THOUSAND OAKS : City Redevelopment Program Defended

Thousand Oaks city officials defended the city’s redevelopment program in a speech before a citizens group, saying the program allows Thousand Oaks to keep property tax revenues that would otherwise be funneled to other government agencies.

Thousand Oaks City Manager Grant Brimhall spoke at a meeting of the Citizens Q of L Action Alliance, a group founded by City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah.

The alliance had invited Brimhall to rebut comments made at a July meeting by redevelopment critic Robert Murray.

In his July speech, Murray said cities have used redevelopment programs to bypass limits on the use of property taxes.

But Brimhall said the redevelopment has allowed the city to build low- and moderate-income housing, improve Thousand Oaks Boulevard, and build such civic attractions as a first-rate library and the planned $63.8-million Jungleland civic center.

“Our citizens are paying tons of money for taxes. Redevelopment has allowed us to keep money in the community that would have bled out of town,” Brimhall said at the meeting Tuesday.

Sacramento lawyer David Beatty, the city’s special counsel on redevelopment, said redevelopment “is the state’s best economic development tool that they have going today.”

More than 90% of all California cities with populations of more than 50,000 have redevelopment agencies.

Of those with populations greater than 100,000, only three do not have redevelopment programs, Beatty said.

Thousand Oaks has designated three redevelopment areas, the largest one extending along Thousand Oaks Boulevard from the county line to the parking lot of The Oaks shopping center.

Property taxes normally are divided among county government, schools, fire districts and other government agencies.

But the city is allowed to keep most of the property taxes generated within a project area for redevelopment, Brimhall said.

By law, 20% of those tax revenues must be used for low- or moderate-income housing.

Brimhall said the city has used redevelopment funds to build nearly 1,600 homes and apartments, which have increased the city’s assessed property values by $152 million.