The Third District Court of Appeal has rejected several arguments that the laws eliminating redevelopment violate the California constitution.
In a followup to California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos, 53 Cal. 4th 231 (2011), the California Supreme Court ruling that permitted the elimination of redevelopment agencies, the Third District has ruled that AB 1x 26 -- the law that killed redevelopment -- does not violate 2004's Proposition 1A. The court also rejected a series of other arguments, including the idea that Gov. Jerry Brown's declaration of a fiscal emergency did not warrant the elimination of redevelopment.
The opinion was written by Justice Harry Hull, who was chairman of the board of McDonough Holland & Allen, a leading redevelopment law firm, before he was appointed to the bench. The language of the blunt-spoken opinion seems to suggest that the cities had a weak case all the way around. >>read more
