Local News in Brief : Source of Freeway Fight Funding OKd
The South Pasadena City Council has decided to use community redevelopment funds to finance a possible legal battle against a state plan to run the final link of the Long Beach Freeway through the center of the city.
The council voted unanimously to tap into accrued tax money from the city’s downtown redevelopment area rather than to appeal to voters for new tax revenue, as suggested last month by a citizens’ group.
Noting that residents are already paying a 4% utility tax, Councilman James Hodge, chairman of the Community Redevelopment Agency, said it would be “almost irresponsible” for the council not to consider using redevelopment funds to challenge the freeway plan.
The city has been fighting Caltrans’ plan for 25 years, claiming that it would “take the guts right out of the city,” as Mayor James Woollacott put it. The freeway plan is expected to receive approval from the Federal Highway Administration by next spring.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
