Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation Dismantled

On December 6, the Chula Vista City Council voted unanimously to dissolve the Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation.

Modeled after San Diego’s Centre City Development Corporation, it was hoped that the organization would inspire redevelopment projects in Chula Vista. However, some councilmembers expressed the opinion that the corporation had not advanced redevelopment in the city.

Councilmember Rudy Ramirez said the redevelopment agency had failed in “civic engagement,” which might have advanced the city even though the economy has faltered.

Councilmember Patricia Aguilar, who initially proposed in May of last year that staff examine the impact of dissolution, called the redevelopment organization “a noble but failed experiment.”

Mayor Cheryl Cox was among those who founded the group that preceded the Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation — the Urban Development Committee. Cox argued that the organization was not a “failed experiment”; rather, that it never really had a chance to succeed “given everything that’s swirling around.”

The council is interested in retaining the expertise that came with the corporation in an advisory capacity. The functions and organization of the advisory body will be brought before the council in the near future.

Several councilmembers felt that the Western Revitalization Plan, presented by city manager Jim Sandoval, would be an appropriate starting place for the informal advisory committee. The revitalization plan addresses problems in the redevelopment area west of I-805.

Pictured: Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox