Last week, City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who already publicly questioned any efforts to speed up the process of approving AEG's NFL stadium, submitted a resolution that comes out against any effort to introduce legislation to circumvent the CEQA process for the stadium.
Specifically, the resolution “seeks to oppose any legislation that would subvert or accelerate the CEQA process for a proposed NFL stadium in Downtown Los Angeles.”
If the resolution passes, it doesn't give the city any legal power, explains Jane Usher, Special Assistant City Attorney. But it sends a message. "If this were adopted, this would be the formal position of the city of Los Angeles regarding any effort to exempt the stadium," says Usher.
AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, who will present detailed plans for the stadium this week to the city, hasn't specifically outlined what type of CEQA protections he is seeking for the stadium.
But he's previously said AEG is hoping for same protection granted to the Industry stadium proposal, a move that shielded that project from any lawsuits.
(Critics of CEQA-related lawsuits say they are an easy way to tie up the development process, but defenders will argue that protections must remain in place.)
And various media reports have stated that AEG has been talking with various legislators in Sacramento. Michael Roth, spokesperson for AEG, didn't return a call today.
A spokesperson for Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez, who represents the area, and could feasibly be one of the politicians targeted by AEG to introduce such legislation, said Perez hasn't been approached by the developer.
Asked about the Speaker's position on legislation that would protect the stadium, the spokesperson wrote: "The Speaker's position is that he welcomes the tens of thousands of jobs the proposed stadium would create but he also believes we need to be thoughtful about what role we play.
"We are open to discussions about making corrections to take away burdensome hurdles but they can’t be a one off solutions. There has to be focus on making reforms that don’t undermine any of the standards in place."
And a screen grab of the resolution:
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