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1. Petitioners’ Expert
Petitioners’ expert was an attorney with extensive
experience in representing clients engaged in real estate
development projects, including private developers,
redevelopment agencies, cities, and other public and private
entities. He said that a variation provides project-specific
relief to a property owner from an otherwise applicable zoning
restriction, and that a variation covers only the particular
structure to be built. He opined that a variation gives a
property owner no right to construct a replacement building on
that property.
Petitioners’ expert opined that Library Square and Fifth &
Grand obtained no benefits for the Library Tower and Grand Place
Tower parcels other than the Library Tower and Grand Place Tower
variations. In contrast, he said that the covenants the City
recorded against the Central Library parcel would remain in
effect until released by the City and/or CRA.
Enactment by the City of Ordinance No. 159802 allowed the
MTP Designated Building Site to be established in order to treat
the five Library Square tract parcels as a single building site
to meet the City Charter’s 13-to-1 building density limitation.
Petitioners’ expert said that ordinance merely allowed CRA to
find and negotiate an agreement with a private developer wanting
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