Jerry Brown's Case Against Redevelopment

Despite restrictions on redevelopment money, the governor remains opposed to the redevelopment program.

A January Brown administration report on redevelopment cites a 1998 Public Policy Institute study, “Subsidizing Redevelopment in California” that found that “…fewer than one-quarter of the (redevelopment) projects came close to being responsible for the property taxes they received. These projects were also the ones with the most vacant land.”

The Brown administration also criticizes redevelopment agencies for not abiding by the requirement to spend 20 percent of their money on low-income housing projects, leaving large amounts of money unspent.

The report questions the basic foundation of redevelopment — economic growth — saying it will not save basic local services.

“While property tax revenues are expected to stabilize and stop declining by next year, sales tax revenues and property tax revenues will not recover to pre-recession levels for many years,” it said.

There is also a Brown administration argument that from the state’s perspective that redevelopment merely shifts growth from one part of the state to another.

“There is little evidence that redevelopment projects attract business to the state,” the report reads. “While this may help relieve localized blight and equalize economic activity relative to nearby communities, there are better alternatives for local entities to fund these efforts without shifting resources from schools, counties, special districts and core city services."

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