Redevelopment
Epic S.F. Redevelopment Wins Approval
Submitted by jstephens on 16 August 2010 - 6:19amWhen the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard closed, the United States Navy was steaming home from the South China Sea and the best way to get across San Francisco was in an airborne Mustang GT. It was then, 36 years ago, that the prospect of a massive redevelopment for Hunters Point and adjacent Candlestick Point first sprang to life. And it was just last month that a project was finally approved.
Circumstantial Evidence Not Enough to Prove Blight
Submitted by jstephens on 28 July 2010 - 11:19amMere conclusions and assumptions do not amount to substantial evidence to support a finding of physical blight, an appellate court has ruled in upholding a challenge by the County of Los Angeles against the City of Glendora.
Bill Would Liberate Redevelopment from Bricks and Mortar
Submitted by jstephens on 16 July 2010 - 3:19pmLegislators in Sacramento are currently considering an assembly bill that, though it originated with the City of Los Angeles in mind, proposes some significant changes in California Redevelopment Law (CRL). AB 2531, sponsored by Felipe Fuentes (D-Los Angeles) is an important step forward for the state economy for a variety of reasons.
Discretion on Aesthetics Not Enough to Trigger CEQA Review
Submitted by jstephens on 8 July 2010 - 9:59pmIn approving a redevelopment project that relies on a 20-year-old environmental impact report, the City of San Diego was not required to conduct supplemental environmental review on the issue of climate change, where the only discretionary action for a project was limited to project aesthetics, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.
Tesla Motors May Recharge Fremont
Submitted by jstephens on 30 June 2010 - 12:36pmIt’s a saga straight out of the Rust Belt: auto giant closes its factory, laying off nearly 5,000 auto workers, and leaving behind an aging structure and contaminated site of 370 acres. Businesses throughout the region, which supply parts to the factory, also take a hit.
Loss of Redevelopments Funds Hinders SB 375
Submitted by jstephens on 19 June 2010 - 9:22amRedevelopment agencies in California are often asked to carry a heavy load: fighting blight, promoting economic development, transforming brownfields, and creating communities. Now add to that list the modest task of combating global climate change – at the very moment when they have fewer funds than they have had in decades.
Senate Bill 375 seeks to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions through the coordination of land use and transportation planning. But the state’s most recent $2 billion raid on redevelopment funds is merely the latest shift of funds away from redevelopment agencies, many of which were already coping with lean budgets.
Court Upholds Broad Use of Housing Funds
Submitted by jstephens on 30 May 2010 - 6:10amUse of redevelopment funds by a city-formed nonprofit organization to develop school administrative buildings and a housing project with units reserved for low- and very low-income residents was valid and did not require voter approval, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled.
In reaching its decision, the court had to interpret the various restrictions in redevelopment law as well as Article 34 of the state constitution.
Article 34 as part of the California Constitution, adopted by voters in 1950, had the effect of requiring voter approval of “low rent housing projects.” Over time, the Legislature has codified various interpretations of Article 34, excluding from the voter approval process certain types of affordable projects. On a parallel path, the Legislature has modified redevelopment law to ensure that cities spend a certain amount of their tax increments on affordable housing.
Redevelopment Agencies Ponder Next Move After $2 Billion Raid
Submitted by Bill Fulton on 18 May 2010 - 6:16pmCalifornia’s redevelopment agencies are pondering their next step after a court ruling that forced them to give $2.05 billion to the state in early May. The state’s redevelopment association plans to appeal the ruling by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly – but most of them had to write big checks back to their county treasurer on May 10 to comply with the ruling.
The Third District Court of Appeals ruled against the California Redevelopment Association's request for a temporary stay on making a potentially devastating transfer of would-be redevelopment intended to ease the state's $20.7 billion budget deficit. California's redevelopment agencies were forced to hand over a collective $1.7 billion on May 10, with another payment of just over $300 million slated for next year.
Milpitas To Expand Redevelopment Project Area In Defiance Of County
Submitted by jstephens on 1 May 2010 - 3:20pmJust to clarify: the City of Milpitas lies inside the County of Santa Clara. Judging by their respective interpretations of redevelopment law, however, they might as well be on separate planets.
Napa Braces for Massive Brownfield Development
Submitted by jstephens on 13 April 2010 - 2:42pmOne of the least scenic ways to visit Napa Valley is to enter from the south, through the industrial zone between the cities of American Canyon and Napa. The congested traffic and office parks near Highway 221 are a long ways from the idyllic pastoral stretches to the north.