Over the past four to six months, I have often been asked, “What is redevelopment, have we met everyone's expectations for Village redevelopment and have we accomplished our mission, goals and objectives?”
These are all good questions, but they have complicated answers. Redevelopment continues to be a mystery for many.
Per California redevelopment law, the only purpose of redevelopment is to eliminate blight or blighting influences. This could be physical blight in the form of dilapidated buildings or it could be economic blight in the form of declining property values or sales tax revenue.
In theory, when blight is eliminated an area becomes attractive for private investment. This public and private investment is then referred to as redevelopment.
Unfortunately, blight elimination rarely motivates anyone to run out and sign up for assignments. While the legal purpose for a redevelopment plan is one thing, we all know that people create change, not plans.
I believe redevelopment is better described as the redirection of a mission that people of all types are required to help execute. It's not just the job of the government or even a single business owner, business association manager or property owner. A diverse collection of persons are needed to execute a redevelopment mission.
Redevelopment also can be better described as a planned effort intended to increase an area's capabilities for executing its mission. The execution needs to be a very collaborative effort.
The Redevelopment Agency and the city have spent a considerable amount of money in the Village completing infrastructure and beautification projects. But the accomplishments I feel the best about are those that cannot be well-defined.
The renewal of spirit and passion for the Village has been steadily improving and is currently at an amazing level. Often, as an area begins to revive itself, new vision happens in the community.
So I find hope even when people criticize the redevelopment area because it means they care enough to share their thoughts and ideas. Has everything been done yet? No. Should we stop executing our mission? No. Will our mission continue to change over time? Yes.
Every day, we need to continue to celebrate a renewal of spirit in the Village and the growing passion for continuous improvement and sustainment of the past redevelopment efforts. Those interested in viewing a video celebrating redevelopment success in the Village can go online to www.carlsbadca.gov/services/departments/redevelopment/Pages/default.aspx.
These are all good questions, but they have complicated answers. Redevelopment continues to be a mystery for many.
Per California redevelopment law, the only purpose of redevelopment is to eliminate blight or blighting influences. This could be physical blight in the form of dilapidated buildings or it could be economic blight in the form of declining property values or sales tax revenue.
In theory, when blight is eliminated an area becomes attractive for private investment. This public and private investment is then referred to as redevelopment.
Unfortunately, blight elimination rarely motivates anyone to run out and sign up for assignments. While the legal purpose for a redevelopment plan is one thing, we all know that people create change, not plans.
I believe redevelopment is better described as the redirection of a mission that people of all types are required to help execute. It's not just the job of the government or even a single business owner, business association manager or property owner. A diverse collection of persons are needed to execute a redevelopment mission.
Redevelopment also can be better described as a planned effort intended to increase an area's capabilities for executing its mission. The execution needs to be a very collaborative effort.
The Redevelopment Agency and the city have spent a considerable amount of money in the Village completing infrastructure and beautification projects. But the accomplishments I feel the best about are those that cannot be well-defined.
The renewal of spirit and passion for the Village has been steadily improving and is currently at an amazing level. Often, as an area begins to revive itself, new vision happens in the community.
So I find hope even when people criticize the redevelopment area because it means they care enough to share their thoughts and ideas. Has everything been done yet? No. Should we stop executing our mission? No. Will our mission continue to change over time? Yes.
Every day, we need to continue to celebrate a renewal of spirit in the Village and the growing passion for continuous improvement and sustainment of the past redevelopment efforts. Those interested in viewing a video celebrating redevelopment success in the Village can go online to www.carlsbadca.gov/services/departments/redevelopment/Pages/default.aspx.