Almost half the city will receive a face-lift over the next five
years thanks to a Redevelopment Agency (RDA) plan to eliminate
blight.
Hollister – Almost half the city will receive a face-lift over the next five years thanks to a Redevelopment Agency (RDA) plan to eliminate blight.
The “implementation plan,” which all state RDAs are required by law to compile every five years, will focus on blighted areas of the city determined in 1983, according to Bryan Briggs of the Hollister RDA. Although some criteria have changed since then, the currently outlined blighted area in Hollister was based on the numbers of dilapidated buildings and vacant lots, and the median income of area residents in 1983, he said. Pockets of the blighted area are spread all across the city, and account for more than 49 percent of Hollister, according to Briggs.
The City Council unanimously approved the RDA’s implementation plan at last night’s council meeting.
With the newly-approved plan, the RDA has laid out broad goals and specific projects to help eliminate blight by increasing property values, Briggs said.
“This plan is going to be very important because it’s going to spell out the next five years of RDA activity,” he said.
Goals listed in the plan include stabilizing and diversifying the local economy, supporting affordable housing and revitalizing the struggling downtown. Among specific projects will be graffiti removal programs, assistance in the development of a YMCA, the expansion and rehabilitation of the low-income Palm Court apartments and the establishment of a program to help first-time home-buyers with their down payments.
RDA projects to eliminate blight have always been funded with tax increment revenue, according to the implementation plan. Revenue is determined based on how much property values in the area have gone up since their designation as blighted; in this case 1983.
Since then, the Hollister RDA has put $31 million into project area improvements, resulting in a 54 percent property value increase, according to the report.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
