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New Thinking for Shopping Center Updates There has been much discussion recently on updates for some of our shopping centers in Mission Viejo. Some arguments have been made that our centers do not need updates and are fully occupied. Time and change do affect this – over time, dating and age take a toll. All infrastructure and shopping centers in our city need updating, and it is part of the equation for a successful city. The problems are not easily solved, as some centers have multiple owners, and updates are difficult. The most important thing to remember is that these improvements have to be made without the use of redevelopment funds. Redevelopment works as a penalty to schools, as they receive a smaller portion of tax revenue. The pass-through of redevelopment penalizes schools so that owners get a break on property improvements. It is very important that our council gets good advice from our citizenry on ways to improve our centers without the use of redevelopment funds. Our citizens have excellent ideas, and it will take creative thinking and divergent ideas to process this problem-solving equation. I trust our citizens to come up with the best solutions. I hope our Planning Commission will come up with ideas for the council to consider on ways to improve our centers, bring them up to date and make our city a better place to live and work for all our citizens. We also have to remember that our city was built on the Master Plan of the Mission Viejo Company. Many of our citizens oppose mixed-use and residential overlays in commercial zones. Residents would not support residential zoning in commercial areas as an alternative for Mission Viejo. James Edward Woodin |
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