DIAMOND BAR : City Council Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Consider Subdivision

The Diamond Bar City Council has settled out of court with a development group that sued the city for $128 million last year after the council rejected its proposed 57-home subdivision north of Tonner Canyon.

Hoping to avoid further legal fees, the city has agreed to take a fresh look at the subdivision plans of developer Diamond Bar Associates. The group wants to develop the hillside homes next to a gated community called The Country. The council rejected the proposal in November, 1992, saying the developer had not presented the city with adequate studies showing the soils on the steep slopes could hold the luxury homes.

In return, the developer has agreed to drop its claim for $128 million in damages and its allegations that the city unjustly denied the subdivision application.

The subdivision proposal will now be reviewed by the city’s geotechnical experts, and then discussed at a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission. After that study session, which has not been scheduled yet, a public hearing on the matter will be set.

The settlement agreement allows Diamond Bar Associates to continue to pursue its complaints against council members Gary Miller and Phyllis Papen. The developer has alleged that the two council members pressured them for political favors, and then opposed the DBA subdivision when none were forthcoming.

Miller and Papen deny the allegations, and in December a Superior Court judge ruled that Miller and Papen are immune from litigation challenging their decisions as legislators. The developer could appeal that decision.