City Council Ratifies Grantville Settlement

Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008 3:28 PM PDT

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The San Diego City Council Tuesday ratified a settlement agreement with the County of San Diego that allows the city to go forward with the Grantville Redevelopment Area in eastern part of the city near Interstate 8 and Mission Gorge.

City Council approved the neighborhood, situated near Interstate 8 and Mission Gorge, as a redevelopment zone in 2005. But the county filed suit, alleging that the area was not blighted, and therefore not eligible for the increased tax revenues that come along with a redevelopment designation.

At the time, the county said it would lose as much as $200 million in tax revenues as a result of the designation.

The two governments settled the suit in closed session weeks ago, said Council President Pro Tem Jim Madaffer whose district includes the Grantville area. The settlement calls for the Centre City Development Corporation to pay the county $31.6 million over 39 years to make up for lost tax revenue.

Madaffer said the resolution of the suit means that the city can put together a thoughtful development plan for the area and go forward with long-needed road repairs and flooding improvements, as wells as a new library and recreation center for Allied Gardens.

"We can now do a more comprehensive plan as opposed to piecemeal development," Madaffer said.