Politics & Government

LAB Owner: Measure A Opposition Unfairly Spins Project Facts

Owner Shaheen Sadeghi of the LAB development company says he is bewildered by the fierce opposition to the Playa del Norte project the city originally solicited.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a, an initiative that will either push the proposed Playa del Norte commercial development another step toward fruition or will kill the controversial North Beach project. 

The lobby of the LAB’s small office building in Costa Mesa, next to the developer’s first project, the Anti Mall, is decorated with an obvious taste for the avant-garde.

It’s backed with a floor-to-ceiling slab of frosted plate glass, emblazoned with “LAB Cultural Engineers.” LAB stands for "Little American Business."

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There are a few ottomans and a low coffee table, as well as a clear, acrylic sphere hanging from the ceiling, sliced open at one side and stuffed with cushions for seating. The space is separated from the workspace by another frosted-glass wall and door.

Shaheen Sadeghi works in an office encased in glass slabs on a platform raised above the rest of the wide, white office space.

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He’s stocky, with an olive complexion and longish gray hair, kahuna-like.

Sadeghi is the former president of monster surf brand Quiksilver. His wife, Linda, was also in the retail field, a merchandiser for big apparel companies.

The Sadeghis are the developers of the proposed 42,000 square feet of shops and restaurants named Playa del Norte. The controversial development would consist of several retail/restaurant buildings, centered by a 40-foot tower. The project would include 11,000 square feet of outdoor “view-oriented” plazas and about 6,000 extra square feet of building space used for restrooms, storage and other purposes, according to city documents.

The buildings would feature red tile roofs and white stucco in the Spanish colonial style prevalent in the area, according to renderings and documents.

Measure A is the ballot measure, the approval of which will allow negotiations for the Playa del Norte development at North Beach to go forward.

The Sadeghis have built and managed several edgy retail developments in Southern California, including the Anti Mall and the Camp across the street, both designed to be ultra-hip. They also own and operate the historic Casino San Clemente in North Beach as an events venue.

They aren’t developers in the traditional sense, they say; they don't sell developments after building them, but continue to own and operate them.

Many times, the couple have financed and incubated the small, independent businesses that are tenants, Linda Sadeghi said.

Shaheen Sadeghi said he is bewildered by –especially when it was the city that solicited proposals for the project.

He said the LAB has never encountered such heated opposition to any of its past developments.

When the council approved LAB as the developer for the project in 2006, members—including now opponent Wayne Eggleston—voted unanimously to support it.

Eggleston retired from the council in December; he has become a vigorous opponent of Measure A, saying he was dissatisfied with changes made to the plans  after the vote.

“[The ‘no on A’ campaign] has literally gone out and lied to those people,” Shaheen Sadeghi said. “I think their MO is to create mass confusion, mass disturbance, mass chaos.”

Sadeghi referred specifically to mailers sent out by opponents leading up to a vote on Measure W, the advisory ballot measure about Playa del Norte that passed by about 6 percent in 2008.

These mailers said the city was handing out massive subsidies for the project, Shaheen Sadeghi said.

The city is spending money on parking lots for the project—two of which building officials say the city was going to build anyway, a contention Eggleston and other opponents dispute.

The city will keep the parking revenue for these lots.

Because of this, proponents argue that the expenditure on parking, in excess of $4.6 million, doesn't count as a subsidy.

(See Thursday's article in the Battle North Beach series for a further discussion of this facet of the debate.)

Recent fliers in the anti-Measure A campaign suggest the city is seizing private property and handing it over to the LAB.

The land was seized in eminent-domain proceedings in the 1970s and was subsequently used for beach parking as part of the lot next to the Ole Hanson Beach Club.

Current iterations of a proposed agreement would give the LAB an option to buy in three to seven years at a discounted price.

City Attorney Jeff Oderman has said that such a transaction would be completely legal, however.

Multimedia uploads are enabled on this story. Any photos, videos or PDF files not credited to Adam Townsend have been uploaded by readers.


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