In the latest fight to preserve hometown redevelopment agencies, the California Redevelopment Assn. has been working with Sen. Rod Wright (D-Inglewood) on a package of reforms for several weeks.
The product of those meetings, Senate Bill 286, was scheduled to debut in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee this morning. In anticipation of the hearing, the board of the League of California Cities unanimously voted to support the bill.
SB 286 would impose tough new reforms to increase accountability and limit the size and scope of redevelopment in California, including:
• Tighten the definition of blight;
• Prohibit redevelopment agencies from collecting the school share of local property tax or tax increment in new project areas starting in 2012;
• Limit the percentage of total land area of a jurisdiction that may be included in redevelopment project areas;
• Prohibit use of tax increment for specific purposes such as golf courses and racetracks;
• Strengthen agency reporting and accountability requirements; and
• Focus redevelopment activities on priorities such as job creation, cleaning up contaminated property, basic infrastructure needs and affordable housing.
You may read the full language of SB 286 HERE.
Other Redevelopment Bills
The CRA is working with Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) on SB 450, a separate bill addressing redevelopment housing set-aside funds, which is still going through the legislative process. The redevelopment reforms listed in SB 286 are separate from, and in addition to, the reforms contained in SB 450 which address the use of redevelopment housing set-aside funds.
Elimination Remains an Option
Work on the budget will not resume until the release of the Governor’s May Revise on Saturday, May 14. The bills that include the elimination of redevelopment, SB 77 and AB 101, are still available for consideration by the Legislature, and can be brought back up for consideration at any time.
Visit www.protectourlocaleconomy.com, Facebook or follow @CACities on Twitter for additional information on the campaign to save redevelopment.
