Recently in Redevelopment Category

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - The price of figuring out what the city is and should be is something that can be measured in countless hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Even before the 2000s began, consultant after consultant has examined San Bernardino and tried to figure out how to make the city thrive again.

Maybe a new lake is the answer, some said.

Or a big building, said others. Something impressive that can be seen from the freeway.

Entertainment could be the answer.

The city needs young professionals to live downtown. It needs seniors.

A new civic center. More mass transit. Less retail.

Does San Bernardino still want a lake?

Such is a condensed version of the talks that have played forth in City Hall, community meetings and letters to the editor during the past several years.

The 2000s began with the city's politicos and government watchers debating the merits of the Vision 2020 plan, more commonly known as Lakes and Streams. The idea, born out of water officials' desire for new reservoirs, required the construction of lakes north and south of downtown. Ideally, the lakes would have provided opportunity for waterfront development in San Bernardino.

A costly plan and with the potential to be tremendously expensive in the execution, the Lakes and Streams idea went from being the next big thing to something that's rarely mentioned in San Bernardino's political discourse.

The Vision 2020 report came out in 1999, and Lakes and Streams talk dried up around 2006. The next year, an expert panel from the Urban Land Institute visited the city and produced a report on how to revitalize downtown. The ULI report was followed with yet another consulting process to create what has been introduced as the Downtown Core Vision/Action Plan.

There have been more consultants over the years who have handled other tasks than reinventing the city's core. In 2008, San Bernardino hired a pollster who discovered that residents did not want to pay higher taxes to help the city climb out of its budget deficit.

Consultants' ideas have produced page after page after page of analysis and cost dollar after dollar of taxpayer money.

But have they produced results? The city's mayor, Pat Morris, is optimistic.

Ask the mayor, who is about to start his second term in March, and he'll respond that San Bernardino is on the cusp of reinventing itself with a new cinema, courthouse and transportation center. Stick around, and the San Bernardino of the next few years could be much different from the San Bernardino of the past 10.

"Despite the tragic turndown in the economy, we're taking advantage of our opportunity to build infrastructure in our downtown vision plan," Morris said.

But the head of San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce thinks City Hall has spent too much money and time on ideas when officials could have listened to those who do business in town.

"I think the best consultants are always people who are invested in the community," chamber executive director Judi Penman said, adding her opinion that the big plans have yet to produce visible improvements.

"Have you driven down E Street in daylight lately? It's looked like this for 10 years," she said.

Seventh Ward City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack was similarly skeptical. She guessed the city has spent $4 to $5 million on various consultants since she joined the council in 2004 2000.

McCammack referred to all consultants hired to advise City Hall, not only the ones called upon reinvent the city's core. She criticized the hiring of consultants as a problem that can stem from a "lack of expertise" among high-level city employees or officials being "afraid to take responsibility." She said management-level leaders with salaries in the six figures should be smart enough to come up with their own plans.

But Emil Marzullo, interim director of the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, said the need for advisers is rooted in planners' need for time, not a lack of brains.

"The bottom line is that consultants don't have a daily workload of processing projects and other work," he said. "They don't receive fees in Development Services for advance planning."

Marzullo expects the city's latest urban design advisors to release the final draft of their recommendations in about one month. The firm, EDAW, which now operates under the banner of a consultancy conglomerate called AECOM, is the latest team hired to unravel the enigma of San Bernardino.

The Economic Development Agency has spent more than $350,000 on the EDAW study, Marzullo said. San Bernardino spent about $30,000 on the previous ULI report, and county government also spent money on that study.

One of EDAW's signature recommendations thus far is a new civic center complex. The idea has some support within the Morris administration and county government. The idea is to replace the underperforming Carousel Mall with a big, impressive tower that would announce to travelers on the 215 Freeway and points beyond that San Bernardino is an urban center, not just another municipal incorporation. The building is conceived as an edifice that would house city and county offices.

This idea conflict's with the Urban Land Institute's opinion. That organization's report advocated for the mall's replacement but called for mix of residential and commercial development on that site.

Sharing the view that a prominent landmark would be a boon for downtown, the ULI report recommended that county government build a new campus on its present Arrowhead Avenue site. That location is a few blocks east of Carousel Mall, which is adjacent to the 215 Freeway.

Tim Prince, an attorney and board member for the San Bernardino Downtown Business Association has lately voiced his opinion that the mall site is too valuable for government offices and that the ULI report had the better idea. The Chamber of Commerce has yet to weigh in, but Penman said the chamber's board will consider a resolution on the subject on Thursday.

Penman did not reveal if that resolution will be in support or opposition to a new civic center.

Although the proposed civic center would by definition, be a government building, Marzullo says the beauty of EDAW's plans - as compared to Lakes and Streams - is that consultants are helping city planners and redevelopment officials craft a long-range plan for downtown San Bernardino that doesn't depend on big-time cash infusions from Washington, D.C.

