CELDF public interview process:
-CELDF will respond to a list of questions submitted to them from the city administrator and attorney by February 26. The answers will be posted online at bit.ly/2DQ0MJs
-A public interview meeting will be held on Monday, March 5, at the Lafayette Library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. CELDF will provide a brief presentation followed by interview questions from the community. This interview process will be streamed live at bit.ly/2EWyP29
A public forum to gauge how a potential ban on oil and gas development could play out in Lafayette, and in a likely ensuing court battle, will take place in early March.
The meeting — scheduled for March 5 — was spurred in part from recent resident pressure on the city to take up the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund’s offer to fund a legal defense for the city’s Climate Bill of Rights and Protections” as a vessel for an effective ban on oil and gas development, officials say.
Residents in attendance will be allowed to ask questions of the firm that concentrate on “acquiring information that will assist City Council” on a bevy of options moving forward, officials wrote in an email blast to residents.
Questions are expected in the vein of determining the appropriateness of a CELDF partnership, the breadth of CELDF’s expertise, CELDF’s probability of success based on past experience, and “weigh the pros and cons of spending additional taxpayer dollars over and above legal fees to defend an adverse ruling.”
Earlier this month, Lafayette’s legal counsel urged the city against taking the organization up on its proposal, suggesting that the partnership’s implication could quickly lead to a lawsuit and reduced liability coverage from the city’s insurance carrier.
“According to our research,” City Administrator Gary Klaphake wrote, “CELDF get the bulk of their funds from grants and contributions. Some of the contributors say they gave CELDF funds to ‘help communities promote sustainable development by reining in corporate power and asserting local democratic control.’
“It is fine to aspire to that end,” Klaphake continued. “However, sound legal advice should not be clouded with a predetermined political agenda.”
Lafayette has a current current six-month moratorium, passed 6-1 in November, on new oil and gas development applications.
The organization will also respond to a list of questions submitted to them from the city administrator and attorney by Feb. 26, according to officials.
Anthony Hahn: 303-473-1422, hahna@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/_anthonyhahn