DEL MAR — When a list of six proposed exceptional public benefits to be provided by Garden Del Mar was presented at the July 21 City Council meeting, almost no one was happy. Steering committee members who spent almost two years working on the project felt their requests were ignored. Council members had more questions than answers and ultimately took no action. The developers nearly walked away.

Within days, council subcommittee members Dave Druker and Richard Earnest returned to the negotiating table with the developers. All parties, including the steering committee, reconvened July 24 for additional input. When essentially the same list was presented at a special meeting July 28, the outcome was completely different.

Four of the exceptional public benefits — a requirement of the voter-approved Measure B initiative that governs large downtown developments — were unchanged. Garden Del Mar must provide three public plazas and be environmentally conscious and energy-efficient.

The 19,650-square-foot development was originally slated for all-office use, but in response to public input, restaurant and retail space was added. Those features are also considered an exceptional public benefit because the modification was done at a significant cost to the developers. The project must also provide additional public parking spaces downtown. Three spaces currently planned for the underground garage fulfill that requirement.

“That may not sound like a lot, but in a city where we are scrambling for parking places, every single one counts,” Earnest said, noting that parking spaces can cost a developer $30,000 to $60,000 each. “That is a lot of money that is being offered to the city,” he said.

The two exceptional public benefits that were modified slightly feature monetary contributions.

Owners of the commercial suites will be required to contribute $35 per month for 30 years to the city’s housing assistance reserve fund. Council can review and redirect those funds if the city’s housing needs are met before the 30-year mark. Originally, owners were required to pay $25 per month in perpetuity.

Finally, if a residential parking permit program is implemented and the underground garage converts to paid parking, the city will receive a portion of the revenues for park improvements. If paid parking never comes to fruition, the developers must pay $25,000 per year for five years beginning in 2013.

More than a dozen residents — all different than those who addressed council a week earlier — spoke in favor of the project.

“It’s been a long and arduous road, but it really didn’t come into focus for me until (the July 24) meeting,” Larry Brooks said. “It finally showed that the exceptional public benefits on the negotiated list from the council were within the committee’s negotiated list — not exact, not precise, not verbatim — but they were there.”

Two residents, who are also developers, applauded the property owners’ perseverance. “As a recovering developer, I want to salute the developers because I would have thrown in the towel a long time earlier,” Dave Duval said.

“I would have been gone a long time ago,” Larry Richards said. “This is the beginning of a new tide for this end of town. The future revenue that can come from this project can be huge. And it just isn’t in dollars and cents. It’s in a sense of community.”

Although not considered an exceptional public benefit, Druker noted the city will also receive tax revenue from the office condominium sales. Councilman Henry Abarbanel researched the monetary exceptional public benefit provided by L’Auberge, one of only two other projects subject to Measure B guidelines. The hotel committed to contributing $50,000 for 20 years to the library. When inflation and project size are factored in, Garden Del Mar is making roughly the same monetary contribution, Abarbanel said.

While Garden Del Mar is one-sixth the size of previous Measure B projects, property co-owner Nick Schaar said the contribution is about four times larger in overall exceptional public benefits. “It’s illusory and perhaps difficult to understand and describe,” Schaar said. “But when we think about it we certainly know we’re doing more than our share, at least relative to the historical Measure B process. I’m happy with the outcome of our negotiation.”

At the Aug. 4 meeting, council unanimously certified the final environmental impact report and approved the specific plan, local coastal program amendment and coastal development permit.

“At this point, it is ready to go on the ballot,” Druker said.