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Minutes - San Leandro City Council Meeting - January 11 , 1993 Page - 17 - NEW BUSINESS (continued) Council Member Kerr noted there had been 35 speakers tonight, all opposed to the MOU. He said the City has been offered an opportunity to get these mitigation funds. He said the Oakland Planning Commission and City Council have not recognized San Leandro' s needs at all . He said, after Oakland approves the project, the developer will have no incentive to give San Leandro anything at all . He said, if the MOU is not consummated, San Leandro will have to bear all the costs. He said he believes the MOU to be in the best interests of San Leandro and the taxpayers. He said this will save money in the long run, and the City would spend more without it. Council Member Corbett said it is obvious all of the questions have not been answered tonight. She said she did not know the exact costs to mitigate traffic, did not have an answer to the question regarding heavy equipment on City streets, and did not understand how mutual aid would work and what the costs would be. She said she did know certain items that were asked for all along during the planning process in Oakland have been denied. She said each of them has costs. She said she feels very strongly that the City may be giving up its legal rights. She assumes, if this project were in San Leandro, the City Council would make sure all the questions were answered. She said she hopes that, if the project is approved, we will have a way to pay for mitigation. She said there were too many unanswered questions, and she could not vote to give up the City's legal rights . Council Member Myers said he had received many phone calls from the citizens of San Leandro on this matter. He said he does not like the way the proposal was presented at the eleventh hour. He said he is on record as opposing the project. He said he does not feel good about giving up the City' s rights to sue or about the Oakland City Council waiting to see what San Leandro will do. He said the San Leandro Council needs to make a decision this evening. He said it is unlikely San Leandro will get any mitigation fees from Oakland. He said he believes he is charged with protecting the citizens of San Leandro through quality of life and through financial aspects. He said it is difficult to gamble with the City's money, but the City may not get any funds at all if the MOU is not approved. He said if the MOU is approved, San Leandro will have $500,000; and, if approved, he would make a motion to put these funds into a special account for the North Area. He said he does not feel the City Council would be selling out but is trying to obtain the most beneficial proposal for San Leandro at this time. He said he still does not approve of the project but feels he must protect the whole City of San Leandro and thinks the best position is to accept the MOU. Council Member Faria said he believes this is not a last-minute negotiation, and negotiations have been under way since September. He said he does not think there is any advantage to suing over the EIR. He said eventually the EIR would be acceptable.