Talks at Standstill Over Festival of Arts Lease
Negotiations have stalled between the city and organizers of the Festival of Arts, one of the county’s biggest tourist attractions, over leasing the city-owned property on Laguna Canyon Road.
The lease, determined by a percentage of the festival’s gross receipts, expires in 2001. Two years ago, city officials initiated negotiations to lower the rent and earmark other money for maintenance and improvements on the grounds.
Mayor Steve Dicterow and other council members said city officials believed in February that they were close to an agreement on a 20-year lease.
Instead, members of the festival board of directors sent them a letter offering to lease the 5.6 acres for a flat rate of $310,000 a year or buy the property, known as the Irvine Bowl, for $3.4 million. The city won’t sell the prime land and refuses to sign a long-term lease at a flat rate, Dicterow said.
Sharbie Higuchi, a spokesman for the festival, said board members have begun looking at other sites because of the impasse.
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