Redevelopment’s the Road to Recovery : Property tax plan is essential to aiding quake-ravaged sections of the Valley

San Francisco turned to the redevelopment process in its efforts to recover and rebuild after the Loma Prieta earthquake. The cities of San Fernando and Santa Monica did the same after the Northridge earthquake. So, too, did Santa Clarita, although the attempt there has been marred by conflicts over the project’s cost and size.

Each of these jurisdictions used emergency provisions in the state’s redevelopment law to set up specific recovery areas in hard-hit disaster zones. Under the law, local redevelopment agencies keep all of the property tax generated by new construction in the area, then use that money to provide residential and commercial loans to fund rebuilding and recovery efforts. Bonds can also be floated for the same purpose. It’s a fine idea that can fill gaps in federal and state aid.

Unfortunately, trying to establish such zones in Los Angeles has proven to be almost as volatile an issue as it was in Santa Clarita. Dozens of angry residents showed up at public hearings to protest such a zone in quake-ravaged Sherman Oaks and Studio City. Much of the fear and distrust here revolved around the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and its power to spend tax dollars and authority to condemn property through the use of eminent domain.

Those concerns led 5th District council member Zev Yaroslavsky to restrict the redevelopment tool to the rebuilding of condominiums only for a period of at least 11 months. The City Council voted 12 to 0 to establish the zone with that and other restrictions, and it was good that the council at least managed to do that.

Despite the restrictions and the powers bestowed upon a citizens advisory committee (it can vote to oppose elements of the plan and its wishes can be superseded only by a two-thirds vote of the City Council), opposition to the redevelopment plan is still strong.

We don’t think the protests over the redevelopment process are warranted. To put it bluntly, it will provide Sherman Oaks and Studio City with funds to aid their recoveries. The objections should stop.