Redevelopment coming to a neighborhood near you?
Our mayor and City Council are likely to impose another top down decision on the uninformed citizens of Chula Vista. On Dec 15, when people are focusing on the holidays, the City will be starting the process to expand redevelopment into residential areas.
Would voters agree to do this with a track record like Chula Vistas? This is the City that displaced 7 businesses like Arby’s and Farrell’s on H St for the now aborted Scripps Hospital expansion in the 1990’s. This redevelopment snafu eliminated 48 equivalent full time jobs, and also eliminated sales and property tax revenue that was generated by displaced businesses.
The Southwest Redevelopment area of Chula Vista collected 15.6 million dollars in tax increment over the 15 year period from 1991 to 2006. Because of redevelopment law mandates and a negotiated agreement with the county, only 6.1 million dollars remained for redevelopment and of that, 5.7 million was spent for City Staff service instead of infrastructure or tax generators.
The Town Center Redevelopment Plan was approved in 1976 to redevelop the historic Section of Third Avenue south of E St. If you walk that street today, you can’t help but note the vacant lot, vacant stores and struggling businesses instead of redevelopment.
Chula Vista diverts millions of property tax dollars each year from the general fund that pays for police, fire and library staff to redevelopment where it’s pays for redevelopment studies, redevelopment staff and subsidies to developers. Redevelopment also diverts property tax revenue from other local entities who then have to cut services or raise fees.
Why expand redevelopment into residential now before they achieved success with the areas they have already and why now when we already have funding shortfalls for police, fire and library staff?
What can you do? You need to contact the council and oppose the expansion. Please write or testify at the Dec 15 Council Meeting at 4 pm in Council Chambers.
Earl Jentz
Chula Vista
Chula Vista deserves better. What are we doing wrong?
I knew Chris Boyd, President of Sharp Hospital and the Chamber of Commerce, had gone somewhere because my emails to him kept coming back. Today I learned from a newspaper in San Jose he has taken a job in Northern California with Kaiser Permanente. . . . .bye bye Chula Vista!
What galls me most is that Chris Boyd played a prominent role in helping Cheryl Cox defeat Proposition E (height limits). Cox pulled out all stops if you recall – got City Manager Garcia to spend almost $30,000 of taxpayer money on a bogus study. Then she, Lisa Cohen and Chris Boyd set about to scare the daylights out of us all – both hospitals might leave Chula Vista, churches couldn’t have spires, it would cause all kinds of havoc and on and on.
Now Chris Boyd has moved on to greener pastures; Cheryl is busily maneuvering to run for another dreary term. I know, I know. Nobody said life is fair . . . . . but I can’t help hoping for a little better shake.
I am so weary of choosing between bad or worser.
Susan Watry
Chula Vista