REDEVELOPMENT

The Madera Redevelopment Agency was created by the City to alleviate conditions of blight in older areas of the community. The Redevelopment Agency is able to use special legal and financial mechanisms to eliminate blight and improve economic and physical conditions in designated areas. The Project Area includes 4,207 acres and includes most of the older neighborhoods within the City limits.

The primary goal of redevelopment is to encourage private investment in the Project Area. Past programs and projects have been based upon the following principles.

• Improve the physical and economic condition of Downtown Madera
• Increase employment opportunities for area residents.
• Improve the quality of the community’s housing stock
• Improve and upgrade community infrastructure.

California state law makes available to redevelopment agencies a method of obtaining funds called “tax increment financing.” On the date the City Council approves the Redevelopment Plan, the property within the boundaries of the plan has a certain total property tax value. If this total assessed valuation increases over time, most of the taxes that are derived from this increase go to the Redevelopment Agency. These funds are called tax increment. Tax increment revenues, which are expected to be generated in upcoming years, are outlined as follows:

Currently, the amount of tax increment is not sufficient to finance the full scope of redevelopment activities and development projects. Consequently, in October 2003, the Agency issued a $19.4 million dollar bond to fund future redevelopment activities. The Agency will be issuing a $35± million bond in 2008.

Redevelopment activities have focused on the following areas:

DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION
Improving the physical and economic condition of the “central business district” have been a focal point of Agency programs and projects. Activities have included façade renovation programs, streetscape improvements and the acquisition and demolition of substandard buildings and incompatible land uses. The most effective revitalization strategy is to either remove or rehabilitate substandard or obsolete structures. This has occurred at the following locations.

COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE
The Redevelopment Agency is aggressively addressing infrastructure deficiencies in older neighborhoods throughout the City. Activities include rehabilitation of parks, installation of curb, gutter, sidewalks and streetlights, storm drainage projects and the construction of raised landscaped medians.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Agency activities continue to focus on the acquisition of irregular and under-utilized parcels to facilitate larger retail, professional office or high density residential projects. Projects such as the Crossroads Shopping Center and Sugar Pine Village Subdivision are under construction. Current projects include the South ‘E’ Street corridor, Yosemite Avenue and ‘A’ Street, Fifth Street and ‘C’ Street, and Central Avenue and Fresno River corridor.

HOUSING
Redevelopment law provides that 20% of our tax increment be set aside to increase and improve the supply of affordable housing. Through a number of public and private partnerships, the Agency has created affordable housing opportunities for hundreds of families and generated millions of dollars in private investment.

NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION
The purpose of the program is to ensure the absence of blight and nuisances and to maintain a clean environment for the citizens of our community. Specifically, the program addresses graffiti, abandoned vehicles, public nuisance and zoning violations, substandard buildings, waste tires and illegal dumping.

This information provided courtesy of the City of Madera Redevelopment Agency