Discussing the civic center idea, Marzullo said the concept is to hire a private company to develop the tower. Instead of owning the tower, government occupants would make lease payments, thus creating a safe investment for a developer interested in something big.

But beyond the government center idea, Marzullo said the current vision calls for a greater reliance on the market. He said Lakes and Streams would have needed upwards of $200 million from the federal government.

"I think the failure point on Lakes and Streams is that it didn't work on a private economic model," Marzullo said.

"We're not going to build every building," he added. "We're going to put things on the ground or in the ground to make land valuable."

Second Ward City Councilman Dennis Baxter, who in 2005 campaigned on a platform that included support for Lakes and Streams agrees that idea is dead.

Baxter said the likelihood that the federal government would pay for the project diminished, especially after the 2006 Congressional elections when the Democratic Party took control of Congress. That event led to Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis losing his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee.

The ULI and EDAW analyses both see potential for water features to improve the aesthetics of downtown, but past four years seem to have provided at least enough time to produce a near consensus that the grandiosity of Lakes and Streams is not the way to remake San Bernardino.

In addition to the cost, the project would have required a joint powers agency composed of the city, the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and the Inland Valley Development Agency to take more than 430 homes, as well as a number of businesses and six churches.

"It's immoral to just give people there walking papers and give people eminent domain because of the lake project," said Deanna Adams, owner of Victory Chapel and a prominent opponent of Lakes and Streams.

Adams is satisfied that Lakes and Streams will not happen. The ghost of that idea, however, seems to materialize in the more recent ULI and EDAW reports, which recommend less ambitious water features as a way to enhance the aesthetics of downtown.

But how dead is dead? C. Patrick Milligan, chairman of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal's board of directors, said the water district continues to need a reservoir. He said a lake could happen with about 20 years and $100 million.

"The prospect of having a lake in downtown San Bernardino is still good, but the project is being delayed now by monetary cost," Milligan said.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Nonprofits affiliated with local churches will be able to participate in redevelopment efforts following recent agreements with the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency.

Recently approved agreements with Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches and an affiliate of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship Church set the stage for the organizations to participate in the EDA's efforts to use federal dollars to respond to the foreclosure crisis.

The city had 3,799 residential foreclosures from Jan. 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009, according to the EDA.

No money changed hands in either deal, but the agreements open possibilities that the nonprofits could access federal redevelopment dollars through the EDA

The City Council will have authority to decide if the church-affiliated groups receive any of the funding when after the nonprofits decide which homes they want to buy and spruce up for future homeowners.

If the plans are approved, the nonprofits are slated to receive a negotiated fee instead of profiting from the sale of rehabilitated homes.

The homes must be sold to buyers meeting low- or moderate-income requirements.

Other developers will be called upon to the "big guns" in efforts to rehabilitate foreclosed homes, said Carey Jenkins, the EDA's housing director. Unlike other developers hired to rehabilitate foreclosed homes, the church-affiliated groups did not go through a bidding process.

The EDA's planned work with church-affiliated groups is pilot project intended to foster nonprofit developers within the city, Jenkin said.

"What we're trying to do is empower people in some of the underserved communities," Jenkins said.

The City Council approved the agreement between the EDA and Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches on Monday.

The council approved the agreement with Ecclesia's Economic & Community Development Collaboration during its Dec. 21 meeting.

"We've always had a vision in our city to get involved in the economic development side," said Rev. Joshua Beckley, Ecclesia's pastor.

Beckley also serves as a board member for the Economic & Community Development Collaboration, which is officially a separate organization from the church itself.

Ecclesia's congregation meets in eastern San Bernardino and the Ecclesia group is expected to seek foreclosed homes along Del Rosa and Highland avenues.

The Economic & Community Development Collaboration is likely to start with one or two properties, Beckley said.

The leadership of Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches also has yet to identify which homes it will seek to rehabilitate through the new program, said Rev. Raymond Turner, a board member who is pastor of Temple Missionary Baptist Church in San Bernardino.

Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches has more than 50 member congregations.
Future redevelopment projects could be funded through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

That program is also a source of funding for the planned redevelopment of eastside apartments known as the 19th and Sunrise project. The controversial project was one of the major issues of the past year's political campaigns.

Supporters, including Mayor Pat Morris, asserted the project is an opportunity to rehabilitate a crime-plagued cluster of apartments. Opponents, including City Attorney James F. Penman, maintained that federal low-income mandates will doom the project to failure.

The new agreements with the church-affiliated groups have yet to generate any similar controversy. The agreements passed the city council without any significant debate.

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An addition to the print version:

Pastors Joshua Beckley and Raymond Turner are prominent in other aspects of San Bernardino affairs.

