Property sale bill
survives city veto
The City Council voted yesterday to override the veto of a bill that requires the city administration to seek Council approval before putting city property valued at $1 million or more on the market.
Acting Mayor Ben Lee vetoed the bill last month, saying it was vague, convoluted and difficult to implement. Mayor Jeremy Harris was away at the time.
The override "was very important so that we get the right information in a timely manner," said Councilman Gary Okino, who introduced the bill.
The situation that brought that to light recently was the administration's plan for a rent-to-own program that would have put affordable rental apartments on the market.
"I think we need to know what's going on ahead of time before we approve the sale of anything," Okino said.
Meanwhile, the Council gave the administration the go-ahead yesterday to proceed with the sale of the city's leased-fee interest in the Queen's Court and Harbor Court commercial units. The city set the minimum upset price on the Queen's Court sale at $6.5 million and Harbor Court at $27.5 million.