City Council members voted unanimously June 22 to authorize Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) to hire consultants who will study the potential impact of lifting the agency’s tax increment limit. When CCDC was formed in 1992, state law set two limits on the agency: the tax increment limit, which allowed CCDC to collect up to $2.9 billion for redevelopment projects, and a time window that would close in 2033. CCDC officials estimate that the monetary cap will be reached in 2023, leaving approximately 70 projects in the city’s community plan unfunded, according to District 2 Councilman Kevin Falconer, who represents the downtown region. With the vote, CCDC will spend approximately $500,000 on a study to determine how much blight (physical and/or economic deterioration) still exists in the downtown area and whether the extent of that blight justifies lifting the limit. Council members Donna Frye, District 6, and Todd Gloria, District 3, sought assurance from CCDC representatives that a “yes” vote would not commit the council to funding any future projects without further discussion, a critical point amid speculation from the media and the community that the council intends to lift the tax increment limit in order to generate funding for a new Chargers stadium, a claim that the council members were eager to refute. Fred Maas, chair of CCDC’s board of directors, said that any specific projects would be analyzed separately from the study and that the council will have multiple opportunities after the final report is released to discuss which projects would be funded if the cap is lifted. Proponents of the study who spoke at the council meeting said that CCDC’s redevelopment efforts to date have resulted in a significantly higher quality of life for residents, but said that more work needs to be done in order to create the vibrant neighborhood that was envisioned in the community plan. Other advocates stressed the need for more affordable housing in the area and asked the council to not only authorize the study but also raise the current percentage of CCDC funds allocated to affordable housing projects from 20 percent to as much as 40 percent. Opponents said that lifting the tax increment ban will shift money away from the San Diego’s general fund at a time when the city is suffering from budget shortfalls and enacting cuts to fire, police and emergency personnel. They also expressed concern that CCDC’s redevelopment efforts unfairly benefit the downtown region at the expense of other parts of the city. With the city’s approval, representatives from CCDC will move forward with the study this month and expect to have the results ready for council review in January 2011.