Laura Mitchell

Staff Writer

DEL MAR -- The fate of Del Mar's historic train station remains unclear after the City Council voted Monday to wait until May to decide whether to acquire the landmark property by eminent domain.

The council decided to revisit the issue May 14, after more than a dozen residents urged it to preserve the 89-year-old brick depot and its 2.8-acre site on Coast Boulevard. The train station, which sits across the street from the Powerhouse Community Center, has been shuttered since 1995.

The May 14 date gives the council time to gather information on the legal and financial risks of pursuing eminent domain. It also gives the city time to talk to a group called Del Mar Train Partners LLC that signed a long-term lease in November on the building owned by Catellus Commercial Group LLC of Newport Beach.

Council members said they have no concrete plans on how the city would use the train station property, but that its purchase is one of the council's goals.

For the past year, the city has negotiated with Catellus over buying the property and offered to pay the appraised value of $1,357,000 in November. The talks reached a stalemate and Catellus signed the lease with Del Mar Train Partners LLC on Nov. 13.

"In the middle of what I thought were good-faith negotiations, a lease shows up," Councilman Richard Earnest said.

Catellus Vice President Bill Dennis told the council that the tax implications of a sale would be a hardship for the company, so leasing the depot property "is the only deal we were capable of making." Dennis said the lease offer was also made to the city.

"I also made it clear that if there were someone else who were to come along and be willing to do that sort of transaction … that it was my job to do such a lease," Dennis said.

Under questioning by the council, Dennis said some of the people in Del Mar Train Partners have a relationship with Catellus.

"Some of the partners of Del Mar Train Partners are partners in Century Telecommunications, a division of Century Partners Real Estate firm here in San Diego that manages our properties," Dennis said.

Councilman Mark Whitehead asked John McCulley, a Del Mar Train Partners representative, why the group was spending $100,000 a year for the site.

McCulley said the goal of the partners was to preserve the train station.

"There are a series of options that the partners have available to them that allow them to not develop anything, just keep it as a train station," McCulley said. "Obviously, you're totally aware of the fact that if there were any development, it would go through the Planning Commission. It would go through every process established by the city."

Last week, Del Mar Train Partners gave the North County Times a copy of a proposal to sublease the train station and 50 parking spaces to the city for $1 per month, with the option for the city to buy the land in 24 years. In return, the proposal stated the partners want city permits to build five 2,000-square-foot bungalow-style office buildings at the north end of the property.

Partner Rande Turner said last week he met with the city manager and two council members in December to offer the proposal, but has not received a response.

1/24/01