Real estate developer accuses Seaside of violating his 14th Amendment rights as Main Gate deal falls apart.

The yearslong negotiation between the city of Seaside and developer Paul Petrovich over the Main Gate project, one of two massive proposed developments in Seaside, appears to have come to an acrimonious end. 

Petrovich had until Sept. 30 to sign a purchase agreement for the 56-acre Main Gate parcel. But he thought the agreement was unfair to him and refused to sign. Instead, on the evening of Sept. 30, he emailed City Manager Craig Malin a heavily revised agreement and asked for this new version to be signed.  

Because the revisions were extensive, Malin didn’t have the authority to sign it the new deal and so he brought to City Council for a vote. In his report on the offer, Malin wrote that “these revisions would add millions [of dollars] to [Petrovich’s] side of the ledger.”

In a presentation to the council on Oct. 15, Malin added: “I have long been an advocate for moving the project forward on this parcel of land and I have long been an advocate for the developer. But the developer’s revisions are largely in the developer’s interest and not in the city’s interest.”

He advised that City Council reject Petrovich’s offer and that’s what City Council did with a unanimous vote.

Mayor Ian Oglesby said that Malin and his staff had “ethically” negotiated. “The only thing we can do is go our separate ways,” he said. 

Councilmember Alissa Kispersky echoed the same sentiment: “It just looks like this developer and this city are not on the same page.” 

In the legal opinion of city attorney Sheri Damon, the period of exclusive negotiation with Petrovich ended on Sept. 30 and now the city is permitted to entertain offers from other developers. 

It’s unclear if Petrovich will walk away or if he’ll fight in court to bind the city or secure compensation for the money he says he has spent perusing this project. 

In an email to the Weekly, Petrovich didn’t say whether he would sue, but he called the city’s conduct “unlawful.” He says the city has given preferential treatment to the developer of the Campus Town project, which he maintains has resulted in the violation of his constitutional rights. “Per the 14th Amendment, all of us are entitled to equal treatment,” he writes. The passage of the 14th Amendment is considered one of the most important events in American history, coming in the wake of the Civil War as part of the legal effort to end slavery forever. 

“Everyone has asked for four decades why Seaside doesn’t have the benefits and developments as all the other cities surrounding it,” Petrovich adds. “Here is your answer. Poor and inept leadership at all levels.”