How to Dissolve a Community Redevelopment Agency in California

It has only been a few short weeks since the dissolution of the Community Redevelopment Agency in Los Angeles, and the fallout from losing the organization remains unclear. Tim McOsker, a partner at Mayer Brown and one of the three appointees charged by Governor Brown to close the Los Angeles CRA, illustrates what the future holds for the redevelopment agency's existing obligations, remaining employees, and how removing a major player from the Los Angeles development arena will play out for the city.

The end of redevelopment in California has left many alarmed at the prospect of urban planning no longer playing a prominent role in local visions of the future. McOsker's interview speaks to another side of the process: how does one manage the end of a structure upon which municipalities in California became so reliant?

He notes, "The circumstances of winding down the CRA, where the legislation created a new entity and have new levels of oversight and review, is really unlike any other experience I've had. Here you don't have a well-settled body of law. AB 26 was created during a special session, very recently, with no test of many of its provisions."

Thanks to Kevin Madden