Politics & Government

San Diego City Council Approves $4B of Redevelopment Projects

The approval is a move to protect the projects in case redevelopment agencies are closed under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan.

The San Diego City Council on Monday approved $4 billion in future redevelopment projects in a move to protect them in case redevelopment agencies are closed under the governor's .

A spokeswoman for the governor, however, criticized cities' efforts to shield redevelopment funds while they are making cuts to local schools and services.

Each project will eventually have to be approved individually before construction begins, but the council on a 5-2 vote approved a cooperation agreement with the agency that provides a roadmap of future redevelopment in the city.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, who represents Rancho Bernardo in District 5, voted in favor of the agreement. Councilmembers David Alvarez and Sherri Lightner cast the dissenting votes. Councilwoman Marti Emerald was not present.

The planned projects include large-scale efforts, such as cleaning up pollution on a downtown site under consideration for the new Chargers' stadium, and smaller ones, such as streetlight and sidewalk improvements. Some projects may not come to fruition for years. There is debate as to whether projects approved now for completion later would still be able to move forward if redevelopment agencies, funded by local property tax dollars, are eliminated through Brown's budget proposal.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Alvarez said city officials have lost sight of the original purpose of redevelopment: to remove blight. "The truth is, redevelopment is going to be eliminated and we have to accept it," Alvarez said.

A spokesman for Brown said cities don't need redevelopment to continue these projects.

"It's a shame that local elected officials are rushing to shift billions of taxpayer dollars into redevelopment projects while simultaneously proposing major cuts to education, public safety and other core services," Evan Westrup said.

The San Diego Unified School District, which does not include Rancho Bernardo schools, is .

The council on a 5-2 vote also approved using funds for a downtown leash-free dog park at Market Street and Park Boulevard. On a 6-1 vote, with Alvarez dissenting, the council gave the go-ahead to a new $17 million fire station at Pacific Highway and Cedar Street. Alvarez said a recent report showed new stations were more urgently needed elsewhere, but Chief Javier Mainar said this new station was needed because of population growth in the area.

DeMaio, while voting in favor of the new station, said city staff needs to take a close look at the individual project expenditures, particularly $190,000 for public art.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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