Kehoe: 'This Loophole Needs to Be Closed'

Published: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 3:46 PM PDT

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Sen. Chris Kehoe said she will introduce a bill to stop the kind of redevelopment funding transfers that brought you such bizarre settlements as the one struck to enable Grantville to go forward with redevelopment.

Kehoe asked the attorney general earlier this month to investigate the settlement, a complicated series of financial transfers that will send Grantville redevelopment revenue downtown for trolley improvements, and downtown money to the county for developing land at the Embarcadero. Attorney General Jerry Brown's office responded with a letter concluding the settlement wasn't illegal, even if the arrangement might not carry out the spirit of the law restricting certain redevelopment funding transfers.

From a press release:

"The state's redevelopment laws don’t allow residents to go to court to challenge a redevelopment agency's decision," said Kehoe. "This loophole needs to be closed."

Kehoe plans to introduce a bill in January that would "close state loopholes that allow cities to move funds from blighted areas to projects in more developed locations," according to a press release.

"I'm frustrated by the cat-and-mouse game that redevelopment agencies continue to play with residents and property owners," said Kehoe. "... It looks like we have more work to do to ensure better use of tax dollars, because redevelopment is a great tool when it's used right."

-- KELLY BENNETT

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