2nd Hearing Set on Redevelopment Plan

Midtown residents are to face the City Council tonight in the second of three public hearings on a $74-million redevelopment plan. The final vote is expected Nov. 23.

The plan has been opposed by a number of neighborhood business owners, who contend that it represents needless government intrusion. Some also fear that increased costs associated with redevelopment would drive them out of business.

If approved, the plan would use a portion of property taxes collected in the project area through 2043 for investments in public and private properties, infrastructure and housing.

Boundaries for the redevelopment site are East Main Street and East Thompson Avenue from Ash Street to Mills Road. It also includes portions of Loma Vista and Telegraph roads.

In answer to neighbors’ objections, the city has amended its plan, to bar it from seizing properties through eminent domain. “We can make offers on property, but if people don’t want to sell, they don’t have to, said David Kleitsch, manager of economic development for the city. “We have no power to take their property or take their businesses.”

Some property owners, however, are unconvinced.

“They want to say they have no eminent domain, but the ability to acquire [property] is always there,” Ventura resident Dave Burleson said. “What is going on is real deceiving to the public.”