24 - Laserfiche WebLink

be completed within eighteen months of the settlement date. The contract and proposal detailing the full scope of the Climate Action Plan, which has been in the planning process independent of the litigation for some time now, is included as a separate item on this agenda. In addition, the Tentative Agreement establishes that the City will conduct appropriate environmental analysis, in accordance with CEQA guidelines for actions identified in the Tentative Agreement including the Hacienda rezonings. The level of analysis anticipated is consistent with the City's process used typically for these types of projects. No Additional Litigation To assure no additional litigation related to these matters, all parties agree to dismiss the General Plan /CEQA litigation and the two remaining discrimination causes of action in the litigation and to not pursue additional litigation regarding the Housing Cap and the Hacienda rezonings. Further, the Tentative Agreement establishes an enforcement process that retains the Court's jurisdiction to effectuate the provisions of the Settlement Agreement. However, if a dispute arises, the opportunity for mediation is available. Attorney's Fees Under a provision of State law known as the "private Attorney General" statute (Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5), advocacy groups who are successful in enforcing public laws are often entitled to recover their attorneys fees from the public agencies they successfully sue. This law allows not only for the recovery of fees actually paid, but also for "enhanced" fees based on market rates and "multipliers" based on the length, difficulty and complexity of the litigation. In this case, Urban Habitat has provided the City with information supporting a "base" fee claim of nearly $3 million, and has asserted an entitlement to multipliers that would elevate their claim to an amount exceeding $4 million if the matter were to be litigated. Since the start of the settlement process the City Council has expressed an interest in negotiating a more reasonable attorneys' fee award, and in having that be part of any settlement agreement. While the City could pursue an alternative of litigating attorney's fees, this would be inconsistent with the global settlement focus of the Tentative Agreement and could very well result in higher (potentially twice the settlement amount) attorney's fees. As a result, the negotiating team was successful in reaching what it believes is a reasonable compromise on the amount of the fees. That compromise- $1.99 million payable over two fiscal years —is reflected in the Tentative Agreement. It should be noted that the Attorney General's Office has decided not to claim fees. As a result, the full fee amount will be paid to the Petitioners, Urban Habitat et al. The two fee payments are in addition to the expenses paid since 2006 to the City's private legal counsel to defend the case. Page 8 of 9