It's what you don't hear that is being said. The Schwab, last night, pointed out that the residents of Stonewood and Lapaix were able to stop an apartment complex and change it to condos. In a few years the owners can rent them out and it becomes an apartment complex, as Mr. Karger pointed out a few months ago, at council. Why do the people on Stonewood and Lapaix have more rights than do the people on Brentwood. I'll tell you. The DeBerry project is privately funded, as all new construction, in Grand Terrace should be.
The Senior Housing is funded by the Redevelopment Agency and The Corp. for Better Housing that calls themselves a non-profit. That is an outright untruth. Their IRS 990 forms show hundred of thousand of dollars in their fee's and commissions and not one penny to a charity, which they are registered as, with the Attorney General. The Assoc. of Calif. Assessors recently had a meeting to figure out how to deal with shell groups that pose as charities and are in fact for profit developers. There are billions of tax dollars lost on these scams. The Corp., from what I have read, fits the profile the assessors are trying to address.
Schwab said that if the City did not use the RDA money it would revert to the County. Well, there we might be able to find out where it's all going and maybe not. What the Schwab didn't say, but was saying, is that the Redevelopment Agency and the developers come before the wishes of the citizens. The last several years we have seen the objections of the voters ignored on several projects. One thing the Schwab neglected to mention was that tax revenue from Redevelopment Agency funded projects must go back to the RDA for further Redevelopment Agencies projects. It does not go into the City Treasury for school's or public services. It is a system that is designed to keep tax dollars flowing to the developers and away from the citizens that pay them. This is why the largest and most powerful lobby in the state capitol is the developers lobby. Cities that do not have Redevelopment Agencies do better in all categories than those that do. Look how it has divided our citizens and is turning them against the city government and it should. They have placed the love of money ahead of the welfare of the residents.
Another point of interest. When a project makes part of their land a park or have public access to it, the taxes are reduced on that project considerably. I know Mr. Petta loves Grand Terrace and I'm sure we are all grateful on donating the park land. I just wish he loved the wishes of his neighbors as much as he loves Grand Terrace. Grand Terrace after all, is the people that moved here for a life style that should not be taken from them by an uncaring government. I truly hope Mr. Petta gets a nice write off on that land and donates it to a good cause.
Now, Council woman Garcia suggested community meeting with the different groups in the city with the G.T. Partners. I do hope they include the residents that live in the project area. We all know how important the input of the citizens is to the city on it's projects. If anyone gets the invitation they'll send out, get it to this website so the rest of us will know. Is Target considered a big box store? The G.T. Partners have them as a possible for the project. If Mrs. Ferre would have been there she could have reiterated her promise of no big box stores for Grand Terrace.
Lest we forget, the gentleman from Grand Terrace Partners told the council of the many different ways to finance the moving of the Barton Rd. off ramp so the project would not have to wait till the State does it. One of which was tax allocation bonds to the State. Oh goody another way to cheat us out of services that we pay taxes for and do not get. But the redevelopment agency is doing just fine. Where the hell is Ralph Megna now. He made hundred of thousands with the blessing of Schwab and the council on a bunk idea. Koontz company, Nolte Engineering, made money from this boondoggle also. Not much of a testament to their work if they can't see that a project is not feasible and encourage it anyway without a market study.
At least the G.T. Partners are professionals and do their homework before coming in with a plan that they believe will work and have experience with. How about giving us back some of our money Ralphy, don't you guarantee your work? Does the Schwab still want to say the OAC was brought to the city by him. That it was his idea. He sure has not brought that subject up again. He wants to be responsible for everything and takes responsibility for nothing. We still are waiting for the Commerce and Michigan real estate deal to be brought out. Did the city buy it when they said they were not going to buy any more land for the OAC. I'm weary of the lies. It's just their way of doing business with the citizens.
by DuelyNoted.
