Court rules ‘Waterfront’ developer must pay attorney’s fees

REDONDO BEACH—The failed attempt to build a “Mall by the Sea,” as some people called it, at Redondo Beach’s King Harbor resulted in more than a return to the drawing board for city officials – lawyers filled their coffers as CenterCal went toe-to-toe with the South Bay municipality in Superior Court. The dust has finally settled and CenterCal’s The Waterfront – an ambitious redevelopment of the King Harbor area – is off the table. There is still this matter, however, of legal fees.

News reports indicate a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of Redondo Beach on whether it should be awarded attorney’s fees for the lawsuit stemming from its legal battle with CenterCal over Measure C and King Harbor’s redevelopment.

The Superior Court ruling specifically stated the attorney’s fees accumulated by Redondo Beach’s mayor and a council member during the lawsuit over the validity of a voter-approved ballot initiative must be reimbursed, according to a news report. The initiative, Measure C, restricted CenterCal from executing its redevelopment plans at King Harbor, even though said plans were approved prior to the passage of the ballot initiative.

Two Redondo Beach residents who used the lawsuit to challenge the validity of Measure C, as it applies to The Waterfront project, will be responsible for complying with the court’s ruling – assuming they do not appeal the court’s decision. A news report in the Daily Breeze revealed CenterCal funded the residents’ lawsuit.

The future of King Harbor’s redevelopment remains unclear. CenterCal is currently working on a waterfront development at Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach.

Those who opposed CenterCal’s redevelopment plans stated they wanted to see Redondo Beach’s King Harbor updated, but The Waterfront project was just too big. CenterCal, on the other hand, long maintained the project had to be as large as proposed in order for it to be a financially viable plan. Pursuing a scaled down project within the slow-growth guidelines of Measure C would have all be removed CenterCal’s financial incentives to redevelop the Redondo Beach waterfront and harbor, according to the company’s present.