A yearslong conflict regarding a 28-foot Christian cross that once stood on Albany Hill has finally come to an end — and now the club responsible for the display is getting a hefty check.
The city of Albany recently stipulated a judgement that forces the city to pay $1.53 million to the Albany Lions Club for its property interest, a section of Albany Hill where the steel cross stood from 1971 to 2023, the East Bay Times reported Friday. The stipulation was announced during an Oct. 7 Albany City Council meeting.
The cross in question was erected by the Albany Lions Club in 1971, when the property it stood on was owned by Lions Club members Hubert and Ruth Call. The Calls granted the Lions Club an easement on the section of the property that contained the cross after they sold the land to a developer later that decade. The easement remained in place when the property was then converted into a public park, and the cross was illuminated every year during holidays like Easter and Christmas…