Calling it 'Ransom' and 'Blackmail,' Council Pays to Participate in Alternative Redevelopment Program

The Imperial Beach City Council authorized the city to participate in the alternative voluntary redevelopment program with a unanimous vote on ordinance 2011-1121 at its Aug. 3 meeting.

“This is the second reading authorizing redevelopment and authorizing the city to pay the ransom money to keep our redevelopment agency,” said City Manager Gary Brown.

While there has been no official movement in the dispute, last week State Attorney General Kamala Harris wrote in an “informal opposition” that a lawsuit filed by the League of California Cities was “meritless.”

“Redevelopment Agencies are creatures of statute—not the state constitution—and the Legislature may dissolve them,” read the opposition.

It went on to object to contentions surrounding Proposition 22, which blocks the state from transferring redevelopment agency funds for state use.

“AB IX 27 is voluntary and does not force RDAs [redevelopment agencies] or cities and counties to do anything,” it read.

Council member Jim King couldn’t disagree more, comparing the voluntary payment to “blackmail.”

“They stepped around the law and came up with demanding money in order to keep your redevelopment agency,” he said. “Seems like a sneaky kind of trick.”

City Attorney Jennifer Lyon said as developments occur in the case, the council will be updated.

While cities and the state go head-to-head, projects in the works go undeterred. Council received status updates on a number of ongoing undertakings.

First on the list was Ninth and Palm, the biggest project the city is working on, said Imperial Beach Redevelopment Agency Coordinator Jerry Selby.

Specifications for demolition of the Mirace Shopping Center, first built in 1948, are complete, he said, but authorization won’t occur until October.

Since City Council members plan to attend the League of California Cities annual conference, the Sept. 21 council meeting will be cancelled. Mayor Janney suggested a special meeting to get the ball rolling two weeks earlier. Councilwoman Lorie Bragg agreed and suggested a groundbreaking ceremony.

“I would love to spearhead a groundbreaking for Ninth and Palm,” she said. “This is something this community has been asking for for decades, and I don’t think it should be swept up in the rubble.”

The American Legion Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Project is working to finalize development agreements, but it is moving forward. Members of the American Legion are expected to vote later this month on whether to approve or reject a new building with 30 affordable housing units primarily for seniors and veterans.

The Clean and Green Program and the Facade Improvement Program are also moving forward.

“I think we’ve had a very successful year in our Clean and Green program,” Selby said. “It’s a very successful program. A lot of our customers are generally thrilled about what they get and are very appreciative.”

To date, 63 homes have received upgrades with 18 in progress and 78 on a waiting list.

Currently, two storefronts, including the , are receiving facade improvements. Ten projects and 14 storefronts have been completed.

Other completed projects include the banner program, street light retrofitting and the 13th Street and Civic Center crosswalk renovations. A Louden Lane crosswalk is projected for completion in August.