Council Agrees to Pay for Environmental Study

A divided City Council has agreed to front the costs for an environmental study that developers must produce as part of the so-called Western Plateau agreement.

The council voted 3 to 2 to spend up to $66,000 to jump-start the review, because the three Dos Vientos developers affected by the Western Plateau agreement had yet to agree on how to divide the costs of the study. Council members Linda Parks and Ed Masry objected to the city’s spending. Deputy City Manager Jim Friedl said the developers will ultimately be required to reimburse the city.

As part of an agreement with the city earlier this year, developers agreed to drop plans to build on an environmentally sensitive portion of land known as the Western Plateau. In exchange, they were given permission to build more on other portions of their property so long as those adjustments met environmental review.