Redevelopment: Cure Worse than Disease

This is a non partisan issue and impacts all of us – Private Property Rights will be negatively impacted. Senate Bill 214 is dangerous and diverts property tax increments away from county general funds that pay for services for the people.  State Redevelopment Agencies have used this type of theft for 60 years - have used Tax Increment Financing and created over a $93 Billion Statewide Redevelopment Debt (2008/09) without the vote of the people and needs to be paid before another bureaucracy and debt is created.  State Redevelopment Agencies have used their abuse of power to threaten and take private property by eminent domain for developers and investors profit and gain, so how can we trust SB 214 won’t do the same or even be worse.  June 28, 2011 Assemblyman, Chris Norby will have his analysis available.

I’ve been researching Trailer Bills relating to the State Budget, Realignment of services from the State and diverting the responsibility to the Counties, the latest Bills regarding State Redevelopment Agencies (AB 26 X 1, which would abolish the 425 Statewide Redevelopment Agencies and AB 27 X 1, which would reform existing State Redevelopment Agencies and SB 214 (Wolk) repealing Infrastructure Financing Districts and making significant changes.

The State is bankrupt, cities and counties have huge deficits, streets and highways are in horrible condition.  I’ve come to the conclusion and believe the Governor will abolish STATE Redevelopment Agencies (AB 26 X 1) and will repeal current law for Infrastructure Financing Districts (IFD) for cities and counties and will support the passage of SB 214, which has greater powers than Redevelopment Agencies to take private property for public works projects like public transit facilities, infill development (replacing and redeveloping existing older neighborhoods), or clean water.  SB 214 has a Sustainable Communities Strategy that includes SB 375 (Steinberg – Housing and Transportation and connects Land Use to Implementation of AB 32 (Climate Change).  Under SB 214 IFD’s do not have to declare blight findings to take private property by Eminent Domain - public works projects are for public use.

Abolishing Redevelopment Agencies would remove the State from paying billions of dollars to back fill schools every year due to lack of funds from counties; may remove the State from being responsible for the payment of Statewide Redevelopment Debt due to cities and counties inability to pay their bond obligations.  The State Controller’s Community Redevelopment Agencies Annual Report for 2008/09 shows a Statewide Redevelopment Indebtedness in the amount over $93 Billion.  If the Statewide Redevelopment Debt was calculated for a payoff today it seems more appropriate to say the Statewide Redevelopment Debt would be $100 Billion or more.  Does the $93 or $100 Billion Dollars of Statewide Redevelopment Debt accumulatively added to other State debt have a negative impact on the State’s ability to borrow money?  Currently Redevelopment Agencies are State Agencies, but with the reform would the cities and counties become the Successor Agencies and responsible for their current redevelopment debt or should I say the residents Countywide be liable for the debt? 

I believe the Governor and the Democrats in both houses will approve SB 214 (Wolk) Infrastructure Financing Districts, which could also be the replacement for State Redevelopment Agencies and potentially approve any of the other 3 Infrastructure Financing District Bills:  AB 485 (Ma), AB 910 (Torres), and AB 664.  All four of these bills make significant changes to Infrastructure Financing District Law and can be reviewed from the Publication in Attachment 1 above.
 
We are under attack.  What do Redevelopment Agencies, SB 214 (Infrastructure Financing Districts), Statewide General Plan Updates that are linked to Regional Land Use Planning Association Blueprint Plans, SB 375 (Steinberg – Stack and Pack Housing and Transportation Projects and Infrastructure), AB 32 (Climate Change), International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), and Agenda 21 for a global government have in common?  They are linked to the United States Federal Government for Sustainable Development, Smart Growth Principles, Walkable Communities, Stack and Pack Housing of all kinds, Transit and Transit Villages.  Not only will you be forced to pay for all of this, but your single family residential neighborhood is currently being replaced with multi-family housing of all kinds.  Just how much affordable housing [government housing] is enough?  These are non-partisan issues and will impact all of us.  Well all of us who have worked all of our lives to live where we want to live and get to where we want to go by using our car.  All of this change was happening way before Obama took office. 

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