Carson : $750,000 City Loan OKd for Auto Dealership

Carson officials have decided to direct $750,000 from the city’s general fund into a car dealership expansion project.

Using the provisions of California redevelopment law to help support the expansion plan, the Carson Redevelopment Agency agreed to loan $750,000 plus interest for 10 years to Don Kott Ford and Alpha Omega Development Corp. The Redevelopment Agency is composed of City Council members.

City officials transferred general fund money budgeted for unexpected costs in employee benefits and city insurance to a redevelopment agency account that, under state law, is authorized to provide such financial support.

Redevelopment law allows cities to subsidize developments in blighted neighborhoods where such projects would not have occurred without assistance. City officials have said that because the expansion project will involve almost $600,000 in new construction--which they consider a major improvement to the property--it may legally be considered a redevelopment project.

The project’s proponents plan to build two new car dealerships on the site of Carson’s Dean Corbett Chrysler, which is being vacated in May. Proponents expect that the new facilities will generate about $400,000 a year in city tax revenue.

The agency voted 3 to 0 to support the project. Members Sylvia Muise and Thomas Mills abstained from the vote because they said they objected to the source of city funding.