Governor Jerry Brown has arrived in 2011 taking names and kicking ass, más o menos. His latest target is on California’s wasteful Redevelopment Agencies – he wants to kill them dead, fair ‘nough.
But here comes the blowback, from, among others, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. Deets below.
Automatic for the People: No private jet for Jer-Bear, oh no. He flies the Southwest Airlines:
Jan Sturmann
(And are you aware of the phrase “Big 10 California cities?” Are they like an entity or something? Is it like, “Step away, Bakersfield and Riverside! You gots to add 20k more people before you can join Anaheim and all the rest of us in the Big Ten?”)
You sort of got to figure that if JB wanted to propose something like Ed Lee’s idea, JB already would have done just that, right? Or maybe JB is just too stupid to figure things out?
And isn’t the City and County of San Francisco free to fund whatever corporate welfare it wants on its own?
And does any politician anywhere really “create jobs?” IRL?
Anyway, all the deets:
“MAYOR EDWIN LEE TO TRAVEL TO SACRAMENTO TO SUPPORT ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL TO GOVERNOR’S PLAN TO ELIMINATE LOCAL REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES
San Francisco, CA – Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced he will travel to Sacramento later this week to support an alternative to the proposed elimination of Redevelopment Agencies in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s request for revenue and reform ideas that would generate $1.7 billion in savings. Over the past several weeks, mayors have developed a viable alternative to eliminating Redevelopment Agencies that creates an ongoing revenue stream and will reform and right-size redevelopment agencies, while preserving this important tool for creating jobs and housing for California’s future.
“Redevelopment has been used as a critical tool by cities like San Francisco to transform neighborhoods, create jobs, and spur economic growth,” said Mayor Lee. “The alternative proposal addresses Governor Brown’s call for revenue and reform ideas as the State faces difficult budget challenges and would allow cities to continue to wisely use redevelopment dollars to leverage private dollars to revitalize communities, create local jobs, and stimulate the local economy.”
The alternative proposal Mayor Lee supports would provide:
· State Budget Funding: Starting in July, redevelopment agencies will transfer 5% of their property tax funding to the State on an annual basis. This will generate over $200 million each year to support over $1.7 billion in special bonds, meeting the Governor’s plan to generate $1.7 billion in 2011-12 funding from agencies.
· Enhanced Local Revenue Sharing: Redevelopment agencies will dramatically increase the share of property taxes which “pass-through” counties, schools, and other taxing entities. Starting in 2018, 40% of agency property tax increment will return to counties and schools, 20% will be used for affordable housing development, and 40% will be used for economic development activities, including investment in infrastructure and public improvements which support critical job-generating development.
· Structural Reforms: Cities will be limited in the amount of property that can be placed into redevelopment areas, and enhanced public information and hearing requirements will be put in place to ensure that all major investments are fully reviewed by the public. Restrictions will be tightened on the use of affordable housing funds, to ensure that these monies are used to meet pressing community needs.
This proposal comes on the heels of an independent analysis completed at the request of the Big 10 California cities that shows there is 50% of the $1.7 billion estimated by the State Department of Finance as available in the current fiscal year from the state’s redevelopment agencies.
In San Francisco, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) has been instrumental in helping to revitalize communities, create jobs and generate tax revenues. SFRA has been integral to the growth and economic development of San Francisco over the past 62 years. Successful completed redevelopment projects include the Embarcadero Center and Golden Gateway complex, Hunters Point Hill, Yerba Buena Center, the Giants AT&T Ballpark, and the development of over 10,000 units of affordable housing. Current efforts include large-scale master-planned developments in Mission Bay, Treasure Island and Hunters Point Shipyard, neighborhood revitalization in the Bayview and South of Market, funding for the reconstruction of the Transbay Terminal, and the rebuilding of some of the City’s most dilapidated public housing projects.
San Francisco focused public investment in the City’s emerging neighborhoods is leveraging private investment to create new industries, jobs, and housing. In Mission Bay, the redevelopment of this former railyard has already created over 3,100 new homes (674 affordable) and 1.7 million square feet of office and biotechnology space centered around the UCSF research campus. SFRA’s investment of $110 million in public redevelopment financing for infrastructure to date has leveraged over $2.0 billion in private development and created over 10,000 permanent new jobs. Without continued redevelopment financing of infrastructure, the remaining 2,900 units of housing, (including more than 1,100 additional affordable units to be financed with tax increment), 2.7 million square feet of commercial development, and completed infrastructure for the UCSF Medical Center will be jeopardized, along with 20,000 additional permanent jobs.”
