In 2011, while California was experiencing budget issues, Governor Jerry Brown killed redevelopment agencies. Now, there’s a newly proposed bill that would bring a version of these agencies back to life.
Redevelopment agencies had been around since the 1940s and their function was to invest into communities deemed “blighted.” The idea was that investment boosted property values and the subsequent tax profit would go back to the redevelopment agency, rather than into the state or county.