Oakland drops lawsuit against Alameda County
Mayor calls decision a key step toward reaching an agreement for stadium site
OAKLAND » The city this week dropped its lawsuit against Alameda County, clearing the way to continue exclusive negotiations to possibly sell its half of the Coliseum complex to the Oakland A’s.
The council made that decision Wednesday during closed session — one day before a scheduled court hearing on its motion asking Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch to grant a preliminary injunction to bar the potential the sale of the county’s half- ownership share of the Coliseum to the A’s for $85 million. The injunction would have extended a temporary restraining order issued Oct. 1 to prevent the sale from moving forward.
Mayor Libby Schaaf on Thursday commended the council’s decision, saying it’s a key step in allowing all three parties — Oakland, Alameda County and the A’s — to try to reach an agreement for the site.
“I’ve always had the position that it’s not a good use of public resources for governmental entities to engage in legal battles. We’ve got to align our interests and be much more responsible with our limited resources,” Schaaf said at a news conference Thursday. “This should also be a signal to the county that we want to work with them.”
After the city filed its lawsuit in September, the A’s offered it the same $65 million purchase deal it offered the county, under the condition that the suit be dropped. The city officially began negotiating the deal with the A’s last week.
Council member Larry Reid said Wednesday that the council’s decision paves the way for the city’s talks with the A’s to continue.
“The A’s have demonstrated a willingness to engage in good-faith negotiations,” Reid said.
On Thursday, he said the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought back.
In a written statement issued Wednesday evening, A’s President Dave Kaval said he looks forward to finalizing agreements with the city and the county.
The baseball team wants to convert the Coliseum complex to a mixed- use development to help the A’s finance construction of a 35,000- seat waterfront ballpark along the estuary near Jack London Square.
The lawsuit alleged a county sale of its ownership share would be illegal under the state’s Surplus Land Act, which requires publicly owned land that’s up for sale to first be offered for affordable housing, parks or open space.
The council on Wednesday also directed staffers to alert affordable housing developers, local public entities and other groups that they have an opportunity to match the A’s offer. After the notice is issued, the groups and developers would have 60 days to respond if interested in purchasing the property themselves.