Beckley took a lead role in organization local churches protest of the short-lived ultimatum that the council imposed on Master's Plan Church of the Nazarene following the election-season leak of a memo reporting that a sex offender had performed work on church property. The church hosts the Operation Phoenix youth center that was managed by city employee Mike Miller until his arrest on suspicion of child molestation in July 2008.

The council responded to the revelation by insisting that the church ban sex offenders from its property. City Attorney James F. Penman followed that move by sending investigators pass out notification flyers warning of a sex offender's presence.

Master's Plan pastor David Rhone said the ultimatum requiring the church to ban sex offenders or lose "rent"* paying for the youth center violated his First Amendment rights. Beckley and numerous other pastors agreed and protested the ultimatum at the next council meeting.

The council rescinded the ultimatum and apologized to Rhone's church. Penman, who was running for mayor against incumbent and eventual victor Pat Morris, dismissed the protest as a campaign tactic executed by clergy who were also Morris supporters.

At present, Turner is part of a an effort to amend the City Charter to convert Penman's job from one elected by the people to a City Council-appointed position. The proposed charter amendment would do the same to the City Treasurer's and City Clerk's jobs.

Turner said his political activities regarding the Charter proposal are separate from his roles with Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches.

"I'm a pastor, but I'm also a citizen," he said.

Morris and Penman fought hard over a redevelopment project slated to involve the demolition and rehabilitation of dozens of eastside apartments. As reported in the main article above, plans to recruit nonprofits affiliated with local churches has yet to generate any public debate approaching the arguments over the eastside plan, known as the 19th and Sunrise project.

*The city does not technically pay rent to Master's Plan Church of the Nazarene for hosting the Operation Phoenix center. The city pays a share of the church's utility bills to pay for the costs of running the center.

This statement just came in from the office of Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino:

"I write to add additional comments to the article "San Bernardino Councilwoman Alleges Bribery Attempt," that appeared in the October 30th edition of the San Bernardino Sun.

"To reiterate, I believe Esther Estrada's claims that Telacu officials attempted to bribe her are completely false, and politically motivated. I support the Telacu senior housing proposal because it is an important way to provide affordable housing to one of our most vulnerable populations - elderly, low-income seniors. The project will also help to redevelop an area of the city that has suffered from tremendous economic blight over recent years, and can be a source of steady revenue for the local economy.

"In my time in Congress, I have always had the best interest of San Bernardino at heart. Since first coming to office in 1999, I have secured over $39 million for the City of San Bernardino in appropriation funding. In fact, for fiscal year 2010, I was able to secure over $32 million in funding for the E Street Corridor, sbX bus line construction, and another $1 million for the San Bernardino Municipal Water District. I have also been effective in advocating for federal stimulus dollars to be put to use in San Bernardino. The Economic Recovery package has already brought in $17.6 million in new municipal bond funding for the City to encourage greater development, $5.4 million to hire new police officers in San Bernardino, and over $100 million to widen the I-215 freeway. The hard work of my district staff has been a critical part of my success in securing these federal dollars, and Virginia Marquez has been an effective, team player in this process.

"As I work to secure federal funding to improve the quality of life for our area, it is important to have an effective partnership with local officials - that can ensure these federal dollars are put to best use. Done effectively, this will lead to the creation of new jobs and help in the economic redevelopment of San Bernardino. It strikes me as quite odd that Councilwoman Estrada would oppose this type of economic boon to our area. I wonder if her decision to oppose the Telacu project is at all swayed by her connections to other area developers, and their fears of greater competition for housing in the Inland area?

"I will continue to work to bring federal assistance to San Bernardino, and hope that all of us - local, state, and federal officials, can partner together to create new economic growth and improve the lives of all our Inland residents."

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - City Councilwoman Esther Estrada publicly accused the developers of a senior housing complex with offering her and three other council members "whatever you want" in exchange for votes.

"We were offered a bribe," Estrada said at the close of a candidate forum this week before Home of Neighborly Service.

Jasmine Borrego, president of Telacu Residential Management, which is developing the housing project, said there are no facts to support allegations of bribery.

"This is a project that no one can say is a bad one," Borrego said.

Estrada said Thursday that she has not reported her suspicions to the District Attorney's Office because Mayor Pat Morris, a former judge, didn't seem alarmed when she previously voiced concerns during the June 1 council meeting.

Estrada is running for reelection against Virginia Marquez, a retired parole agent and part-time aide to U.S. Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino.

The contest will determine who represents San Bernardino's 1st Ward, an area that includes downtown, part of the Westside and the San Bernardino International Airport site.

Estrada said that Baca's support for Marquez is retaliation for her opposition to Telacu.

Baca donated $1,000 to Marquez's campaign on Sept. 30. He and Marquez said Estrada is wrong in claiming the congressman recruited Marquez to oust Estrada.

