PEI is California’s leading provider of redevelopment services to the education community. PEI consultants have been involved in a majority of all redevelopment plans or amendments approved in the State of California since 1989, on behalf of over 225 local school districts, community college districts, and county offices of education. AB 1290—the Community Redevelopment Law Reform Act of 1993—went into effect on January 1, 1994. While AB 1290 protects existing alleviation agreements for redevelopment plans approved in prior years, AB 1290 changes the form, amount, and process for school district participation in future redevelopment projects.
For new redevelopment plans and amendments, AB 1290 replaces alleviation agreements with statutory payments from redevelopment agencies (based on a complex set of formulas), in combination with facilities agreements. Each school and college district is responsible for enforcing RDA compliance with these payments, which may be reduced or eliminated through faulty implementation or subordination. While AB 1290 establishes school district entitlement to statutory payments, the amount of such payments a district actually receives will depend on statutory interpretation, computer modeling of complex payment formulas, and the nature of subordination provisions agreed to by the district. These and other important issues involving implementation of AB 1290, along with facilities agreements, must still be negotiated.
In addition to AB 1290, two new redevelopment entitlements were created in 2001, pursuant to the Santa Ana decision (involving so-called “2 percent” payments) and to SB 211 (involving new AB 1290 payments). PEI played a major role in obtaining both of these entitlements for K-14 districts. PEI consultants have an unparalleled record of success in maximizing the benefits of redevelopment for our school clients. Our experience and expertise allow PEI consultants to pursue all possible avenues for generating and effectively utilizing redevelopment revenues for needed school facilities.
PEI offers specialized audit services to ensure RDA compliance with statutory payment formulas as well as existing alleviation agreements. These services require specialized expertise in property tax collection and redevelopment not otherwise available to school district administrators. PEI consultants have consistently identified and collected past RDA underpayments, providing school districts with millions of dollars in additional revenues over the life of the redevelopment plan. PEI also provides future payment projections for existing agreements and statutory payments.