LOS ANGELES : Downtown Redevelopment Project Gets New Life
The Los Angeles City Council has approved a plan that will extend the life of the Downtown redevelopment project that helped finance high-rise development, as well as social service programs.
By a 13-1 vote, the council agreed to a new formula for sharing property tax money with the county, the Los Angeles Unified School District and other government agencies. The split gives the city less money than it has received, but more than it would have received if the redevelopment project ended.
The project was threatened as the city’s Redevelopment Agency closed in on a $750-million spending cap. The cap would have been hit by 1998, leaving only enough money to pay past debts, but none for new construction or programs for the poor and homeless.
The council acted on the agreement to beat a Jan. 1 deadline, when a state law limiting such redevelopment agreements takes effect.
Councilman Joel Wachs cast the only no vote, saying the proposal was rushed forward without proper study.
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