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Page 1 of 5 <br />Santa Ana Successor Agency Dispute on ROPS #35 & 36 (SA Venture <br />Agmnts.): <br />The ROPS includes the outstanding obligation of the Former Agency (and therefore the <br />Successor Agency) under the S.A. Venture Agreement to pay certain transportation impact fees <br />("Fees") in the event Santa Ana Venture (the third party oblige under the S.A. Venture Agreement <br />referred to in this letter as the "Developer") constructs additional retail and/or office improvements <br />pursuant to the agreement. Specifically, in the event the Successor Agency's obligation to pay the <br />Fees is triggered, the Successor Agency will be required to pay one percent (1%) of the estimated <br />cost of construction of the development for which the Fees are charged directly to the City and the <br />Developer will make a loan to the Successor Agency equal to the remaining amount of the Fees <br />("Fee Loan"). The Fee Loan is required to be paid from and is secured by a pledge of former tax <br />increment accruing from the Site (defined in the S.A. Venture Agreement). <br />Although the specific development to which the Fees and the Fee Loan relate has not yet <br />commenced, the Successor Agency's obligation to pay the Fees and to borrow and repay the Fee <br />Loan constitute one component of a broader, multifaceted contractual arrangement between the <br />Former Agency (now the Successor Agency) and the Developer. The Developer has expended <br />significant moneys and taken substantial actions in reliance on the Former Agency's/Successor <br />Agency's obligation to perform its obligations under the S.A. Venture Agreement, including payment <br />of the Fees and repayment of the Fee Loan. <br />The DOF has taken the position that "Section 34163 (b) prohibits a redevelopment agency <br />from incurring any obligations or making commitments after June 27, 2011." The DOF further <br />states, in the May 24 Letter, that the DOF believes "that commitments have not been made for the <br />$1.6 million [Fees/Fee Loan] and that this is an estimated amount for possible future projects." <br />As an initial matter, Section 34163 is not applicable to the Successor Agency. <br />Section 34163, cited by the DOF, does not mention successor agencies at all; instead, this section <br />lists actions that former redevelopment agencies were prohibited from taking during the period <br />between the passage of AB 1x 26 and February 1, 2012, the date all redevelopment agencies were <br />dissolved.' More fundamentally, the S.A. Venture Agreement and the Former Agency's obligation <br />to pay the Fees in connection with specified future development pursuant to that agreement do not <br />constitute new obligations or commitments of the Former Agency or the Successor Agency. This <br />obligation was set forth in the original Participation Agreement, executed in 1984, and was amended <br />in the Third Amendment to the Participation Agreement, executed in 1992-Long before the passage <br />of the Dissolution Act and AB 1484. <br />Even if Part 1.8 governed the obligations and authority of successor agencies, Section 34167, <br />subdivisions (d)(5) and (f) clarify the California legislature's intent that obligations such as the S.A. <br />Venture Agreement were intended to be honored in the dissolution process. Section 34167(d)(5) <br />defines "enforceable obligation" to include `[a]ny legally binding and enforceable agreement or <br />contract that is not otherwise void as violating the debt limit or public policy." Section 34167(f) <br />Specifically, Section 34163 states "Notwithstanding Part 1 (commencing with Section 33000), Part 1.5 <br />(commencing with Section 34000), Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 34050), and Part 1.7 (commencing with <br />Section 34100), or any other law, commencing on the effective date of [Part 1.8], an agency shall not have the <br />authority to, and shall not, do any of the following: ... (b) Enter into contracts with, incur obligations, or make <br />commitments to, any entity ... for any purpose...." Emphasis added. <br />SA Resolution No. 2012-007 <br />Page 15 of 24