Redevelopment agencies are complicated organizations with ties to projects that can sometimes stretch years into the future. So the agencies can’t just go away. That’s where successor agencies come in.
Today the city council will decide whether San Diego should act as the successor agency for its redevelopment organizations. San Diego COO Jay Goldstone said the move makes sense. But he said it will essentially create a new city department.
“Some of the projects will take years,” he said. “But, again, we need to determine which of the projects will survive and which ones will not and then staff accordingly.”
Goldstone said the law that abolished redevelopment allocated some money to operate the successor agencies while projects are closed out, so the city’s general fund should not be affected.
Last summer the council gave preliminary approval to $4 billion worth of projects in case redevelopment agencies were abolished. Goldstone said right now the city is taking the position that those projects are valid and can go forward.
"But that's still a question mark that's going to have to be determined," he said. "Some of the projects clearly will move forward and others may be in question."
Goldstone said it will take several months to fully determine how a successor agency would work. He said today's action would just establish that the city would run it.
