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Developer Jonathan Tolken urges council to approve lease amendment for Metlocks Project
Summary
Developer Jonathan Tolken told the Manhattan Beach City Council during public comment that he supports a consent-calendar resolution and asked the council to approve a lease amendment limited to use changes, while offering to work with staff to resolve a 2023 profit-sharing dispute; no council vote on the lease was recorded before the council recessed to closed session.
Developer Jonathan Tolken, with the Metlocks Project, urged the Manhattan Beach City Council to approve a consent-calendar resolution and a lease amendment limited to changes in permitted uses during public comment at a special council meeting that convened at 4:15 p.m.
Tolken introduced Tolken Group founder and CEO Francine Tolken Cooper and his partner Glenn Lugs and said he appreciated the council placing the items on both the closed-session and consent calendars. "We're excited to kind of see things start moving along so we can get back to working in the spirit of teamwork and collaboration," he said.
Tolken described a lingering dispute dating to 2023 over a profit-sharing calculation. He said he and a colleague had met with Bruce Mo in 2023 about what they believed to be a correct calculation and that he "never thought six months later that I would be accused of doing something unilaterally." He added that staff currently working with the developer understood the situation and that he had been told the developer might be required to forfeit what was described as "maybe some overpayment." Tolken said he would not agree to forfeit funds if an error had not been demonstrated and that he was committed to clarifying any confusion in the lease using the lease procedure.
Tolken asked the council to approve the requested use amendment on the consent calendar and said he and staff (he mentioned speaking with "Tene" by phone) could resolve other items collaboratively. He also said the vacant Lemonade space was "costing all of us a little bit of a black eye and financially," and urged a timely resolution so the project could move forward.
Public comment on the item concluded with Tolken's remarks; no formal council action on the lease amendment was recorded in the open session portion of the transcript before the meeting recessed into closed session.
Next steps: After public comment the city attorney announced closed-session items and the council recessed for closed session. Any substantive council action on the lease amendment was not reflected in the public portion of the transcript.