"I'm my own person. I make my own decisions ... he (Baca) has mentored me but he has not made it a point to run against my opponent," Marquez said.

Estrada also asserted that Baca threatened the city's federal funding over Telacu's project. She cited a Jan. 30, 2008 letter that Baca sent to the mayor.

In the letter, Baca wrote that "...in the event the City decides that this project is not within its best interests to continue, there may be issues that affect the city in receiving federal funds, such as future grants for housing of this type, or block grant funds."

Baca said the letter was not a threat, but an effort to communicate that City Hall could risk its ability to apply for federal dollars if the council killed a project after asking Uncle Sam for assistance.

Baca also said he has no reason to believe Telacu would stoop to illegalities.

"I don't think Telacu would bribe anybody. They know the law," he said.

Telacu-connected donors, as a group, are the 10th most generous supporters of Baca's campaigns for federal office, donating nearly $50,000.

Baca said he considers Telacu to be a quality organization and that he has received support from many developers during his career.

"Just because they're supporting me, it doesn't mean they are going to get something in return," Baca said.

The City Council voted June 1 to approve the senior housing project.

The plan calls for an $11.2 grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department to build and maintain a 75-unit, senior living complex near the corner of 4th and G streets.

Estrada said Telacu also attempted to finagle votes from council members Dennis Baxter, Rikke Van Johnson and Wendy McCammack.

Johnson and Baxter said they did not believe there was any bribery attempt.

"He (a Telacu employee) asked just simply if I needed any more information," Baxter said. "I never, never got the impression that I was being offered a bribe."

Only McCammack said she also suspected an attempt to suborn her vote.

"That became an obvious and a very easy 'no' vote," McCammack said.

It's just not a San Bernardino City Council meeting if the town's elected officials don't get to raise their voices.

It's also not a San Bernardino City Council meeting if there's not a quorum, but more on that later.

Monday's contretemps, or fight, as most people would say, started when Seventh Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack attempted to correct what she described as inaccuracies in a mailer sent out by Mayor Pat Morris' reelection campaign.

The mailer referred to the City Council's approval of a major redevelopment plan on the city's eastside. In July, the council voted 4-3 to approve a plan that calls for the rehabilitation of 100 apartments along Sunrise Lane and 19th Streets, which cross Arden and Guthrie avenues. In compliance with federal law, the apartments are slated to leased to low-income tenants.

The mailer in question stated that "political campaign lies" have clouded the redevelopment issue and further stated that City Attorney James F. Penman - Morris' campaign rival - "is trying to scare the voters" by caiming that housing will be built on the Arden Guthrie site.

"When I received this flyer that said there will be no housing at the Arden Guthrie site, I thought I was going crazy," McCammack said.

The Arden Guthrie site, according to the Morris camp, is a separate piece of land nearby the 19th and Sunrise area where San Bernardino officials have said they are negotiating to bring in a Home Depot. Apartments in the Arden Guthries, which earned a bad reputation well before this reporter's arrival to San Bernardino

As interpreted by McCammack, there is no real distinction between the "Arden Guthrie site" and the 19th and Sunrise area. The areas, or area, depending on who was talking, are right next to each other.

McCammack's comments angered the mayor, who quickly accused her of electioneering on behalf of Penman.

Their exchange began:

Morris: Mrs. McCammack, you are now launching into a political speech.

McCammack: You may think so.

Morris: Well, I do think so.

McCammack: This is city business.

Morris: Clearly, you are now engaged in a political speech.

McCammack: Did we or did we not approve this?

(McCammack then asks the camera to zoom in while she shows related documents.)

Morris: Mrs. McCammack, You are using a time for civic announcements -

McCammack: I want the public to not be duped.

Morris: - for a political speech on behalf of your candidate and I think that is entirely inappropriate.

McCammack: I have not mentioned any candidate.

Morris: This is an issue that is -

McCammack: You mailed out something thing that was mailed to every voter in this city, and it was incorrect, and I need to correct it.

Morris (Sharply): It is not incorrect, it is precisely correct ...

The mayor and the councilwoman representing the 7th Ward continued their argument which included McCammack asking Morris if he was "trying to cover something up" until four councilmen left the dais, depriving the meeting of a quorum.

The councilmen, Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson comprise the quartet that frequently votes with Morris on major issues.

The meeting stalled while the councilmen were absent. Morris and McCammack briefly continued their argument before the meeting went on.

Morris: Are you through, Mrs. McCammack?

McCammack: I wasn't through, but you know what? I don't want to argue with you here, because you're really making a fool out of yourself.

Morris: Thank you, very much.

Interestingly enough, Morris referred to the council's recent discussion of the propriety of political speech at the dais. Fifth Ward Councilman Chas Kelley had sought to get his colleagues to adopt a ban on speechifying from the dais but the council rejected that idea.

