Broker Declines Appointment to L.B. Redevelopment Agency

Citing conflict of interests, real estate broker Joseph A. Kennerson has declined his appointment by Mayor Ernie Kell to the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

During a City Council meeting Tuesday, when members accepted a May 12 letter from Kennerson declining the appointment, Kell said city officials “were caught off guard” by proposed state regulations that would disqualify Kennerson from the position.

But Kennerson would have faced potential conflicts regardless of the proposed state regulations, City Atty. John Calhoun said. Had Kennerson accepted the position on the Redevelopment Agency, he would have been forced to abstain from many, if not most, votes, Calhoun said.

Although he does not own properties within redevelopment areas, Kennerson has management contracts in the downtown redevelopment area and owns property adjacent to another redevelopment project, said Heather Mahood, the deputy city attorney who advises the Redevelopment Agency.

In addition, the Fair Political Practices Commission plans to amend rules affecting those who make decisions on land use, Mahood said. Those changes will include forbidding persons with interests within a certain distance of a redevelopment project--possibly up to 2,000 feet--from belonging to such an agency.

Currently, state criteria for agency members forbids them from having properties in redevelopment areas but does not restrict them from owning or managing properties near redevelopment sites, Mahood said.