SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Council will take up an item today related to a possible extension of the so-called trigger provision in the Chargers' contract.

The city and the Chargers are essentially unified over extending the 60-day trigger period, during which the team could seek to renegotiate its lease contract. The trigger period was originally scheduled to begin Dec. 1 and end Wednesday. If extended, the period would begin March 1.

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At issue today is whether the city should grant the team the right to automatically invoke the trigger in case of a lawsuit challenging the delay.

In a City Manager's Report recommending the council approve the agreement, Deputy City Manager Bruce Herring and Assistant City Attorney Les Girard cast the side deal, known as the Saving Agreement, as preserving the status quo as of Wednesday.

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"Approval of the Saving Agreement is in the best interests of the city and the task force," Herring and Girard stated.

The City Council voted Jan. 13 in favor of delaying the trigger period, but held off until today on the Saving Agreement, which the team is seeking.

The Citizens' Task Force on Chargers Issues recommended approving the Saving Agreement, but it expressed the view that the city has every right to challenge whether the team has actually met the trigger specifications.

The team has repeatedly asserted that the conditions exist to enable it to exercise the trigger clause, which is based on NFL salary restrictions.

The Chargers have 60 days to notify the city if the team believes it has met the trigger threshold for this season, although that is the deadline for which the extension is being explored.

Official notice that the trigger has been met would start a 90-day negotiation period with the city of San Diego, followed by a 180-day period when the Chargers could seek a deal in another town.

San Diego would have 90 days to match any offer presented to the team.

The Saving Agreement may indeed come into play if approved since attorney Mike Aguirre promised to file a lawsuit Thursday, the day after the original 60-day period, if the trigger period is extended.