The 19th and Sunrise project has been covered previously on SB Now. Morris and San Bernardino EDA officials say the project will revitalize the eastside, as 144 apartments near the 100 slated for rehabilitation are set to be destroyed. Morris has called the area a third world village that needs to have the majority of its four-plexes removed in favor of single family homes and senior housing.

Penman and McCammack, whose ward includes the 19th and Sunrise area, have contended that federal low income requirements will doom the area to future inhabitation by parolees and shady characters. Their concerns have not been allayed by the plan's provisions to hire a nonprofit property manager and consolidate parcels in an attempt to prevent any future piecemeal purchases by absentee landlords.

Note: As some attendees at Monday's meeting observed, this reporter did not attend the portion of the meeting during which Morris and McCammack battled. I was able to view a recording of the meeting posted by Fourth Ward council candidate Joe Arnett on his Web site, so I need to acknowledge that.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - A major redevelopment plan slated for an eastside neighborhood has emerged as a dividing line between candidates in all four city offices up for election this year.

Project supporters say the project's reduction in overall apartment units is an opportunity to strike a blow against crime and develop higher quality housing.

Opponents respond the plan is destined for failure and object to plans to lease rehabilitated apartments to low-income tenants. They counter that available funds should be used to buy, fix and sell some of the foreclosed houses scattered across San Bernardino.

Incumbent mayor Pat Morris favors the plan. Sitting councilmen Dennis Baxter and Fred Shorett, as well as City Council hopeful Virginia Marquez, are also supporters.

"There is so much misinformation out there," said Shorett, the incumbent in the 4th Ward council race. "We are not bringing in low-income housing. We are tearing down low-income housing."

Morris' two rivals in the mayoral campaign, City Attorney James F. Penman and contractor Rick Avila, oppose the project.

"I would kill it," said Avila, who would rather use the federal dollars dedicated to the project to help people purchase houses at low interest rates.

Council challengers Jason Desjardins and Joe Arnett, - respectively vying to unseat Baxter and Shorett - are also against the redevelopment plan.

Council incumbent Esther Estrada, running against Marquez, also says the redevelopment plan is flawed.

"San Bernardino already has more than its fair share of low-income housing. Is it a campaign issue? You bet it's a campaign issue," Estrada said.

The complexes targeted for redevelopment are on 19th Street and Sunrise Lane, near land once occupied by a troubled cluster of apartments known as the "Arden Guthries."

Some residents within the project site have protested the plan on their streets and inside City Hall.

Tenants speaking against the project have said they object to their neighborhood being described as focus of blight. They have also said they would prefer more assertive code enforcement to redevelopment work that could force them to move.

The council passed the redevelopment plan with a 4-3 vote on July 20. Marquez thinks it was the right call.

"I am in full support of development and improvement to any area of the city of San Bernardino, and I support what the constituents want as their neighbors in their community," she said in a phone message.

The project would use a $2.7 million chunk of San Bernardino's $8.4 million share of federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program money to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned four-plex apartment buildings.

Morris, citing official statistics that 356 serious crimes were reported in the project area from January 2007 through March 2009, says the complexes that stand along 19th and Sunrise are in dire need of government intervention.

The project site is "four blocks of pure hell," he said. "It's third world condition out there that threatens nearby schools."

Emmerton Elementary School and Colonel Joseph C. Rodriguez Preparatory Academy are adjacent to the project area. Morris' granddaughter attends Rodriguez Preparatory.

The project does not call for construction of new apartments on land once occupied by the Arden Guthries. Morris said EDA officials are still in negotiations aimed at bringing a Home Depot store to that location.

Morris said 100 apartment units are slated to be rehabilitated while another 144 are set to be demolished.

Mary Erickson Community Housing, an Orange County-based nonprofit, was hired to acquire, rehabilitate and manage 25 of the four-plexes in the first phase of the project.

The second phase of the project calls for senior housing to be built on 12 parcels and homes on 34 parcels.

Apartments rehabilitated during the first phase of the project are to be leased to low-income tenants in order to comply with federal law.

Project supporters are counting on the nonprofit to screen out future tenants who are likely to cause problems for the neighborhood.

"I don't know any parolee that's going to come out of prison with a good credit report," said Baxter, who expects units will be leased to people recovering from foreclosure.

But in opponents' narrative, the apartments end up as homes to criminals.

Desjardins, Baxter's opponent, said in a candidate forum that the EDA is working toward "subsidized parolee housing" and Arnett is not convinced a rigid application procedure will hold up.

"I'm sure they have a screening process, but you know as well as I do that things fall through the cracks," he said.

Penman contended that low-income apartments will scare buyers from the planned houses.

"It will end up being bought by the slumlords and it will become rentals," he predicted. "There's no market for single-family homes in that close proximity to low-income apartments.

