Controversial Land Purchase to Be Canceled : Development: Cut-rate freeway acreage would have gone to San Dimas Mayor Terry Dipple and a partner. Dipple says he has put $80,000 into the project and threatens to sue.

The Pomona City Council has instructed its staff to cancel a controversial land deal that would have given San Dimas Mayor Terry Dipple and his partner five acres of freeway frontage for $805,000--nearly 40% below its appraised value.

Dipple said Tuesday that he and his partner, Brian Barbuto, have invested $80,000 in the project--in escrow for more than a year--and will resist efforts to scuttle the sale.

“If the city attempts to cancel the escrow, I’ll have to file a lawsuit to protect my interests,” Dipple said.

Pomona City Atty. Arnold Glasman said the council, after discussing the issue in private late last month, instructed city staff members to terminate the sale. The council session was closed under a provision of the Ralph M. Brown Act that authorizes councils to give instructions to real estate negotiators in private.

Mayor Donna Smith said Tuesday that the decision was made because of the long delay in closing escrow.

Smith blamed the delay on Dipple, who first proposed construction of industrial buildings, then suggested a residential project. Meanwhile, she said, the deal languished in escrow.

But Dipple said the city was at fault for the lengthy escrow. Under terms of the deal, Dipple said, he and his partner put $10,000 into an escrow account and were to pay the remainder of the $805,000 to complete the sale within 45 days of the property’s rezoning.

However, he said, the city has never acted on his rezoning request.

The land, at the southeast corner of the San Bernardino Freeway and the Corona Expressway, is currently zoned for open space and used as a community garden. Initially, Dipple said, he applied for a zone change to permit the construction of industrial buildings.

But, he said, that process stalled when the city demanded extensive reports on soil stability. Then, he said, he wrote a letter to the city late last year noting that economic conditions had changed and suggesting that the property might be more suited for residential development.

He said he submitted residential plans for development review, but the process again seemed to stall.

Meanwhile, Dipple said, he and his partner have spent $80,000 for architectural services, traffic surveys, soil reports and other planning work. Dipple said he would like to complete the deal under the original terms if the city would process his application for industrial zoning.

Margo Wheeler, city community development director, said the city stopped considering Dipple’s industrial zoning application after he submitted a residential concept for informal staff review. However, Wheeler said, Dipple failed to make a formal application for the required residential zone change.

The City Council approved the sale in April of last year for $805,000 despite an appraisal estimating the value of the property at $1.425 million.

Mayor Smith and Councilman Tomas Ursua labeled the proposed sale a bad deal for the city but were outvoted by council members Nell Soto, C. L. (Clay) Bryant and Mark A. T. Nymeyer, who claimed that no one else was interested in the property. Of the voting majority, only Soto is still on the council.

Because of the discrepancy between the appraisal and the purchase price, there were rumors last year that Dipple and Barbuto would turn around and sell the land at a big profit. But Dipple said he received no offers to buy the land for more than he paid for it.

Smith, meanwhile, said a number of developers have expressed interest in the property, but the city has no immediate plans to resell it.

“A majority of the council’s feeling is that we’re in no hurry to do anything with this property,” she said.