By Thursday morning, Feb. 2, the Belmont Redevelopment Agency (RDA) will no longer exist.
RDAs throughout the state are required to shut down at the end of business Feb. 1, following the California Supreme Court decision to uphold the decision of the state Legislature dissolving the agencies. By upholding the "dissolution bill" and striking down the "continuation bill," agencies cannot continue. The bill was passed as part of the state’s 2011-2012 budget.
At its Jan. 24 meeting, the Belmont City Council, voted 4-0 to adopt a resolution to act as a Successor Agency in the wake of the RDA dissolution. The Successor Agency will wind down the RDA's affairs and continue to meet its obligations pursuant to ABX1 26, the "dissolution bill."
Historically, a redevelopment agency (RDA) was a government body (in this case, the Belmont City Council acting as the RDA), dedicated to urban renewal. The bulk of Belmont's redevelopment district was in the downtown area. RDA projects included Firehouse Square, the 2.0-acre site bordered by El Camino Real, Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and O’Neill Avenue; and the recently completed roadway reconstruction project at Sixth and O'Neill avenues.
Belmont finance director Thomas Fil gave a detailed presentation on the specifics of the financial and legal steps the city must now take, such as affordable housing asset transfers and meeting "enforceable obligations," which are bonds, loans and payments to the federal or state government.
"From Feb. 1 on, the responsibility of the Successor Agency will lie with the oversight board," explained Fil.
The seven-member oversight board must be appointed by May 1, and will consist of members appointed by various governmental and educational agencies, such as the county board of supervisors and the county board of education. One member will be appointed by Belmont mayor, Dave Warden.
Fil had hoped for the possibility of an extension of the Feb. 1 dissolution date. SB 659, the Padilla Bill, would have given RDAs an extension till April 15. "That would give us some relief to this ridiculous schedule and it would be helpful to us in terms of funding." However, the legislature chose not to take up and pass SB 659.
Belmont's community development director, Carlos de Melo, emphasized the impact of the RDA dissolution. "We will have to get creative on how we work with the development community on projects like Firehouse Square."
"This (dissolution) impacts Belmont in many ways--not only because we won't have additional funds--it will hamper our ability to aggregate parcels and use low/moderate income housing funding. This has been devastating throughout the state," de Melo added.
De Melo explained that his department will go back to city council next month with a mid-year budget review. "We'll have to talk about how to make projects work in a post-RDA world," he said.
"We are still hopeful that we can complete some of the projects we've been working on, but it will take some creativity," de Melo said.
Got Patch? Sign up for our newsletter by clicking on the "Patch Newsletter" link on the top right of our homepage.
To receive news feeds about Belmont, visit Belmont Patch on Facebook and "like" us here. Follow us on Twitter here.
For more news about Belmont and surrounding areas, including unincorporated San Mateo County, follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook.
Want to blog for us? Click here.
Michael Williams
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Historically, redevelopment projects have been used to replace blighted areas with public improvements such as roadways and public facilities, as well as more contemporary and profitable development such as commercial/industrial parks. The redevelopment projects often destroy low quality, but very affordable housing... which is why California law has required replacement of destroyed housing with set-asides of some of the "new revenue" created by the renewed usage. In the 1980s, billions of dollars were still in these funds.
Were these set-asides used properly and depleted... or has the State of California simply seized these earmarked funds? Characterizing RDA projects "a landgrab by profiteers" sounds suspiciously over-simplfied... certainly renewed commercial areas have delivered jobs and tax revenue to communities across N-CA.
So what's this about? Show me the money.
belmont mom
9:08 am on Thursday, February 2, 2012
If this body was in charge of the disaster at Sixth and O'Neill, then good riddance. How/why was that project prioritized over one that actually develops unused space into something usable and community-friendly. There has been a large cracked unused concrete lot at the corner of O'Neill and El Camino for well over 10 years now. A lot of unused wasted space throughout that whole block. Belmont could use this opportunity to get out of its own way and actually make some positive change IN A TIMELY FASHION. Things are allowed to sit for way too long around here, and the rules that are applied make it near impossible for a quality business to invest. I am hoping for change.