Meyers Nave Helps Public Entities Respond to the Governor’s Proposed Elimination of Redevelopment Agencies

When Governor Jerry Brown proposed  to eliminate the state’s 400 redevelopment agencies to help balance the budget, many cities and redevelopment agencies reached out to Meyers Nave to help devise strategies to save redevelopment projects should the Governor’s plan come to fruition.

As special and general counsel to several dozen city and county redevelopment agencies, Meyers Nave attorneys have taken a lead role at this critical juncture to respond to the multitude of complicated questions regarding the impact of the Governor’s plan on local governments and communities.

Recently, The Recorder interviewed Sue Bloch, chair of Meyers Nave’s Redevelopment, Real Estate and Affordable Housing Group, regarding the impact of redevelopment cuts.

Sue observed that redevelopment projects leverage significant public and private dollars, are a major engine for job-creation, encourage “smart growth” and infill development, and provide crucial gap financing for affordable housing and commercial developments that would not otherwise be constructed.  As an example,  Sue discussed the City of Union City’s new pedestrian- and transit -oriented mixed-use development near the City’s BART station.  If Union City’s redevelopment agency shut its doors,  it would become nearly impossible for the City to meet the housing production requirements of  state grant funds, and the project’s completion would become uncertain.  “That’s just one example of a case where redevelopment dollars leverage financial resources from the private sector and from other sources,” comments Sue.

Meyers Nave’s team of redevelopment attorneys are working collaboratively with the firm’s land use, public finance, public contracts and municipal law attorneys,  and are working closely with city and agency staff to develop strategies to ensure that redevelopment projects can be completed and to develop appropriate programmatic and legal responses should the Governor’s proposal pass.

For more information about the Governor’s proposed redevelopment cuts and how they may impact your community, or for assistance with getting redevelopment projects funded and completed, contact Sue Bloch at sbloch@meyersnave.com or 800.464.3559.