Redevelopment Can Also Be Constructive

Re “A Legal Rip-Off at the Heart of Glendale,” Commentary, July 12: Ralph Shaffer insinuates that redevelopment is useful only as a tool for large developers to extort money from local governments, which admittedly happens with frequency.

The flip side of redevelopment, however, is that it helps revitalize distressed areas, such as Hollywood and Western, Crenshaw, Watts and hundreds of other redevelopment areas throughout Los Angeles and the state. Redevelopment becomes a sour deal for taxpayers only when elected officials, developers and unscrupulous redevelopment consultants collude to identify economically healthy areas as “blighted.” This chicanery sucks tax revenue from school districts and other taxing entities by redirecting property taxes to redevelopment agencies. Instead of attacking the spirit of redevelopment by labeling the entire idea a “Ponzi scheme,” Shaffer and other critics should focus on the abuses of the policy and propose strategies to end these abuses.

Zach Seal

Berkeley