Property Selling Binge on the Horizon for California Cities

Larry Kosmont, CEO of Kosmont Companies, walks The Planning Report through the California Redevelopment Authority's liquidation timeline, with advice for the private sector on the State’s impending property divestment.

1 minute read

April 11, 2013, 10:00 AM PDT

By Kevin Madden


As part of the 2011 Budget Act, and in order to protect funding for core public services at the local level--schools, police, fire--the California Legislature approved the dissolution of the state’s over 400 Redevelopment Agencies. After a period of litigation, these were officially dissolved as of February 1, 2012.

The dissolution of California’s Redevelopment Agencies requires the sale of 5000-6000 agency-owned properties between late 2013 and 2015. Larry Kosmont, a former City Manager and current CEO of Kosmont Companies—a real estate, finance, and economic development advisory firm specializing in public-private partnerships—walks The Planning Report through California Redevelopment’s liquidation timeline, with advice for the private sector on the State’s impending property divestment. 

Losing Redevelopment in California has effectively made it impossible for local government to use tax increment financing as a means of infrastructure investment and fostering growth. In this way, planners and developers do not have access to a tool commonly used by their colleagues across the US. Kosmont outlines legislation that would revive tax increment financing without resurrecting the bureaucracy and deal-making that so defined Redevelopment in the eyes of Governor Jerry Brown and critics.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Looking out at trees on 4th Street in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA’s Tree Emergency Goes Beyond Vandalism

After a vandal destroyed dozens of downtown LA trees, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to replace them. Days later, she slashed the city’s tree budget.

6 hours ago - Torched

White and blue Sacramento regional transit bus with one bike on front bike rack.

Sacramento Leads Nation With Bus-Mounted Bike Lane Enforcement Cameras

The city is the first to use its bus-mounted traffic enforcement system to cite drivers who park or drive in bike lanes.

7 hours ago - Streetsblog California

View of downtown Seattle with Space Needle and mountains in background

Seattle Voters Approve Social Housing Referendum

Voters approved a corporate tax to fund the city’s housing authority despite an opposition campaign funded by Amazon and Microsoft.

April 23 - Next City