AgdaPkt 2003-02-24 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

q, A- I I CITY OFFICIALS URGED TO HELP PROTECT REDEVELOPMENT FUNDS DATA ON CUT IMPACTS NEEDED BY FEBRUARY 14 The Governor has put forth two separate budget proposals related to redevelopment agen- cies that have a tremendous impact on the future of redevelopment in this state. The first, a proposed "mid -year" cut, would shift "non- encumbered" Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund balances (as of 12/1/02) to ERAF. The Legislature has so far signaled it's unwilling- ness to support this proposal by excluding it from the mid -year budget bills passed by both Houses (currently waiting to be sent to the Governor for action). The second proposal is for fiscal year 2003 -04. Davis proposes to shift 25% of the "school share" of Redevelopment property taxes to ERAF, and increase the percent shifted each year thereafter until the full "school share" was shifted over time. This would effectively kill redevelopment agencies as we know them today. The League is working closely with the Califor- nia Redevelopment Association (CRA) in opposing these proposals, with some early success as noted above. However, there is much more work to be done. What can you do? We need your data on the impacts of the governor's proposals to fight this budget proposal. CRA sent a request to redevelop- ment agencies across the state asking for this data by Friday, February 14. You can check with the staff of your local agency and ensure that they respond by the deadline. If you have any ques- tions, or want to send the data electronically, you can e-mail: akoehler (a)ca- redevelooment.orc, or contact Jean Korinke, Legislative Representative, ikorinke@cacities.ora. (916) 658 -8245. $25 MILLION IN JOBS- HOUSING BALANCE AWARDS NOW AVAILABLE The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) recently issued a notice of funding availability for $25 million in grants to local governments which were eligible for hous- ing production awards under the Jobs Housing Balance program for the 2001 calendar year. Many local governments were eligible for these awards, but never received funds due to the state budget deficit. Twenty -five million dollars for these awards, however, were included in Proposition 46, the Housing Bond. Local governments may spend these funds on any local capital improvement project, Each city should determine whether or not it qualified for an award under the terms of the program, based upon permits issued for housing units in calendar year 2001. An HCD- approved housing element is also a condition of receiving an award. The guidelines and the application for this program are on the HCD web site at www.hcd.ca.govfjhbigp. The final filing date is March 26,2003, and HCD will make grant an- nouncements May 30, 2003. If you have any questions regarding this grant program, contact HCD staff at 916/445 -4728. PPIC from page 1 ................. The report concludes that housing element law needs to be more transparent and workable in order to achieve its ultimate objective. Mr. Lewis notes that lawmakers need to determine whether the ultimate objective of the law is the distribution of affordable housing or the construction of residential units. These results also reinforce the arguments against legislative attempts to penalize local governments based on whether or not their plans have received state approval, and will perhaps encourage legislative discussions on how to better encourage actual housing production. City officials should become familiar with this report and take this opportunity to discuss this report with their legislators and encourage them to support incentive - based solutions that promote additional housing produc- tion rather than punitive proposals that focus on process, penalties, litigation, or eroding local land use authority. For the complete text of this report, visit the PPIC web site at: www.00ic.oro. Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 5