Penman said he would rather knock down all the apartments within the project area and meet Uncle Sam's low-income requirements by building senior housing.

Redevelopment officials are implementing while candidates continue to debate.

"We've made some pretty good strides over the last month and a half," said Carey Jenkins, the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency's housing and community development director.

Jenkins said the EDA is about to close a deal on one complex that is intended to be demolished, and that the nonprofit has closed on three complexes.

The relocation process for current tenants could begin in nine to 18 months.

"I really want to stress the fact that we're not going to move quickly in relocating someone from that site," Jenkins said.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Maya Cinemas chief executive Moctesuma Esparza said Tuesday that it may still be possible to show movies at a downtown cinema in time for the holiday season, despite a need to restructure a related loan application.

Esparza and Emil Marzullo, interim director of the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, both said Tuesday that Maya Cinemas will have to assume about $4.5 million in debt to remodel and reopen a downtown movie theater.

"We're prepared to do that. That's never a problem," Esparza said."

Maya Cinemas had initially proposed to accomplish the project without public financing.

Downtown San Bernardino has been without a movie theater for nearly a year. Former exhibitor CinemaStar abruptly shut its doors in September 2008 and Los Angeles-based Maya Cinemas soon emerged as the most likely successor.

The 20-screen theater is near the crossing of Fourth and E streets, adjacent to California Theatre of the Performing Arts. The remodeled cinema is set to include an IMAX screen for large-format movies.

In April, a City Council majority voted to let the EDA apply to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to borrow $9 million to finance Maya Cinemas' project.

The money would have been borrowed against San Bernardino's future allotments of Community Development Block Grants in what's called a Section 108 loan.

In May, the council voted to extend the deadline for Maya Cinemas to complete the first phase of its project to Dec. 31.

EDA officials had hoped that the loan would have been approved by mid-July.
"Every procedural delay delays construction," Marzullo said.

Marzullo said federal officials are not opposed to the cinema project. However, granting the loan request would have resulted in San Bernardino borrowing above its Section 108 limit.

San Bernardino already has $10 to $11 million in outstanding Section 108 obligations, Marzullo said.

EDA officials had planned to use about half of the requested loan to retire pre-existing debt. The new approach would have Maya take on that responsibility, but Marzullo said that deal has yet to be put into writing.

Maya Cinemas personnel are allowed to work in the theater while financial details get hammered out. Esparza said architectural, engineering and design work are ongoing.

However, Esparza said it has been discovered that some aspects of the building are not up to code. He said the time it takes to solve those problems could have a greater impact on Maya Cinema's opening date than the loan application, but his company wants to show movies by the end of December.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Maya Cinemas chief executive Moctesuma Esparza said Tuesday that it may still be possible to show movies at a downtown cinema in time for the holiday season, despite a need to restructure a related loan application.

Esparza and Emil Marzullo, interim director of the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, both said Tuesday that Maya Cinemas will have to assume about $4.5 million in debt to remodel and reopen a downtown movie theater.

"We're prepared to do that. That's never a problem," Esparza said."

Maya Cinemas had initially proposed to accomplish the project without public financing.

Downtown San Bernardino has been without a movie theater for nearly a year. Former exhibitor CinemaStar abruptly shut its doors in September 2008 and Los Angeles-based Maya Cinemas soon emerged as the most likely successor.

The 20-screen theater is near the crossing of Fourth and E streets, adjacent to California Theatre of the Performing Arts. The remodeled cinema is set to include an IMAX screen for large-format movies.

In April, a City Council majority voted to let the EDA apply to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to borrow $9 million to finance Maya Cinemas' project.

The money would have been borrowed against San Bernardino's future allotments of Community Development Block Grants in what's called a Section 108 loan.

In May, the council voted to extend the deadline for Maya Cinemas to complete the first phase of its project to Dec. 31.

EDA officials had hoped that the loan would have been approved by mid-July.
"Every procedural delay delays construction," Marzullo said.

Marzullo said federal officials are not opposed to the cinema project. However, granting the loan request would have resulted in San Bernardino borrowing above its Section 108 limit.

San Bernardino already has $10 to $11 million in outstanding Section 108 obligations, Marzullo said.

EDA officials had planned to use about half of the requested loan to retire pre-existing debt. The new approach would have Maya take on that responsibility, but Marzullo said that deal has yet to be put into writing.

Maya Cinemas personnel are allowed to work in the theater while financial details get hammered out. Esparza said architectural, engineering and design work are ongoing.

However, Esparza said it has been discovered that some aspects of the building are not up to code. He said the time it takes to solve those problems could have a greater impact on Maya Cinema's opening date than the loan application, but his company wants to show movies by the end of December.

Here is a revised version of the previous post that has been updated to include quotes and some additional information.

