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The Menlo Park City Council voted to approve an outside law firm on Oct. 13 to assist the City Attorney’s Office in its legal dispute with the developers of a high-rise project at 80 Willow Road, on the former Sunset Magazine campus.
Oakland-based Goldfarb & Lipman LLP specializes in housing law and works with cities across the state, according to a city staff report.
On Oct. 2, the owner and developer behind 80 Willow Road — a large mixed-use commercial and residential project — filed a lawsuit alleging that Menlo Park illegally delayed the approval of the development, which was proposed under the builder’s remedy. The city of Menlo Park has refuted these allegations.
City officials have been clear-eyed about the potentially high costs of litigation, with Mayor Betsy Nash warning in September that the city may need to cut services to defend the suit. Attorneys at Goldfarb & Lipman have hourly rates ranging from $405 to $525, depending on the seniority of the employee, according to the rate schedule. Law clerks and project coordinators charge $360 an hour.
The contract was approved unanimously on the council’s consent calendar, which is for routine items. The council had to vote on the agreement because the costs could exceed the city manager’s signing authority of $100,000.
The firm told the city that attorneys Barbara Kautz and Dolores Bastion Dalton, a partner at the firm, will be overseeing the firm’s work with the city. Kautz was previously San Mateo’s assistant city manager and community development director.
The 80 Willow team is represented by Allen Matkins, a law firm with expertise in real estate.
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