It is premature and unproductive to entertain a public vote on a parking deal financing a new Sacramento arena.
City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, so far publicly supported only by Councilman Darrell Fong, wants an advisory measure on the June 5 ballot.
The council is scheduled to discuss her proposal on Tuesday, and has until its Feb. 21 meeting to put it on the ballot.
Yes, a long-term lease of city-owned parking downtown is essential to making the arena's financing work. And yes, the council ought to be very careful before it considers tying up a city asset for 50 years and about replacing the $9 million a year the parking operation pumps into the general fund.
But we don't even know what a proposed deal looks like yet. The results of a vague ballot question wouldn't be very helpful.
And since it would be purely advisory, the council would make the final decision anyway. If residents want their voices heard on the parking deal, they can speak to council members.
That's how representative democracy works.
The timing of a referendum appears to be impractical as well.
While Sheedy is correct that council members wouldn't vote on a formal parking contract until later this year, perhaps after the June election, the city faces a March 1 deadline from the NBA to have an arena financing plan. Before then, city officials hope to have the basic outlines of a deal with the NBA, Kings and a private arena operator. The city's contribution toward the $387 million project hinges on the parking lease.
Once there is an agreed-to "offer sheet," would the council back out? Not likely. If it did, the arena deal would be dead and the Kings would almost certainly be long gone.
Just having a ballot question out there would hurt the city by discouraging parking companies from bidding. So far, city officials are encouraged that 25 private parking operators, including most of the nation's largest, have indicated they may be interested.
This project is important to the city. Council members have to get this decision right. The push for a public vote is a distraction.
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