City Council to Consider Redevelopment Plan

The City Council, sitting as the city’s Redevelopment Agency, will discuss a comprehensive plan to spruce up midtown and encourage private investment.

The Midtown Redevelopment Plan would affect an area resembling a giant pair of scissors along Main Street and Thompson Boulevard from Ash Street east to Mills Road.

It also includes the Buenaventura Mall and portions of Loma Vista and Telegraph roads.

The improvements would be paid for with tax increment financing, a process in which cities can set aside a portion of property tax revenues collected in designated areas that would otherwise go toward general city services and programs.

The draft redevelopment plan includes many proposed public improvements, including:

* Increasing the community’s supply of moderate- to very low-income housing by creating programs to provide mortgage assistance and housing rehabilitation loans.

* Improving Seaward Avenue by installing left-turn lanes on East Main Street and re-striping the street and installing access ramps at the intersection of Seaward and San Nicholas Street.

* Resurfacing Thompson Boulevard from San Jon Road to East Main Street and installing access ramps at street corners from Chrisman Avenue to Main.

Tonight, members of the redevelopment agency will consider adopting the preliminary report. If approved, the plan would be sent to tax agencies and the city Planning Commission for consideration.

Public workshops and meetings would be held before any projects outlined in the plan would begin, a city report said.

The agency also is set to discuss a report that outlines the environmental aspects of the redevelopment plan. The council meeting begins at 7 p.m.