SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Council Tuesday approved a side deal that clears the way to put off the so-called trigger provision of the Chargers contract.

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On a 5-4 vote, the council granted the team the right to automatically invoke the trigger in case of a successful lawsuit or referendum challenging the delay.

The dissenting votes were cast by Michael Zucchet, Toni Atkins, Brian Maienschein and Donna Frye.

Discussion

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The two-month trigger period -- during which the team can exercise its rights under a 1995 contract to renegotiate with the city or move to another town -- originally opened Dec. 1 and would have ended Wednesday. Now the period will begin over again March 1.

The Chargers want the city to split the costs of a $400 million new stadium, and some fear the team will use the trigger clause to try to move to Los Angeles if it doesn't get what it wants in San Diego.

The side deal approved Tuesday, known as the Saving Agreement, essentially preserves the team's right later to trigger retroactively to Jan. 29.

The team sought it because of past stadium-related lawsuits, contending that if such a new lawsuit were successful, the new trigger window could also close while litigation was decided.

Council members supporting the extension said it would allow the Citizens' Task Force on Chargers Issues to complete its work and make a recommendation on how to keep the team in town.

But others said the city should stick with the terms of the contract as they are and force the team's hand.

Mayor Dick Murphy voted for the agreement. He argued that if it wasn't approved, the Chargers would likely trigger immediately, and the city would have to begin negotiating a month before the task force makes its recommendations.

"It's in the best interests of the city because it allows for an orderly process," Murphy said.

Assistant City Attorney Les Girard said the agreement had been modified in the last few weeks to make it "absolutely clear there is no detriment to the city, no waiving of rights."

Bruce Henderson, the only task force member who didn't support Tuesday's action, said the city was giving up negotiating power.

"Are you going to stand on that contract, compel this team to own up to its contractual commitment to play ball here under the terms of that contract until 2020?" he asked. "Or are you going to signal to them and to the community that you're willing to start that negotiating process?"

The latter course, he said, leads to a new stadium for the team in Los Angeles.

Attorney and persistent Chargers critic Mike Aguirre said he will file a lawsuit in the coming days seeking to overturn the trigger extension and the Saving Agreement.

Task force member and attorney Len Simon said the extension only keeps the status quo for two more months.

"It is much easier to negotiate with someone with whom you have not begun hostilities," Simon said. "The addition of time and calm to the process cannot possibly hurt or prejudice the city's position."

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, 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 since Aguirre vowed to file suit Thursday, the day after the original 60-day period, if the trigger period was extended.