An ambitious and controversial plan to redevelop a cluster of eastside apartments that some officials say are home to a host of troubles got the go-ahead Monday night.

The City Council, acting in its role to oversee the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, voted 4 - 3 to OK a redevelopment plan that calls for the rehabilitation of several four-plex apartment buildings that have been foreclosed or abandoned.

Buildings that cannot be refurbished are set to be demolished and rebuilt.

Council members Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson voted for the plan. Council members Esther Estrada, Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack voted "no."

The council cast their votes after lengthy debate that included comments from about two dozen speakers, shouts from the audience, raised voices on the dais and a break to get news on the brush fire that burned during the meeting on Little Mountain.

The vote was a narrow victory for Mayor Pat Morris, who strongly favored the redevelopment plan which is set to focus on eastside apartments on Sunrise Way and 19th Street. The neighborhood in question is just southwest of the place once known as the "Arden Guthries."

The mayor called the vote said the vote was a major step in "a long and difficult battle to redeem this community."

Morris and EDA officials consider the plan a tool to bring life back to a troubled neighborhood, however, McCammack contended that the plan's immediate focus on apartments misses out on an opportunity to promote home ownership within the city.

Additionally, Estrada and Kelley said the funds could be better put to use if spread around the city.

Estrada said the EDA could spend the money to "bulldoze the crap" along a distressed stretch of Base Line while building senior housing in a place where new development may stimulate the commercial economy. She suggested E Street as an example of a place where business may benefit from such a booster shot.

The Arden Guthries, near the site of the new project, were another group of distressed apartments where redevelopment officials have already pushed the reset buttion. Several apartments that comprised the Arden Guthries have already been demolished in a previous redevelopment effort that was intended to reduce crime and clear way for commercial development along Highland Avenue.

Plans call for a Home Depot store to eventually go up in the location.

"This project is still in our plans but I don't have much to confirm beyond that besides that it is a few years out and needs to go through approvals," Home Depot spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher wrote in an email.

The new project is set to take advantage of about $8.4 million in federal dollars provided through Washngton D.C.'s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is intended to help the city deal with problems created by recent foreclosures.

But Uncle Sam's money also comes with a mandate that one-quarter of the funds be used to provide housing for low-income individuals.

The low-income requirement marked a dividing line for the issue. Although EDA housing director Carey Jenkins noted that the plan will reduce the number of apartments in the neighborhood, some of the speakers said that setting aside units for low income people amounts to an invitation to crime.

Another point of contention was the question of how shady the neighborhood really is. Jenkins showed photographs of dilapidated structures and observed that one building in the area recently burned down. He said that was the very building where he was recently quoted as saying he wouldn't be surprised if the building burnt down before it could be acquired.

However, several speakers who identified themselves as area residents objected to the characterization of their homes as a dangerous place, and that they considered the colloquial designation of the neighborhood as "Little Africa" to be an insult. Speakers also opined that the problems that do exist in their neighborhood are to blame on irresponsible landlords and lax code enforcement efforts.

Another concern for residents is whether they will be forced to leave their apartments as redevelopment moves forward.

"Where are we supposed to go?," an audience member called out after the vote.

"We're human beings just like you," was another cry.

The council's vote also follows the EDA's recommendation to work with a San Clemente-based nonprofit to acquire, fix-up and manage rehabilitated apartments for low-income tenants.

That nonprofit, San Clemente-based Mary Erickson Community Housing, promised to screen future tenants and Morris and other proponents have said the organization would provide a shield against absentee slumlords.

Susan McDevitt, Mary Erickson's executive director, acknowledged after the vote that an unspecified number of current tenants will likely have to move. She said the law requires those people to receive assistance and that it could be possible for them to return to the area if they pass tenant screenings.

McDevitt said Tuesday that residents of 32 four plexes may be relocated as part of redevelopment work. Her nonprofit will be required to provide assistance to anyone forced to find a new place to live.

"It's a very strict process. We just don't dump them out on the street," she said.

City Attorney James F. Penman - who prefaced his remarks by digging up a set of old jury instructions that identified his office as a policy-making position - said he is not confident that the nonprofit will be more successful in managing the area than other property owners that sought to run the Arden Guthries when things in that area were much worse.

Proponents of the redevelopment plan have said that if local government does not act, absentee landlords will swoop in and buy properties on the cheap. Penman said the city could respond to that problem without redevelopment by threatening to begin eminent domain proceedings.

With the council's vote on the books, McDevitt said she expects to close the first acquisition in early August.

An ambitious and controversial plan to redevelop a cluster of eastside apartments that some officials say are home to a host of troubles got the go-ahead Monday night.

The City Council, acting in its role to oversee the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, voted 4 - 3 to OK a redevelopment plan that calls for the rehabilitation of several four-plex apartment buildings that have been foreclosed or abandoned.

