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San Diego Redevelopment: They Prey, We Pray
The San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP) has a great idea to Merge all CCDC with SEDC to allow funds in downtown to be used in Council President Tony Young's Districts 4 and Councilman Alvarez's District 8. CCDC is making up an excuse, which is not based in fact. SDOP should force CCDC and the Redevelopment Agency take out a loan for the $144 million they stole from the poor and homeless in misappropriated Federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) funds. www.tinyurl.com/20110310 www.tinyurl.com/20110321— April 17, 2011 9:17 p.m.
What Can Chula Vista Do with the South Bay Power Plant?
http://www.blogofsandiego.com/Elections/Prop-G/Ga… The above linked letter from Pat Flannery's Blog of San Diego documents Gaylord position in regard to the Labor, Building and Construction Councils that they are discontinuing their project because they could not find "a mutually beneficial way to fund the infrastructure." http://www.blogofsandiego.com/Elections.htm#06/07…— March 18, 2011 7:08 a.m.
Jerry Brown Wants to Rein in Redevelopment Scams
Hi Don, Agreed. I love Qualcomm. It was built by Master Architect Frank Hope and is a great example of Modern Design and the Bauhaus movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus But there is that $11.8 million annual subsidy in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOS) revenues for daily operations, and the $52 million balance for the 1998 stadium Renovation Bonds. The site is not being use to its full potential and cannot be given away to the unions, or anyone without a public vote. The public site is not being used to its full potential. Beside water freedom, we really want Comic-Con to stay in San Diego. http://www.facebook.com/#!/keepcomicconinsandiego Plus getting AEG International into San Diego to construct the project could be beneficial. http://www.aegworldwide.com/facilities/facilities— January 27, 2011 12:06 a.m.
Jerry Brown Wants to Rein in Redevelopment Scams
The website is under construction until March. Hopefully what is in there is to get San Diego to put water cisterns underground on reclaimed tidelands for any project on Port Land including Chula Vista, the Airport Intermodal Transportation Center, North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, and maybe North Island. The cisterns would stop the waste and evaporation from our County's surface reservoirs that loose 4 feet a year to the sun, and can be used to store water for reclaimation and desalinizations plans all along San Diego Bay, near the end users. Thanks for saying the presentation is slick. Hopefully we could be the Project Engineer or Project Manager for the Cistern part.— January 26, 2011 11:55 p.m.
Jerry Brown Wants to Rein in Redevelopment Scams
http://tinyurl.com/20110124a Hi All, Please see our proposal for a new NFL Chargers stadium on the waterfront in downtown San Diego, which will be built as part of the Convention Center Expansion. The plan could happen without the use of Redevelopment Money. Then CCDC would not have to destroy the Historic Wonder Bread building, and Eminent Domain of the existing Print Shop and Liquor Store. San Diego can have a stadium and convention center by voting on a project that has the potential to make finance sense through a public tax increase on hotels, taxi, and the downtown Gaslamp District. However, we are not construction estimators, so we do not know the actual costs, or if the building would pay for itself by constant use. However, water Cisterns to both hold water, and make desalinization plant underground, as part of San Diego infrastructure would be great for San Diego. Comments, concerns, and questions are appreciated.— January 26, 2011 8:03 p.m.
Goldsmith Appeals Suit He Ridiculed Aguirre for Filing
At the City of San Diego Retired Employees Association debate on April 8, 2008 for the 2008 City Attorney election, the Fifth written question was: Do you intend to pursue the Pension Issue in light of Judge Barton's ruling? Goldsmith said "No... The one year statute of limitations has run out... Three years does not equal one year... Basic math." The crowd of MEA employees cheered the same pension stance of Goldsmith, Scott Peters, and Brian Maienschien. They were all trying to get the Municipal Union endorsement during the Primary. After he was elected Goldsmith is still pursuing this same lawsuit, that he specifically said he would drop. Which is great news for taxpayers.— January 20, 2011 10:55 a.m.
CCDC Paying For Convention Center Development A Wise Move? You Bet!
