Vista plans to borrow $36 million this year, and about $103.5 million over the next five years, to finance property purchases and public improvements in the Paseo Santa Fe Corridor.
The City Council voted 3-0 Tuesday to adopt a financial plan that calls for the sale of bonds to get the money. Councilman Frank Lopez recused himself from the vote because he has property in the corridor, which stretches along South Santa Fe Avenue from Monte Vista Drive in the south to Orange Avenue in the north. Councilwoman Judy Ritter was absent because of illness.
The city plans to issue $36 million in bonds right away to fund property purchases in the corridor. In the 2010-11 fiscal year, the city could issue another $33.25 million to pay for improvements such as streets and sewers. In subsequent years the city would borrow money as needed, up to $103.5 million total, to pay for additional property purchases or improvements as needed.
The city has been working on creating a destination downtown for decades, starting with the creation of the redevelopment district in 1985. According to City Council members, the bonds will allow the city to finally get the ball rolling on the Paseo Santa Fe project.
Bill Rawlings, Vista's director of redevelopment and housing, said the redevelopment agency plans to bunch parcels together, then sell them to private developers who will construct mixed-use buildings with ground-floor retail topped by offices and condos.
"This has been a long time coming," Mayor Morris Vance said Tuesday.
Since October, the city has spent about $29 million on nine property purchases, including four North County Ford parcels along West Vista Way and the former Circuit City warehouse off of Highway 78.
Rawlings said the properties purchased by the agency so far account for about 25 percent of what it intends to buy in the Paseo Santa Fe Corridor.
Tim Schaefer, a bond consultant with Magis Advisors, said the bonds were broken up into yearly loans because of the unstable economy, adding that there was no point in borrowing money to pay for infrastructure improvements if the land hadn't been assembled yet.
Councilman Bob Campbell said that would allow the city to re-evaluate its plans annually.
"You've got exit ramps built in," he said. "If we don't see a turnaround in the economy we have the ability to walk away."
Rawlings said the redevelopment agency has the capacity to pay back the bonds using tax increment funds even if private developers don't step in.
He said the agency will have to pay back between $4 million and $12 million each year, but has the capacity to pay back up to $20 million each year.
Mike Booth, a Vista resident running for City Council in the November election, questioned the City Council's priorities.
"I wish the city would work as hard on sheriff's and firefighters' (issues) as they do on redevelopment," he said. "The council should reconsider how it spends its time and how it spends its efforts."
The City Council on Tuesday also approved a $10.5 million loan to its redevelopment agency from the city's general fund to purchase property. According to city reports, the general fund's cash assets will be repaid by June 30 using the agency's tax increment funds.
In January, the city loaned the agency $5.7 million from the general fund.
The City Council also approved the construction of an access road to the Vista Community Sports Park for $2.2 million. The road, Sports Park Way, will connect to West Bobier Drive.
Contact staff writer Cigi Ross at 760-901-4067.
