Time has gone by since the last email blast from Save Our County. In December many of us assisted on a Community Envisioning Event in order to get a consensus from the public regarding the physical development of El Dorado County. We are anxiously waiting for the results of that Event. We are working on the organization of Save Our County. Arrangements for public meetings are in the works.
In the meantime regarding creating a Redevelopment District in Placerville, the city is well on it’s way to have the plan approved by May, 2011.
Here are the upcoming Meetings at the Town Hall, 549 Main Street, Placerville
Tuesday, Jan 18th at 7:00 pm – The Placerville Planning Commission will be hearing public comment on the Redevelopment Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
http://cityofplacerville.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=5133
Tuesday, Jan 25th at 7:00 pm – The Placerville City Council is meeting and the agenda has yet to be posted. Watch for upcoming agenda items on this link:
http://cityofplacerville.org/depts/council/agenda.asp
Wednesday, 26th at 6:30 pm – The City of Placerville is providing Public Meeting #2, as required by Redevelopment Law (Section 33000.) There will be a rep from the California Redevelopment Association, an agency whose business is redevelopment. There will also be City Council Managers from Auburn and Rocklin, along with a business owner from Sutter Street in Folsom, all will share their success stories about Redevelopment.
The City Managers are each heads of their local redevelopment agency, and the merchant from Folsom is the only one on Sutter Street we found who hadn’t lost 30-40% of his business due to redevelopment activities. There will likely also be representatives from RSG, the redevelopment consultants, hired by the city.
http://cityofplacerville.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=5083
It is said that Redevelopment thrives on public ignorance. So inform yourself by reading the attached information booklet titled, “Redevelopment, the Unknown Government”
Redevelopment: The Unknown Government 2007.pdf (this is a printable version we scanned from the updated 2007 pamphlet. Older versions on the Internet do not have the updated numbers)
Also the following are bullet points taken from our research:
- The Redevelopment Agency (“Agency”) is made up of the Placerville City Manager, City Attorney, City Finance Director, City Community Development Director, City Clerk, Mayor and City Council, yet they claim there is no conflict of interest, even though at least 4 of these members own commerical property in the project area.
- Redevelopment diverts public funds from police and fire protection, education, local entities and city and county general funds. (Look at the back of your property tax bill).
- The Agency can incur bonded debt without a vote of the people, up to $70M at a time. A majority vote is all that is needed.
- Eminent domain tramples private property rights, yet redevelopment cannot proceed without it. There are so many exceptions in the redevelopment law (Prop 99) that virtually no property within the “project area” is safe.
- The real estate market is at its lowest level, which makes this the perfect time to offer “market price” for private property that the agency can turn around and give to a private developer.
- Redevelopment gives the Agency total power and control of all property within the Project Area, even down to approving building permits and deciding which businesses will be allowed within the Project Area.New development and acquiring assets (property) is the highest priority for the Agency because it provides them a “sustainable” income stream.
- The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have allowed the City to put 267 acres of county properties into the Redevelopment Agency that have the potential to be annexed in the future.
- Redevelopment Agency will trump County land use ordinances, see the following:On October 26, 2010, the County Board of Supervisors approved and adopted County Ordinance #4952, authorizing the inclusion of the County Territory within the Project Area. Pursuant to Section 33213, the County action grants the City and the Agency the authority to undertake the redevelopment of the County Territory in all respects as if the County Territory was within the City’s territorial limits, and the City Council, Agency and Planning Commission of the City of Placerville shall have all the rights, powers and privileges with respect to the County Territory as if it was within the territorial limits of the City.
- Improving existing Infrastructure will not increase property value; therefore the Agency can ignore necessary improvements in favor of new infrastructure. 24.8% of the Redevelopment Project Area is unincorporated, mostly vacant county land. The Agency won’t be addressing blight, so much as giving private developers new projects.
- Redevelopment’s intent is to eliminate blight, but often it opens the door to corruption and is highly discriminatory. Blight is anything you want it to be, including projects that will provide a better economic benefit for the City. Existing businesses will have new competitors funded by our own government. Public-Private Partnerships, another way of saying public subsidy for private development. Subsidizing of corporate franchise stores to entice them to relocate to the redevelopment area will put local independent merchants at an unfair disadvantage. Map, meetings and frequently asked questions from the City of Placerville:
- \http://cityofplacerville.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=5077
We feel that elected officials have a moral and ethical responsibility to the community that they serve.
Read the attached documents and attend these meetings to inform yourself!
Save Our County - Joint Coalition 