Financing the El Cajon Redevelopment Agency

What is Redevelopment?

Redevelopment is a process authorized under California law that enables local government entities such as El Cajon to revitalize deteriorated and blighted areas within their community. Redevelopment agencies develop a plan and provide the initial funding to launch revitalization of identified areas. This revitalization is intended to eliminate blight, to provide affordable housing, and to help spur economic development of the community.

El Cajon’s Redevelopment Agency was created in 1971, and since then has assisted in the development of many public and private projects. These include the construction of the East County Performing Arts Center, the Downtown Library, assistance to numerous businesses ranging from restaurants to retail stores and shopping centers to automobile dealerships, loan assistance to over 250 homeowners that allowed them purchase their first home, funding for housing rehabilitation, and construction of several hundred units of housing for seniors and other low and moderate income families and individuals.

How does the El Cajon Redevelopment Agency accomplish this?

Funding for these efforts is generated from property taxes. It is important to know that Redevelopment agencies do not levy taxes, nor do they have the ability to raise taxes. They simply receive a portion of the new property tax revenues that are generated because of the new investment. This new property tax is called the tax increment, and it is simply the difference between the property taxes after the new investment and what the property taxes were before the investment. This not only benefits the redevelopment agency, but often benefits schools, counties, water districts, and other agencies within the boundaries of the redevelopment agency.