Shiraz Tangri Quoted in Daily Journal Newswire
In The Press
December 30, 2011
Shiraz Tangri was quoted in an article on the Daily Journal Newswire that discussed the potential closing of California’s roughly 400 municipal redevelopments.
The State Supreme Court of California ruled December 29 on the legislature’s plan to siphon $1.7 billion from the agencies to help close the state’s budget gap. The high court upheld legislation that dissolved the agencies, but struck down a companion measure that would have allowed them to survive by paying a portion of their funds to the state.
The agencies help pay for development projects in blighted areas, and advocates claim the work supports more than 300,000 jobs and annually creates $2 billion in state and local tax revenue. Redevelopment groups challenged both legislative measures on the grounds they violated a 2010 initiative that bars the state from tapping into local redevelopment funds.
Some observers questioned whether challenging the measures was a mistake, given the dire consequences at stake—others see the ruling as an opportunity for state lawmakers to step in and save redevelopment.
“I think there’s an understanding that the legislature may try to come in and fix the situation that it now finds itself in,” Tangri said. “Lawmakers will have to walk the line that the court is trying to draw here.”
“The possibility of legislative action combined with the blurry guidance on the wind-down process would only complicate planned projects designed to strengthen the economy,” he explained. “To me, overall, the biggest picture impact is the continued uncertainty for developers.”
“These last few years have just been one knock after another.”