News Blog
Monterey Considers Suing State for Denied Redeveloment Cash
December 28, 2012
California cities, including Monterey, aren't going to let Gov. Jerry Brown walk away with $685 million in redevelopment agency money without a fight.
That's part of the governor's projected $3 billion savings from dissolving redevelopment, which began a year ago when the California Supreme Court upheld Assembly Bill x1 26.
Cities and counties have since become successor agencies to those redevelopment agencies, absorbing the debt and assets that came with them.
The state Department of Finance has been going through those balance sheets with a fine-toothed comb, and disputed the city of Monterey's claim to $3.5 million for affordable housing incentives to developers.
City officials protested, and got their way, in part.
After reviewing the city's accounting, state officials reversed position on $1.5 million, most of which has already been promised to Cambria-based developer Dirk Winter's residential units above the Monterey Hotel, which opens onto both Alvarado Street and Calle Principal downtown.
The state's keeping another $2 million, however, which the city made from selling what had once been affordable condos (Ocean Harbor House, pictured above) and planned to reinvest into other affordable housing projects.
"Finance continues to deny this item," according to a Dec. 18 letter from the Department of Finance.
The city's not settling for the partial win, City Manager Fred Meurer says. "We will take it as far as we can go," he says. "Whether we'll sue [the state] or not, I don't know."
The city already cut a $2 million check ("under protest," Monterey Finance Director Don Rhoads says) on Dec. 20.
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