Response to Grand Jury Report: Requiem for Redevelopment

Informational Responses to Individual Findings and Recommendations:

Finding 7:  County of Santa Barbara (Isla Vista): over the past 11 years spent $44.1 million; received $39.0 million in Tax Increment; has $17 million in outstanding long-term debt and obligations.

Finding 8:  Detailed data are not available on the amount of money spent on individual projects, the recipients of this money, or how these projects have contributed to eliminating blight.

Recommendation 1:  That all successor agencies provide on their websites the following for projects funded over the past 10 years, including projects that have been funded, but not completed:

  1. List of all projects funding (completed or not) and the designated blight they eliminated.
  2. The amounts spent (or to be spent) on each individual project.
  3. The names and locations of recipients of over $25,000 associated with each project.
  4. Administrative costs and professional services associated with each project.
  5. Amounts of principal and interest payments associated with each project.

Recommendation 2a:  That all successor agencies provide on their websites their plans for defining and eliminating blight in the absence of RDAs.

  • This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not feasible. See the above Board of Supervisors response letter to the Grand Jury for a more detailed response.

Recommendation 2b:  That all successor agencies provide on their websites their plans for providing low-income and moderate-income housing in the absence of RDAs.

Recommendation 3:  That all successor agencies provide on their websites debt retirement schedules.