Courtesy the Island of Alameda

SunCal has told the city that it could face legal troubles if it doesn't extend the negotiation deadline.

With SunCal Companies' exclusive agreement to negotiate a development deal for Alameda Point set to end in a week, the development company has cried foul play and demanded the city extend the deadline.

SunCal attorney Louis R. “Skip” Miller put the city on notice that it could face legal claims, in part, because Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant allegedly engaged in a “malicious campaign” to stall the developer’s plans. SunCal claims that Gallant’s grand plan is to push SunCal out of the way so that the city can take charge of the development.

Failure to extend the agreement “would be an unlawful violation of the rights of SCC [SunCal Companies] Alameda,” Miller wrote.

The Irvine, Calif., based developer, which has a subsidiary in Alameda, also sent the city a sweeping public records request seeking records relating to efforts by SunCal – or others – to develop the project. The developer also requested communications between city officials and SunCal’s reps, local developers, leaders of the local Chamber of Commerce and a local blogger.

Gallant said the city disagrees with Miller’s assessment and that the vote will proceed as scheduled. And she accused him of mounting a “slanderous, libelous attack” against her.

“This is deflection,” Gallant said. “But ultimately the truth will come out.”

As part of its agreement with the city, SunCal is required to finalize three key documents before its negotiating agreement expires: a development proposal, a deal with the Navy to purchase its land and a disposition and development agreement, one of two key development agreements they must reach with the city.

The development proposal has been submitted and deemed complete by city officials, and Miller said the developer intends to submit its “best and final offer” in place of the disposition and development agreement this week.

However, the third element – a deal with the Navy – hasn’t been reached, and SunCal claims Gallant and city staff are to blame. The development company says Gallant halted negotiations with the Navy in May 2009 and that city staff falsely told the Navy that SunCal was “backing off” of its commitment to paying the Navy’s $108.5 million asking price for the Point. As a result, the Pentagon never sent a letter supporting the extension of the negotiating agreement, which SunCal says was promised.

City officials said they have held off on presenting SunCal’s plan to the Navy because they don't have a viable plan to present.

SunCal says Gallant was putting up roadblocks to its plans because she wants the city to take over the job of developing the Point.

SunCal attorney Miller also took aim at the city’s investigation of City Councilwoman Lena Tam. Gallant and City Attorney Teresa Highsmith hired an outside attorney to investigate Tam’s alleged misconduct and has accused her of leaking confidential information to SunCal and the local firefighter’s union against the city’s interests, and for leaking similar information to local bloggers and others, including this reporter. Tam has denied the accusations and has supported SunCal.

“We are writing to put you on notice that Ms.Gallant is exposing not only herself, but also the City and possibly other City officials to serious legal claims seeking millions of dollars in damages,” Miller wrote. “SCC Alameda has worked long and hard on this project and is now being dragged through the mud, causing potentially very substantial harm to its reputation and business as a result.”

Miller is also seeking disciplinary records of Gallant and City Attorney Teresa Highsmith, and agreements with and invoices for attorney Michael Colantuono, who the pair hired to investigate Tam. He also raised questions about Gallant’s job performance in other cities, noting her short stays in other top positions and her lawsuit against one city that fired her after she blew the whistle on contracting improprieties there.

Gallant said Miller’s public records request will “go through the city’s standard process” and that the city attorney’s office would determine what records are public. She said the city has a policy of destroying e-mails after 30 days because its servers can’t handle the load.

Gallant questioned Miller’s version of the facts. She denied supplying information to the developer’s opponents and said claims that she torpedoed a pair of efforts in Desert Hot Springs, where she once served as city manager, were false. And she said a statement Miller attributed to her as proof she is seeking to have the city develop the Point instead of SunCal did not reflect her personal views.

Of Colantuono’s letters regarding Tam, Gallant said, “they are what they are,” and she called Miller’s claim that they were issued to stop Tam from voting “red herring logic.”

“I knew this was going to happen,” Gallant said. “That’s just how it works.”

Here are the documents in question - scroll down to the bottom of the page.