Published: 1 years 117 days ago
By Kevin Johnson
Special to The Bee
Desperate times are dangerous times, especially when elected officials grasp for quick fixes. Case in point is a proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown to eliminate redevelopment in California. The idea has provoked discussion well beyond its worth – cutting redevelopment would save $1.7 billion, or about 2 percent of the governor's budget problem – and distracted the conversation away from the overall issue.
Brown touched on the overall issue while speaking to California mayors and city council members last week in Sacramento. He breezed past
redevelopment, noting how he didn't really understand it but acknowledging how redevelopment money helped him bring revitalization to Oakland while he was mayor.
Once he moved beyond redevelopment, the governor addressed the fundamental problems facing California political leaders: how the state can't balance its finances, how more money goes out than comes in, how we all must seek collective solutions and make sacrifices.
Hard to argue with that. The challenge for Brown and the Legislature will be to identify solutions that make sense, not only when it comes to reducing California's deficit but in making sure we don't create bigger problems while thrashing around for answers. Californians are willing make sacrifices – they have made them before, and will again – as long as those sacrifices make sense and are uniformly applied.
The proposal to eliminate redevelopment comes up short in both the "makes sense" and "uniformly applied" categories. Let's start with that 2 percent number. If redevelopment were pork, cutting the fat would be easy. In our present climate of structural deficits and restless voters, no elected official can afford to defend pork.
But redevelopment is the opposite of pork: It actually creates growth by attracting investment dollars, creating jobs and improving communities by boosting real estate values in key neighborhoods. Redevelopment adds to the tax rolls by building businesses and providing homes where few or none existed.
And redevelopment does more than stimulate economic growth and build opportunity. It creates a new fabric for down-and-out communities. This may not sound important when discussing a budget crisis, but it's what will allow us to recover from that crisis. If what's most important right now is job creation, investment and economic development, consider the following data from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Authority on the effects of abolishing redevelopment:
• 19,000 local jobs at risk through elimination of construction projects.
• $108 million in city redevelopment project funds put at risk.
• $1.3 billion in total economic activity lost.
• Millions of dollars lost for projects that create safe, affordable housing for families in need.
But beyond the numbers, there is a very real impact that will be felt if we eliminate redevelopment, reversing the benefits that have already been realized.
Take, for instance, the Phoenix Park community in south Sacramento. Before redevelopment, this blighted community was plagued with violent
crime, high unemployment and substandard housing. Because of a $7 million investment from our redevelopment agency, this community now boasts 360 units of affordable rental apartments, after-school programs that help boost school attendance and a 70 percent reduction in crime.
Or consider the former McClellan Air Force Base that was closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process in the 1990s, resulting in the loss of 11,600 jobs and $1.5 billion in economic activity. With the help of redevelopment, we were able to transform this abandoned area into a thriving business park that is home today to more than 230 companies and is responsible for the creation of more than 12,000 jobs.
Redevelopment has also helped strengthen the core of our city, the downtown. For example, K Street is now attracting a wide range of entertainment and restaurant choices to boost the economy.
There are dozens of examples like these throughout the Sacramento region where redevelopment has created jobs, uplifted and revitalized disadvantaged and blighted communities, and sparked the local economy.
Our city understands the pressure the state faces in closing its budget deficit. Like local governments across the state, we have a long track record of partnering with the state to close its budget deficits. For decades, California cities have sent billions of dollars each year to fund the state's obligations. And in just the past two budget years, more than $2 billion in redevelopment funds have already been redirected to the state.
As in the past, we pledge to be open partners with the state in finding sensible solutions to our massive state deficit. Today, mayors from California's 10 largest cities will meet with the governor and other state leaders to share our ideas on alternative courses of action.
But in our quest to provide short-term budget relief, we cannot and must not permanently abolish a program that generates 300,000 jobs, $40 billion in economic activity and more than $2 billion in state and local taxes each year. It's a short-sighted solution that sacrifices the long-term vitality of our city.
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