Proponents Agree to Defend City in Challenges to Blair Park Development

The Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO) has signed an agreement with the city requiring the group to pay for additional consulting costs and legal fees related to the processing of its proposal to develop sports fields in Blair Park and indemnifying the city from any legal challenges should the project be approved.

The agreement, signed Aug. 12, puts in writing the likelihood that the project will require an addendum to the before City Council can grant final approval.

"It appears that substantial additional work will be required prior to City Council action," the agreement reads.

Significant changes have been made since the original proposal was studied, including the replacement of turf on the smaller of two planned fields with grass, the removal of a pedestrian bridge, and adjustments to the traffic plan around the park that many have speculated would warrant review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

PRFO should have already deposited $118,000 into a city account to cover consulting and legal costs associated with the needed reviews, according to the agreement.

Additionally, PRFO was required to deposit $125,000 as a sort of down payment for the defense of the city against legal challenges to approval of the project. The proponent group signed on to indemnifying the city from all suits and damages.

The proponents have not, however, been obligated to cover all the costs stemming from the proposed project. In the agreement, the city said it was, "willing to continue to bear the staff costs of further work."

Furthermore, the agreement does not address guarantees regarding the construction and maintenance costs of new sports fields in Blair Park that the be in place before ground is broken.