Redevelopment agency eyed in Encinitas

By: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 23, 2005 10:21 PM PDT ∞

ENCINITAS ---- The city could keep more of its property taxes to finance public projects by forming a redevelopment agency, a consultant told the Encinitas City Council last week.

Ernest Glover, president of Orange-based GRC Redevelopment Consultants Inc., said revenue collected by such an agency can pay for big-ticket items such as road work or beautification of business districts.

Glover came to the council meeting at the invitation of the city manager. He spoke about redevelopment agencies in general terms and did not explain how or where redevelopment belonged in prosperous Encinitas.

A city staffer before the meeting said Glover's role was simply to present information to the council, that later agreed to devote a future workshop entirely to redevelopment.

As Glover delivered his presentation, he said no new taxes or fees would be needed to form a redevelopment agency.

Typically overseen by the council, a redevelopment agency is funded by increased property tax revenue created by new development. The agency must reinvest that money, known as the "tax increment," in the project area.

Many prospects to capture increased property taxes exist in Leucadia, officials have said. In that community, planned projects include a bluff-top hotel, a time-share complex overlooking Batiquitos Lagoon, a housing subdivision on Vulcan Avenue and "live-work lofts" on North Coast Highway 101.

Throughout his presentation, Glover never mentioned Leucadia. But during the discussion that followed, the name came immediately to the fore.

"Are we talking about Leucadia (and its) flooding problem?" demanded Morgan Mallory, president of Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association.

Councilman Jerome Stocks chimed in quickly: "I'm willing to say yes."

The flooding problem

Stocks has urged his colleagues and constituents to keep an open mind about a redevelopment agency since November 2004, when the City Council agreed that a $30 million drainage system would be the best way to solve Leucadia's persistent flooding.

City officials refer to the proposed system of 5- and 9-foot diameter drain pipes as "the ultimate solution."

The council's consensus on the solution came with no plan to finance what would be one of the most expensive public projects in the city's history.

Encinitas should examine all forms of financing, council members said, including government grants, local assessments, general obligation bonds and the formation of a redevelopment agency.

Flooding has plagued the commercial strip and other pockets of Leucadia for years.

In 2001, the city ordered a $4 million drainage system, and as the first rains put it to the test, some property owners blamed it for worse floods in certain areas. Since then, workers have modified the system extensively.

During last winter's heavy rains, the modifications and aggressive pumping and sandbagging by the Public Works and Fire departments eased many of the problems, but some residents still reported damage.

Constraints to development

To prevent future hardship, a redevelopment agency could finance the purchase of revenue bonds and provide local money so that Encinitas can qualify for state and federal grants.

Officials have blamed flooding and severe building requirements for hampering investment in Leucadia.

Along much of the commercial strip, for instance, developers must install underground vaults to contain any runoff from a project, and ground floors of new buildings must be situated well above flood levels.

Leucadia's business district includes a hodgepodge of stores, motels and eateries, some of them in decades-old bungalows. The area is often described as quaint.

During his presentation, and in an interview last week, Glover did not touch upon specific conditions in Leucadia.

He said a redevelopment plan must establish that physical and economic constraints are deterring development. The plan also must prove the constraints are a burden on the community and that the public sector does not have the resources to correct the problem on its own.

"If an area is developing quite well, thank you, then you should not be developing a project," Glover said, "but if there are hindrances to health, safety and welfare, you should do it."

A list of projects

In addition to a drainage system, a number of other high-ticket projects could be financed with redevelopment money.

For years, Encinitas has sought to reconfigure Leucadia Boulevard where it crosses Vulcan Avenue, the railroad and North Coast Highway 101.

The busy streets and railroad are built shoulder to shoulder along the boulevard, where traffic congestion is chronic. Trains and vehicles have collided three times there since 1993.

Proposed remedies involve raising or lowering the tracks and the roads, or vice versa. The estimated costs range from $50 million to $100 million.

Opinions differ as to whether the rail work the city needs could be paid for with redevelopment money.

Rail work would not be eligible because state, federal and railroad authorities could pay the bill, said Richard Phillips, an assistant to City Manager Kerry Miller.

Also needed, but unavailable for redevelopment dollars, is at least one pedestrian crossing ---- either above or below the railroad tracks ---- at a cost of $1.5 million to $2 million, Phillips said.

Responding to a resident's inquiry, however, Glover said redevelopment revenue "could very definitely" be used to pay for projects along the railroad. One such project identified by city planners and a consultant is a 3.7-mile bicycle path. Price tag: $6.4 million.

Other projects on Leucadia's list include improvements to Leucadia Boulevard west of Interstate 5, at about $2.9 million, and North Coast Highway 101 improvements from A Street to La Costa Avenue, estimated at $2.7 million.

In varying degrees, each of these projects is affected by the city's drainage problems and uncertainty about how they might be corrected.

"My feeling is the only reason (redevelopment) is on the agenda is because of the flooding problems," Mallory said.

'They just want some polish'

Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association can support exploring all possible ways to pay for public improvements, Mallory said. But the longtime merchant seemed leery of redevelopment agencies in an interview last week.

He said he's concerned about the broad powers of eminent domain the agencies control and about the risk of losing older, unique buildings to new, generic-looking ones in the name of "redevelopment."

Assembling a redevelopment plan is a public process that takes nearly a year to complete, and any such concern can be addressed in the plan, Glover said.

An improved Leucadia should not be a mirror image of downtown Encinitas or Carlsbad, Mallory said.

"It's important to understand the people in Leucadia love Leucadia," Mallory said. "They just want some polish."

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com.

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