Thank you for explainig the details concerning governor Brown's need for obtaining more revenue for the State to spend. Question: could the City of Menlo Park immediately commit the funds they have in their Re Development Account to a projects/s such as affordable housing that may be proposed in the downtown specific plan?

To answer Chuck's question - the downtown area is not within the City's RDA, so its funds can't be spent there. Only 20% of RDA tax revenue is allocated (must be allocated) to housing projects.

Was there any information on what improvements the RDA is actually funding today and in the forseeable future ? The FAQ on the city site says that the plan that ended in 2009 was focused on items below.

The City of Menlo Park adopted the initial RDA, called the Las Pulgas Community Development Plan (RDA), for the Belle Haven area and nearby commercial district in 1981. Since 2001, over $31 million worth of capital projects have been completed in the area, plus roughly $1,000,000 annually of support to ongoing programs. Projects completed through the RDA funding include: the Gateway Apartments, the Belle Haven Child Development Center, Ivy Drive plaza,
Willow Corners development, Belle Haven Branch library, Onetta Harris Community Center and Senior Center, various road and streetscape improvements, Hamilton Park housing and other
area housing, and more.

I support Gov. Brown's effort to shut down the Redevelopment Agencies. School Districts should also support his efforts to restore property taxes diminished by actions of these ill-founded agencies.

RDA's are a blight on the political landscape.

San Jose is the most obvious proof that RDAs are inept, other examples exist. I think it is a waste of money to keep ours open; just close it. Anything you want done in the RD district can be done better with market participants because they work harder at maximizing value.

I agree with the two posters above and support Governer Brown's efforts to end RDAs. They have been abused in too many instances. While the RDA we have did create much good in Belle Haven, without sustained oversight and input from the community the funds will not be used properly... after all, if the point of the RDA is to remove blight and after several decades and millions of dollars the job still needs to be done, then maybe some other approach needs to be tried. In the meantime, our schools need funds and should not be short-changed due to RDAs.