Last Minute Push to Protect "Downtown" Rohnert Park, Affordable Housing, Senior Center

Linda Babonis, the city’s redevelopment manager, has big plans for Rohnert Park’s redevelopment zone — a 2.6-square mile hunk of land that stretches from Sonoma Mountain Village, encompasses City Center Plaza and reaches City Hall.

So, since Gov. Jerry Brown took office in January and introduced a plan to disband 425 redevelopment agencies statewide, Babonis has been scrambling to get a slew of projects OK’d by the City Council, so they’re safe from being taken by the state.

So far, it’s working. The Council Tuesday in a last minute meeting unanimously approved the transfer of 15 real estate parcels owned by the city’s redevelopment agency, called the Community Development Commission, back to the city. 

City Manager Gabe Gonzalez said he expects Gov. Brown to pass legislation later this week eliminating redevelopment agencies. City Attorney Michelle Kenyon said the transfer of property will not drain the general fund.

The properties include five homes that house families transitioning out of homelessness, four parcels slated for affordable housing development, three parcels in City Center plaza and two small triangular properties near Wilfred Avenue.

These projects were intended to “create economic vitality, eliminate blight, spur private investment and increase and improve the community supply of affordable housing,” Gonzalez said. “Passage of the dissolution of redevelopment will likely result in these properties being sold off and funds given to the state.”

This rush to protect redevelopment plans comes at to fast-track 13 new development projects for $22.5 million — a shift in the way redevelopment dollars have been used over the last 24 years that Rohnert Park has had a redevelopment zone.

Historically, it was not uncommon for the the city to sell property to the local redevelopment agency, and use the proceeds to balance the general fund.

"No one can argue with fact some properties sold benefitted general fund," Babonis said. "But not all of them did."

City Council Bemoans Brown's Proposal

“It’s a shame that the state is doing what they’re doing, because when we purchased these properties we had great plans for them,” said Councilmember Pam Stafford. “This is what we need to do at this point to protect those people who need that housing, because we don’t want to lose them to the state.”

Councilmember Joe Callinan was skeptical that the transfer of the property back to the city would prevent the state from taking it.

“They’re going to come back and take what the want in the long-run,” he said. “I think we’re going to have to go back to before we had redevelopment money — we’re going to have to get our police officers to start citing people for having their trailers on the roads for two weeks, for having blight in their yards.”

“That was part of their job until we got [redevelopment]; I’ve been saying that all along,” he added.

"To me not the right thing to do," Councilmember Amy Ahanotu said. 

Mayor Gina Belforte has been against Brown's proposal. 

State's Plans

Brown has publicly vowed to do whatever necessary to close the state’s $25.4 budget gap projected for 2011-12. If approved by the Legislature, the tax increment dollars currently allocated to the local redevelopment agencies would be given to the state beginning July 1.

That move will divert $1.7 billion to California’s general fund, and according to the California Redevelopment Association, be used for Medi-Cal and trial courts. An additional $210 million will be remain, and is slated for distribution to schools, cities and counties statewide. The funds will be divied up based on how much property tax is generated by each municipality.

In Rohnert Park, local nonprofits have called the shift horrifying. on how the dissolution of redevelopment agencies in Rohert Park will impact COTS, NOAH and Rebuilding Together — who are all largely funded by the city.

Here's a list of the properties transferred from the redevelopment agency back to the city: 

• Rohnert Park Senior Center, located at 6800 Hunter Dr.
• Former City Hall, at 6750 Commerce Blvd.
• 100 and 120 Avram avenues — two properties adjacent to the current city hall, slated for affordable housing.
• Library parking lot, actually has an address — 415 City Center Dr. — slated for "downtown."
• 6230 State Farm Dr., the Vet Center — slated for "downtown."
• Another parcel near City Center Plaza, with no address — slated for "downtown."
• Two parcels located on the west side of Redwood Drive, one immediately north of Wilfred and one immediately south. Babonis called these a "chip for future development."
• Old Southwest Fire Station, at 435 Southwest Blvd. —
• 7668 Beverly Dr. — housing.
• 309 and 7783 Burton avenues — current housing.

Editor's note: read about the previous 13 redevelopment projects that were.