Question: What items may be discussed under the real-estate-negotiations exception to the open meeting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act—an exception which states that the legislative body of a local governmental agency may meet in closed session with its real estate negotiator “to grant authority to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment” for a proposed purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of identified real property?
Conclusion: The real-estate-negotiations exception to the open meeting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act permits discussion in closed session of: (1) the amount of consideration that the local agency is willing to pay or accept in exchange for the real property rights to be acquired or transferred in the particular transaction; (2) the form, manner, and timing of how that consideration will be paid; and (3) items that are essential to arriving at the authorized price and payment terms, such that their public disclosure would be tantamount to revealing the information that the exception permits to be kept confidential.
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