The best news of a rather dreary year. Redevelopment has done a few good things, like gaslamps, but they could as easily be done through Business Improvement Districts or the city treasuries, which are more directly accountable to the electorate. Also, a defeat on one front for the ‘patrimonialism’ as I have mentioned in some [...]
And Republicans were all so pious about ‘local control.’ They don’t want local government to raise taxes or fees, but it seems to be OK with them – except for the ever-reliable Chris Norby – for local government to declare a ‘redevelopment area,’ freeze the taxes going to the county and the schools for the [...]
I was tempted to say horrible things about Legislative Counsel, but if the money were to go into the cities’ regular budget instead of the redevelopment slush fund, I would have no problem with that. Related “Legislative counsel says Brown’s redevelopment plan illegal” by Kevin Yamamura at SacBee.com
There is a lot of worry that getting rid of redevelopment will get rid of the one affordable housing program we seem to have in California. A quota of 20% of redevelopment land to be used for ‘affordable’ housing was, given the nature of redevelopment, a good law that was forced on the agencies. But [...]
Apparently enterprise zones have turned out to be the same sort of corporate welfare and beggar-thy-neighbor deal that redevelopment has been. I don’t know much about Business Improvement Districts, but I think they’re kind of like residential homeowmers associations and can assess dues. They might be the most viable format for brick sidewalks and cute [...]
Timm Herdt of the Ventura County Star does an excellent column on how redevelopment cuts across traditional partisan lines. I still say we have the social justice opportunity of the century! Related “Herdt: On Taxes, Redevelopment and Teamwork” by Timm Herdt at the Ventura County Star
I would like to see all the local government leaders involved in trying to defend redevelopment to lose their re-election campaigns, whenever they may be. Except who has a vested interest enough who could afford to support such an effort? If only the Tea Party would see the importance of this – if they really [...]