Baldwin Park : Hotel Settlement Delay

The Baldwin Park City Council has delayed a decision on whether to approve an out-of-court settlement with the developer of the Hilton hotel, whose owner has sued the city for reneging on a promise to cover losses.

Council members asked Wednesday night that the wording of the agreement be changed slightly, though they generally approve of it, city officials said.

In the proposed agreement, the hotel’s developer has offered to forgive the city for not covering the hotel’s operating losses over the past two years and will not ask for help in the future.

In an effort to lure the hotel franchise to town 10 years ago, the city agreed to underwrite all losses--now in the millions--for 10 years, and half the losses thereafter.

Under the proposed agreement, the city would allow the developer to keep millions of dollars in future sales and bed-tax revenue that it would otherwise have collected from the Hilton and an adjoining commercial center over the next 20 years.

The council will consider the agreement again at its June 16 meeting.