REDEVELOPMENT UPDATE:

As of February 1, 2012, all redevelopment agencies in the State of California were dissolved per legislation enacted in 2011.  Each redevelopment agency has what is known as a Successor Agency to finish redevelopment activities in-progress.  The information below is provided so the public is aware of what the Calimesa Redevelopment Agency was doing to improve the economy and quality of life in the City before this tool was eliminated.

People often incorrectly believe that being in a redevelopment project area increases the amount of property tax owed on a parcel.  In fact, the amount of property tax owed is calculated and billed exactly as it would be without redevelopment.  What changes is how the property tax is divided among various government agencies.  Normally, a City gets about 16 percent of the real estate tax paid - $16 out of every $100.  The remainder goes to the County, the School District, and to special districts like water agencies.  With redevelopment, the amount varies but about 65 percent of the property tax paid - $65 out of $100 – goes to the City and to the Redevelopment Agency, which is a branch of the City.

With its share of the property tax, redevelopment agencies can take actions to remove “blight” in the project area.  The redevelopment agency can:

• Buy property, demolish the old structures, and resale the land for new development;

• Remodel existing structures;

• Pay for new or updated infrastructure, like streets and sidewalks and drainage systems;

• Pay for beautification, like new landscaping along the streets; and

• Pay for public facilities like parks and fire stations. 

Many of these are things that cities also pay for but frequently cannot afford to do.  In addition, 20 percent of the redevelopment agency property tax revenues must go to preserve and increase affordable housing in the City.

Sometimes redevelopment agencies borrow money to get a large sum at one time to do big projects and then use the property tax revenue received each year to pay back the money borrowed.  They do this by selling bonds to investors, in the same way that a school district will sell bonds to build a new school and then use their share of the property tax to repay that debt over time.  The Calimesa Redevelopment Agency sold bonds for the first time in 2008 and secured $2,371,144 to pay for projects in the City.  This money is being used for the following:

• Façade improvement grants along Calimesa Boulevard

• New zoning, design standards and streetscape plans for Calimesa Boulevard

• Avenue L storm drainage project

• County Line Road and I-10 street project planning and engineering

• Site for a new library

• Streetscape associated with The Shoppes at Calimesa

The annual budget for the redevelopment agency is approved as part of the City of Calimesa budget approval process.