City May Be Forced To Sell Cerrito Theater, City Manager Warns

El Cerrito may have to sell Cerrito Theater as a result of the state’s abolishing redevelopment agencies, City Manager Scott Hanin warned the City Council Monday night.

“If redevelopment agencies go away, we would be required to dispose of our property,” including Cerrito Theater, he warned at the start of the council meeting.

“The [state] Legislature has set aggressive timelines,” Hanin explained. “We have to wrap up our decisions. To wrap them up by November, we have to be done by the end of September.”

The city would have to dispose of other property as well, he added. However, he told Patch, most city-own property “is dirt,” including the Mayfair site, a new parking lot between Cutting Avenue and Knott Avenue, and the so-called Tradeway Furniture property south of City Hall.

He also told Patch the theater doesn’t have to be disposed of by a specific date.

“Obviously we will do everything we can to save it,” he said, but “we don't know what [disposing of property] means. There’s so much confusion.”

Under the new laws closing down redevelopment agencies, he reminded council members, the only way for El Cerrito to save its Redevelopment Agency would be to pay California $1.5-$1.8 million this year plus $400,000 to $500,000 per year thereafter.

Complicating the impending deadline are lawsuits by the California Redevelopment Association and League of California Cities seeking to have the laws declared unconstitutional.

“More states will take the death penalty (abandoning their Redevelopment Agencies) than they (state legislators) anticipated,” Hanin predicted. “It's complicated at best, a nightmare at worst.”

The Redevelopment Agency issue is expected to dominate a council meeting next month.