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Council authorizes transfer of Redwood Downtown project to Danco amid tsunami and subsidence concerns
Summary
The Crescent City Council approved assignment of PLHA/PIP documents that will transfer the downtown 36-unit project to a Danco partnership; public commenters raised repeated concerns about building in the inundation zone, subsidence and possible commissioner conflicts of interest.
On May 4 the Crescent City Council voted to authorize the city manager to sign assignment, assumption and novation agreements transferring PLHA/PIP loan documents for the Redwood Downtown project from Community System Solutions to Crescent City Third Street LP, a limited partnership affiliated with developer Danco.
City staff said the transfer is intended to keep the project on track to meet grant timelines and deliverables after earlier progress and planning work. "As we were working through the project... the best pathway forward on this project was for Danco to actually take the project where CSS had left it," City Manager Eric Weir said.
Chris Dart, president of Danco, told the council the firm would consider the existing design and be open to changes—especially to address parking. "It's very early on for us, but, you know, we're gonna take into account the existing design for sure... but also be open to any changes that make sense," Dart said.
During public comment, residents raised safety and design questions tied to the project’s downtown site. Speaker Doug Dye asked for regular updates on the Battery Pointe apartment complex and later pressed concerns about seismic, tsunami-resistant design and possible subsidence at the third-and-J site; other commenters described historical inundation and asked whether the project’s design and review had adequately addressed foundations and water flow.
Doug Dye also raised an allegation about a council member’s potential conflict of interest, saying a commissioner’s spouse had a financial relationship to a beneficiary of the project and recommending recusal; the allegation was raised in public comment but was not resolved on the council floor and no formal recusal motion appears in the meeting record.
Staff emphasized that building and seismic codes apply and that density bonuses do not exempt projects from seismic or tsunami code requirements. After discussion and public comment, a council member moved to authorize the city manager to sign the assignment and novation agreements; the motion was seconded and carried on the recorded roll call.
The transfer means Danco or the Crescent City Third Street LP will assume the existing grant obligations and pursue entitlements and construction under current code requirements. City staff said additional design or parking changes could require further planning commission or council review as the project develops.