. http://blogofsandiego.com/Elections.htm#12/07/10 . 12/07/10 The TRUE story behind raising the CCDC cap. by Pat Flannery. The California State Legislature created a process whereby cities can borrow against future property tax revenue for the primary purpose of expanding the supply of low-and-moderate-income housing. The process is called "redevelopment". "The Legislature finds and declares that a fundamental purpose of redevelopment is to expand the supply of low-and moderate-income housing, to expand employment opportunities for jobless, underemployed, and low-income persons, and to provide an environment for the social, economic, and psychological growth and well-being of all citizens." This original Redevelopment Law required each redevelopment agency to set aside 20% of its tax increment revenues and put it into a "low and moderate income housing" fund, commonly known as the "affordable housing" fund. CCDC fulfilled its affordable housing requirement by creating all "moderate" income housing and no “low, very low, or extremely low” income housing. In San Diego "moderate" income housing is very close to "market" price housing. The original Redevelopment Law also provided that in the event a redevelopment agency amends its project plan in any way, it triggers the following more stringent affordable housing set aside requirements: (1) the 20% set aside would increase to 30%; (2) expenditure on “moderate” could only happen when at least 49% had already been spent on “low, very low, or extremely low”; (3) total “moderate” could not exceed the total of “extremely low income” in any 5 year period; (4) total “moderate” could not exceed 15% of the total set aside fund in any 5 year period; (5) the number of “moderate” units could not exceed the number of “extremely low income” units at any time. CCDC wished to remove its revenue cap while continuing to avoid the “low, very low, or extremely low” income housing requirement. So, its Los Angeles-based outside law firm, Kane, Ballmer & Berkman, found a loophole in the wording of the Redevelopment Law. Unfortunately Section 33333.10 (f) of the Redevelopment Law refers to "an agency that has adopted an amendment", rather than an agency that has "amended" its project plan. Kane, Ballmer & Berkman therefore advised CCDC that amending its project plan (e.g. raising its cap) by statute i.e. by State Legislative action, rather than by agency action, would not trigger Section 33333.10(f). This is the TRUE story behind raising the CCDC cap at Sacramento rather than at City Council. Today, Jerry Sanders, who exploited this loophole in Redevelopment Law in favor of developers at the expense of citizens, is asking City Council to re-appoint him as Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Redevelopment Agency.— December 23, 2010 2:43 p.m.
CCDC Paying For Convention Center Development A Wise Move? You Bet!
On January 1, 1994, Redevelopment Agencies Project Plans no longer had to specify dollar limits on total Tax Increment, known as the Cap. Since CCDC's Plan was made in 1992, in order to get rid of the Cap, CCDC had to Adopt an Amendment. CCDC was in the process of adopting the Amendment to get rid of the CCDC Cap when SB-863 was passed without the knowledge or approval of the Redevelopment Agency (aka City Council). If the regular process of an Amendment was made, CCDC would have to increase the Affordable Housing Set-Aside Funds from 20 percent to 30 percent minimum, and target the funds to include the Extremely Low Income homeless. This year the increase would be an additional $12.5 Million. If CCDC did nothing wrong, they should change the Affordable Housing to 30 percent minimum, so they do not look like they are stealing money from the poor and Homeless. Instead of set aside for Affordable Housing, the extra $12.5 million (10 percent) can be used to fund a new Chargers Stadium.— December 23, 2010 2:37 p.m.
Chargers: Look at Petco Park Failure
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/nov/22/mark-fabiani… Mr. Fabiani said the Chargers and the NFL would put $400 million into a new stadium, the previous private investment was $300 million. Also said the deal has to be a win for the team and taxpayers. p.s. What is the secret to creating live links?— December 22, 2010 6:47 p.m.
City Delays Audit, Halts Bonds. Blames Computers. Hmmmmm
In its Bond Disclosure, the City allows public funds to be channeled to unknown beneficiaries hiding behind Delaware LLC status, which hides the names of owners. The City does this for public bond projects including: Ballpark Village LLC, McMillin NTC LLC and their 22 sub-Delaware partners, etc. http://docs.sandiego.gov/citycharter/Article%20XI… See Page 5 for City Charter Section 225 - Mandatory Disclosure of Business Interests. "No right, title or interest in the City's real or personal property, nor any right, title or interest arising out of a contract, or lease, may be granted or bargained,,, unless the person applying or bargaining therefore makes a full and complete Disclosure of the name and identity of any and all person directly or indirectly involved in the application or proposed transaction and the precise nature of all interest of persons therein."— November 17, 2010 5 a.m.