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Abolish CA RDAs
There are two clocks ticking as we enter the month of August. One has been on the tube 24/7 with a self imposed deadline of August 2nd. The other ticking clock gets very little attention. The second being the obligation for California’s 425, or thereabouts, redevelopment agencies to notify the appropriate agencies as to their plans to participate as “successor agencies” as outlined in AB 26 and AB 27 no later than August 15th when they are to begin relinquishing $1.7 billion dollars to the state. Their option is to simply close shop which is my recommendation for the Mission Viejo redevelopment agency.
When I questioned the validity of our city agency before a hearing in Sacramento several in attendance agreed with me that Mission Viejo is not blighted in the true sense of the word. In fact Chairman Tom Torlakson specifically asked me the date of the creation of our agency which was formed one year prior to Eisenberg’s AB 1290. I was told that we could not have formed that agency after AB 1290 became law. League of Cities lobbyist Ken Emanuel agreed with that statement. I have a tape of that Assembly hearing where this can all be confirmed.
As I am on the road and do not have access to my files let me paraphrase former City Manager Dan Joseph in his response to questions from former OC Register columnist Steve Greenhut where Dan was quoted to acknowledge that our declaration of blight is bogus but he responded don’t fault us for taking advantage of the law, change it or words to that effect. Well Mission Viejo staff and council the package of AB 26 and AB 27 does just that. So as the August 15th date quickly approaches I will be curious to see how the city council votes.
My sense is that the CA Supreme Court will not support the appeal by CA cities to throw out these new laws based upon their interpretation of Prop 22.
Attorney General Kamala Harris calls the CA cities lawsuit “meritless” and I agree.
Several years ago my article declaring our “bogus” blight having been eliminated was published in the OC Register. MV is a poster child of agencies who have abused the system. It’s time to end corporate welfare.
Just a quick note that I will leave the post open for inputs but I will not be on line to personally respond to any comments.
Hope you’re enjoying your vacation Juice Brother! Now stop worrying about RDA’s for a week!
Thank you Vern. By design I will not be on line for at least the next week.
As to RDAs. The current members of RDAs, also known as city council members, complain about the abusive legislature forgetting that those members came up the ladder from the very same cities and, in many cases, were their mentors. What goes around comes around when you try to balance a budget.
Best regards to the Juice family including Anon and Anonster who keep me on my toes