Over a decade ago, the Legislature dissolved California’s Redevelopment Agencies. Although some RDAs were poorly managed, their abolition deprived cities of important tools that had often been successfully used to stimulate business, create new housing and revitalize blighted areas, especially in older cities
Last Week, the Assembly Local Government Committee, on which I serve as vice chair, advanced a bill that will bring back the best of those tools.
Assembly Bill 2945 introduced by Assemblyman David Alvarez of Chula Vista establishes Reconnecting Communities Investment Agencies to authorize project areas immediately adjacent to freeways — and above or beneath them — so that communities divided by highway construction can “reconnect.”
These new agencies, called RCIAs, will be limited to local jurisdictions that already have reconnecting agencies in place to deal with neighborhood blight that can result from highway construction through established communities.
During my time on the Escondido City Council, I saw this blight first hand. Escondido was incorporated in 1888, and the freeway that was built through the town in the 1970s split the city and led to a downward spiral for many adjacent neighborhoods.
Unlike the redevelopment agencies, which were established in many communities throughout California, the RCIAs will be limited in scope. There are currently only 10 California cities with reconnecting agencies, including San Diego, San Jose, Los Angeles and Oakland.
Oversight, transparency and accountability will be enforced — and annual audits will be required. RCIAs will be limited to a one-half mile radius, low and moderate income housing must make up 30% of all new homes, and any homes removed during construction will be replaced with new homes for similar income levels.
Financing sources include incremental increases in revenues from property taxes over time, bonds and private sources of revenue. It is my hope that final passage of AB 2945 will restore an important tool that allows local communities to begin rebuilding themselves.
Assemblymember Marie Waldron, a Republican from Valley Center, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the cities of Poway, Santee, portions of the City of San Diego, and most of rural eastern and northern San Diego County.