Look about San Diego for the legacy of redevelopment — from signature megaprojects to landscaped medians, libraries and housing for the homeless. But as of Feb. 1, redevelopment agencies created under state law dating to 1945 are no more. The state needed the money for more pressing things and dissolved the 399 agencies, including 17 in San Diego County. However, the requiem for redevelopment didn’t last long. The state Senate held a special hearing Wednesday to talk about raising taxes or fees to finance affordable housing, now that 20 percent of former redevelopment funds generating $1 billion annually statewide won’t be available; the Assembly is set to cover the same subject March 7. Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, followed up Thursday with a proposed $75 recording fee increase on all real estate documents to generate potentially $700 million annually for affordable housing; the current San Diego fee is $12. Meanwhile, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank announced 2.1 percent loans up to $10 million for local government improvements projects. Mayoral aide David Graham told a Downtown San Diego Partnership breakfast Friday that the state law governing redevelopment’s end is “unclear, confusing and sets deadlines that are impossible to meet.” He said letters went out to local officials to appoint their representatives to a seven-person oversight board charged with selling redevelopment assets. The first meeting is expected in April. And land-use experts here and around the country are watching to see how California fares in a post-redevelopment world.
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