Thanks to the folks at the produce market on Rainier Ave. we have recently collected about 300 more signatures of folks who oppose redevelopment in Grantville. Since many of these signatories likely are unaware that there is a movement in Grantville and Allied Gardens opposing redevelopment, it is important that these folks understand what we, the Grantville Action Group, represent.
The Grantville Action Group (GAG--”Our reaction to force-fed redevelopment”) is an independent, grassroots community organization of ordinary citizens of Allied Gardens and Grantville. We are home owners, residents, business owners, and property owners. We are also folks who live outside of Allied Gardens and Grantville who are concerned about eminent domain abuse, redevelopment abuse, the general way City government conducts its affairs, and the stranglehold the developers have on the levers of City government. Our group is comprised of over 600 community supporters; a number growing every day. They support in any way they can. We do not collect dues, but we welcome donations to support our cause.
The purpose of GAG is to stand up for the civil rights of the folks of Allied Gardens and Grantville in the face of impending redevelopment. Our mission statement is our declaration, which is available on our website, GrantvilleActionGroup.com.
We reject the City’s assertion that Grantville and portions of Allied Gardens are blighted. Legally, a redevelopment area may only exist in neighborhoods that are blighted, and redevelopment may only be used to eradicate blight. Unfortunately for the people, California law has defined down blight to include such innocuous things as irregularly shaped parcels, visible trash containers, working outdoors, and adjacent parcels of “incompatible use.” All of these examples of “blight” were once legal and were allowed at the time each of the targeted businesses were established, yet they are not legal if the City wants to establish a redevelopment area. All of these criteria are vague at best and could easily be applied to any community in San Diego.
Also unfortunately for the people, the designation of a redevelopment project area brings the power of the Redevelopment Agency to use eminent domain to remove any businesses or properties that do not conform to the redevelopment plans. Say if a developer wants four blocks in Grantville for his development, the Redevelopment Agency will give the small businesses currently occupying the land sixty days to come up with an alternative plan, or sell to the developer. This, of course, is with the proviso that if the small businesses do not comply, the Redevelopment Agency will take their properties via eminent domain and give the owners what the Agency believes the property is worth; otherwise know as “just compensation.” This is the exact scenario that culminated in the Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo decision of 2005. Owners in a neighborhood of older homes in a desirable area were trying to fend off the city of New London, CT, which wanted to redevelop their row of houses into a tourist destination in the name of economic prosperity. The Grantville Action Group believes that the government should not use eminent domain, transferring property ownership from one private party to another, in the hopes of gaining economic benefit. GAG also believes that just compensation only results from a free-market transaction, a value negotiated by a buyer and seller, without looming eminent domain.
One of the purported reasons the City seeks to redevelop Grantville is to remedy traffic congestion in the community. Their primary focus is the interchange at I-8 and Mission Gorge Road, which they would like to realign. As we all know, traffic backs up at this location at certain times of the day. Human nature being what it is, we all tend to focus on our immediate surroundings and immediate problems. What may be less apparent to commuters driving through Grantville is that traffic backs up at the same times of day all over the City. When traffic is congested in Grantville, traffic is also congested in Point Loma, Ocean Beach, and even La Jolla. The common limiting factor seems to be freeway traffic and not roadway congestion. In Grantville traffic backs up waiting to get onto the already congested freeways. The argument that Grantville needs to be redeveloped to fix traffic problems, therefore, seems to be a bit of a ruse.
Just how disingenuous is traffic congestion as a reason for Grantville redevelopment? The Redevelopment Agency’s proposed remedy is to realign and add lanes of traffic to Fairmount Avenue, turning this into the main thoroughfare from I-8 toward Santee. It is a well-known phenomenon among urban planners that anytime roads are built, or lanes of traffic are added, the traffic actually gets worse-a sort of “build it, and they will come.” Furthermore, the plans currently on the table for Grantville redevelopment are not exactly traffic neutral. The proposed plans for sub-areas A and B of the Grantville redevelopment project area call for adding enough high-density housing to accommodate 12,000 to 30,000 new residents, all of whom likely would own at least one car. First, Grantville redevelopment would make traffic worse by adding lanes of traffic, and then just to make sure, it would add tens of thousands of additional automobiles to the streets, too.
The obvious question then is why would they want to redevelop Grantville at all? The construction industry is powerful, and they like to build stuff. The City is for all practical purposes built out. Consequently, for any new building to take place, it has to happen in communities that are already built. Additionally, redevelopment is big business, benefiting those in power--lenders, lawyers, builders, and politicians, who get to remake a community to fit their “vision.” It is also job security for the Redevelopment Agency staff. The beauty of this to them is that they get to do all of this using other people’s property. It is amazing it is legal!
Even if you do not live or work in the Grantville redevelopment area, you are still getting the shaft. Redevelopment, and everyone dependent on it, is financed by “tax increment.” This is typically 67% of the property tax from a redevelopment project area, which is retained by the Redevelopment Agency to finance further development in that project area. The tax increment, however, is really a diversion of property tax away from other entities--the City, the County, and the State. The City’s general fund, for example, is to a great extent funded by property tax. The City’s general fund is used to pay for necessary services, such as police, fire, and even fixing potholes. In contrast, the Redevelopment Agency’s tax increment may not be used for anything, but to finance further construction. In the end, as redevelopment proceeds and as new buildings go up, the City will not be able to provide services. What this means for everyone is a lower level of municipal services or higher taxes-or both.
The first step in holding the line against this on-going abuse of civil rights and affront to good government is signing on to support the Grantville Action Group. The next step is to encourage more of our friends and neighbors to join us.
As you may know, the County has sued the City to stop Grantville redevelopment. The case is set to be heard in August. The worst case scenario is that the County settles the lawsuit by accepting a portion of the tax increment, or the City agrees to exclude some parcels from the redevelopment project area. Please join us in writing the County Board of Supervisors to request that they litigate Grantville to completion. If the County wins the lawsuit, it will be a great victory for us. But if this happens, the Grantville Action Group will not go away. We intend to endure as an advocacy group for Grantville and Allied Gardens, and against eminent domain abuse and redevelopment abuse anywhere.
Brian T. Peterson, DVM
President, Grantville Action Group
10433 Friars Road, Suites F & G
San Diego, CA 92120
619-282-7677
www.GrantvilleActionGroup.com