Dana Point council adds litigation item to closed session; receives Lantern District fee update and reviews code edits

At its Feb. 3 meeting the Dana Point City Council added an initiation‑of‑litigation item to closed session after staff reported a trustee sale notice related to the Rancho Boca De La Playa property and said the city may need to protect an interest. The council voted to add the item and recessed into closed session to discuss anticipated and existing litigation matters.

City Attorney listed three existing litigation matters the city intends to discuss: Center for Land Natural Land Management v. City of Dana Point (Orange County Superior Court case no. 30202101219668), ST Apartments v. City of Dana Point (case no. 30202401397922), and California Housing Defense Fund et al v. City of Dana Point (case no. 30202501483327). The city did not discuss case strategy in open session; the listed cases will be considered in closed session under Government Code section 54956.9.

On unfinished business the council received a statutorily required five‑year report on the Lantern District development impact fee (LDIF). Staff noted Council adopted Ordinance 14‑03 on April 15, 2014, that the LDIF is tied to increased use of public facilities and that the first deposit to the LDIF account occurred in March 2016. The report was taken as a receiving file and staff offered to follow up if council members had questions.

Later, staff presented proposed amendments to Chapter 6.14 of the Dana Point Municipal Code to clarify definitions and nuisance enforcement. Council members generally supported the redline approach and said they would forward minor edits to the city manager for incorporation before formal adoption.

Votes and formal actions taken at the meeting were procedural (adding the closed session item and receiving files). Closed‑session deliberations and any subsequent legal actions will occur outside public minutes.