Opinion ID: 1366362
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: History of the Redevelopment Plan

Text: The Parkway Plaza Redevelopment Project (project) was originally part of an urban redevelopment plan adopted in 1969 by the Napa City Council [2] to convert the downtown area of Napa into a modern shopping district. The plan was to be financed in substantial part by tax increment financing as authorized by article XVI, section 16 and by section 33670 which was enacted by the Legislature to implement the constitutional provision. The text of section 33670 which repeats the constitutional language is set out in the margin. [3] Following the adoption of the redevelopment plan, the Agency in 1971 entered into a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with the private redeveloper Nichandros Associates (Nichandros) for the development of the downtown shopping district. Difficulties developed between the Agency and Nichandros and their agreement was eventually terminated. Nichandros thereafter sued the Agency for damages and recorded a lis pendens on property within the redevelopment site. The Agency ultimately settled the suit by paying Nichandros nearly $400,000. The dispute between the Agency and Nichandros delayed the project for some years. Nevertheless, the record indicates the Agency was able to accomplish considerable redevelopment in the project area during the years leading up to the present dispute. This included construction of department stores and other retail shops, street and traffic improvements, brick inlays, and the like. This work was apparently funded in part by some $10 million in grants from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, the Agency also received more than $3 million of tax increment revenues between 1971 and 1981 from Auditor Marek and his predecessor in office, Robert Benning.