Who will control Liberty Station? San Diego asks judge to end litigation that could force city to sell – San Diego Union-Tribune

Who will control Liberty Station? San Diego asks judge to end litigation that could force city to sell  San Diego Union-Tribune

City’s aggressive move comes after months of barbs and accusations with Liberty Station’s largest leaseholder, which filed suit in 2022. San Diego’s effort to cement long-term public control of Liberty Station recently entered a new phase when city officials asked a judge to end long-running litigation that could force the city to sell parts of the area. The city’s aggressive move comes after months of barbs and accusations between the city and Liberty Station’s largest leaseholder, Seligman Properties, which filed suit in 2022 trying to force the city to sell. The dispute over the leafy neighborhood’s future also prompted some local school officials to publicly criticize the city, and it has become an issue in Tuesday’s City Council runoff between Richard Bailey and Nicole Crosby.

City officials declared in an Oct. 9 court filing that they’ve accomplished every task the judge laid out for them in a 2023 judicial order, contending that means the lawsuit filed by Seligman is essentially over. Seligman argues the city can’t maintain ownership of Liberty Station unless the city has plans to redevelop the site, which it essentially doesn’t. The judge, Sacramento Superior Court Justice Shelleyanne Chang, appeared to sympathize with that view in her judicial order – formally called a writ of mandate. “Such an interpretation would allow a city to retain ownership of