Key Points

1. 1) Redevelopment agencies were created in the 1940s to fight urban blight, but morphed into a way for local governments to divert property tax dollars from traditional services.
2. 2) These agencies routinely abused eminent domain by taking private homes and businesses and giving them to developers who promised tax-generating projects.
3. 3) Gov. Jerry Brown shuttered the agencies in 2011 as he sought to fill a budget hole.
4. 4) Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom cited fiscal concerns in vetoing SB 5, which would have tapped $2 billion a year and increased affordable housing earmarks to 50 percent.
5. 5) A similar bill, SB 795, has been introduced this year. Given recent economic concerns, lawmakers should reject this latest redevelopment revival.