Council members Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson voted for the plan. Council members Esther Estrada, Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack voted "no."

The council cast their votes after lengthy debate that included comments from about two dozen speakers, shouts from the audience, raised voices on the dais and a break to get news on the brush fire that burned during the meeting on Little Mountain.

The vote was a narrow victory for Mayor Pat Morris, who strongly favored the redevelopment plan which is set to focus on eastside apartments on Sunrise Way and 19th Street. The neighborhood in question is just southwest of the place once known as the "Arden Guthries."

Morris and EDA officials consider the plan a tool to bring life back to a troubled neighborhood, however, McCammack contended that the plan's immediate focus on apartments misses out on an opportunity to promote home ownership within the city.

The Arden Guthries were another group of distressed apartments where redevelopment officials have already pushed the reset buttion. Several apartments that comprised the Arden Guthries have already been demolished in a previous redevelopment effort that was intended to reduce crime and clear way for commercial development along Highland Avenue. Plans call for a Home Depot store to eventually go up in the location.

The new project is set to take advantage of about $8.4 million in federal dollars provided through Washngton D.C.'s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is intended to help the city deal with problems created by recent foreclosures.

But Uncle Sam's money also comes with a mandate that one-quarter of the funds be used to provide housing for low-income individuals.

The low-income requirement marked a dividing line for the issue. Although EDA housing director Carey Jenkins noted that the plan will reduce the number of apartments in the neighborhood, some of the speakers said that setting aside units for low income people amounts to an invitation to crime.

Another point of contention was the question of how shady the neighborhood really is. Jenkins showed photographs of dilapidated structures and observed that one building in the area recently burned down. He said that was the very building where he was recently quoted as saying he wouldn't be surprised if the building burnt down before it could be acquired.

However, several speakers who identified themselves as area residents objected to the characterization of their homes as a dangerous place, and that they considered the colloquial designation of the neighborhood as "Little Africa" to be an insult.

Another concern for residents is whether they will be forced to leave their apartments as redevelopment moves forward.

The EDA recommended that the council approve a deal to work with a San
Clemente-based nonprofit to acquire, fix-up and manage rehabilitated apartments for low-income tenants.

That nonprofit, San Clemente-based Mary Erickson Community Housing, promised to screen future tenants and Morris and other proponents have said the organization would provide a shield against absentee slumlords.

Susan McDevitt, Mary Erickson's executive director, acknowledged after the vote that an unspecified number of current tenants will likely have to move. She said the law requires those people to receive assistance and that it could be possible for them to return to the area if they pass tenant screenings.

City Attorney James F. Penman - who prefaced his remarks by digging up a set of old jury instructions that identified his office as a policy-making position - said he is not confident that the nonprofit will be more successful in managing the area than other property owners that sought to run the Arden Guthries when things in that area were much worse.

We're planning a weekender to look on this issue in greater detail ...

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- A redevelopment plan that would include the rehabilitation of a cluster of eastside apartments is on hold after the City Attorney asked for more time to review the paperwork.

"I think we can do it in less than two weeks. We need at least one week," City Attorney James F. Penman said Monday night during a City Council meeting.

The council voted 4-3 Monday night to grant Penman's request and put the issue on hold for two weeks.

San Bernardino Economic Development Agency officials had proposed to hire a San Clemente-based nonprofit to assist in the use of a federal grant intended to help the city cope with social problems posed by foreclosed properties.

The redevelopment proposal would employ part of $8.4 million provided through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to redevelop 25 eastside lots that are currently the site four-plex apartments.

The plan also includes concepts for the future development of single-family homes and senior housing, and money could also be used to demolish properties.

Federal law requires that one quarter of the grant be spent on housing programs for people earning one-half or less of the area median income. In San Bernardino, that would mean people earning $19,000 or less per year.

Aside from his assertion that city lawyers need time to analyze technical aspects of the plan, Penman argued that low-income requirements would bring a throng of troubled individuals to the area.

"One hundred new units in that area is going to have a substantial impact on the crime rate," he said.

The EDA proposed to hire Mary Erickson Community Housing, a San Clemente-based to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned or foreclosed-upon apartment buildings.

The apartments are on East 19th Street and Sunrise Lane, southeast of the area once known as the "Arden Guthries."

Several apartments at the Arden Guthries, which had a reputation as a crime-plagued neighborhood, have been demolished in a separate redevelopment effort.

Although Penman insisted that the proposed deal was not yet ready for council approval, Tim Sabo, who serves as legal counsel for the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, said Monday that it was his opinion that the plan was ready for approval.

Interim EDA chief Emil Marzullo said if the council waits too long to approve the purchase of the properties, absentee speculators will swoop in.

"If we don't pull the trigger, someone else will," Marzullo said.