The Lompoc City Council unanimously passed a resolution during its Feb. 3 meeting, giving more time to a group of corporations refining the terms of a negotiation to build a possible multi-million-dollar space-themed park on 82 acres of city-owned land.
The council passed the resolution despite what it considered to be an incomplete proposal submitted by the group, which goes by the name of California Space Center Consortium and is led by self-described “Polish entrepreneur” Eva Blaisdell. Several major corporations—including Apple, IMAX, Bechtel, Amazon, and Sony— are interested in the development project, Blaisdell said.
At the meeting, several people spoke in favor of the project before the City Council, including former Lompoc mayor John Linn, who said that the project would bring at least 3,000 jobs to the city. Blaisdell said that it was Linn who approached her about the project.
Blaisdell described the project as a “global media platform,” saying it would include space for resort hotels, research and educational facilities, shopping areas, and an IMAX theater, according to the proposal submitted last October.
Although several people spoke before the council in favor of the project, some expressed concern over the incomplete proposal. Teresa Gallavan, an economic development director and assistant city administrator for Lompoc, said the proposal lacked “significant amounts of important information,” including identification of the development team and references, as well as audited financial statements. She said the financial information could have remained confidential in a sealed envelope, but wasn’t submitted at all.
Gallavan added that Blaisdell said she would only give this information if the city would enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with her.
“We didn’t provide all of the information because this is not a development project per se,” Blaisdell said at the meeting. “It’s a very difficult project.”
Several attempts have been made to develop the 82-acre parcel that sits next to Allan Hancock College in Lompoc. The city canceled an agreement with the Environment Education Group in April 2013 after the group didn’t have adequate financing or development experience to carry out its proposal, according to Gallavan.
In July 2014, the city accepted development concept proposals for the piece of land. Only one group, the California Space Center Consortium led by Blaisdell, met the October 31, 2014, deadline.
Some members of the public who spoke before the city council, as well as some members of the council, expressed concern over the incomplete proposal. Councilmember Dirk Starbuck specifically expressed concern over the lack of details in the proposal, yet he made the motion to go forward with the negotiation with a note that Blaisdell would provide more information. Blaisdell agreed.
“We want those 3,000 jobs,” Mayor Bob Lingl said. “We want the tourists to come to town. We definitely want this.”
This article appears in Feb 12-19, 2015.