and frankly we're both losing on this thing when it can be easily settled," D'Alessio said.
City staff read the closed-session items into the record under California Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1), listing the following cases: O'Keefe v. City of Costa Mesa; City of Costa Mesa v. D'Alessio (Wallace Avenue); City of Costa Mesa v. D'Alessio Investments (440 Fair Drive and 1779 Newport Boulevard); DLSO Investments v. City of Costa Mesa (Orange County Superior Court); DLSO Investments v. City of Costa Mesa (U.S. District Court, Central District of California); and Feral Harrison v. City of Costa Mesa (Orange County Superior Court).
In his remarks, D'Alessio said one property has been boarded up, experienced a fire and graffiti, and lacked insurance. He said the city had declined to review his SB 330 plans and that, in his view, restoring units for low-income housing could be accomplished with about $100,000. Those statements were delivered as his account and were not confirmed on the public record by city staff during the open portion of the meeting.
Council members recorded as present for the session were Councilmembers Pedis and Beaulieu, Mayor Pro Tem Chavez and Mayor Stevens; Councilmembers Reynolds, Mar and Gumeros were absent. After the clerk read the closed-session items the council recessed to the community room for the closed session; no outcomes were reported on the public record before recess.
The closed-session conference with legal counsel concerns existing litigation and, per the clerk's reading, will be held under the cited Government Code authority. The public comment and the list of cases were the only substantive items on the record related to the litigation at the open meeting.
