Fight to Build Livermore Regional Theater Heads to Court

People who are still hoping to make the Livermore regional theater a reality are now bringing the fight to court, the Bay Area News Group reported.

The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center filed suit against the state's Department of Finance in January, saying agreements to fund the project with redevelopment money were made before the state decided to abolish redevelopment agencies.

President of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center Len Alexander told the Times:

In our view, this was a pre-existing obligation way before the state decided to do away with RDAs...Since the appeal process is over, we have no choice but to sue.

The state's Department of Finance has denied the request for the funds needed to build the theater. Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer told the Times:

The reason for not approving the item, in a nutshell, is that while the city indicated they were willing to undertake the responsibilities of the former redevelopment agencies, the powers and duties of the former RDAs that were involved do not transfer over to the city.

The theater, which would have 2,000 seats and be located downtown if built, was going to receive two-thirds of its $184 million in funding from the redevelopment agency, through tax increments it expected to receive over 30 years.

Similar cases have have been successfully argued in court, a California League of Cities lawyer told the Times.

The Department of Finance has until March 11 to respond to the suit and a decision is expected to take six to eight months.

Do you think the theater will eventually be built? Are you hoping it will be built? Tell us in the comments section.