R.I.P. Belmont RDA

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 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.

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