A new proposal could bring $300 million to North Sacramento. Here’s how
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City council proposes District 2 EIFD to fund streets, sidewalks, utilities and parks.
- Projected tax-increment revenue could generate $145M to $329M over 50 years.
- Proposal passed committee unanimously; adoption process may take 12–18 months.
All Gregory Jefferson knows is Sacramento.
He was born at the UC Davis Medical Center on Stockton Boulevard, where his mother received a birth certificate that labeled her son a “negro.” He grew up taking the bus to pick tomatoes at the then-agricultural fields near McClatchy Park. As an adult, he graduated from Sacramento City College and bought a house on the east side of town.
But Jefferson, 68, has spent most of his adult life in Del Paso Heights, a historically low-income neighborhood in Northeast Sacramento. And after three decades there, he’s convinced no other part of Sacramento has endured the same level of neglect.
“If anyone would just be honest, no other area looks like ours,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson hopes change could finally be coming to his neighborhood under a proposal unveiled this week that seeks to establish a District 2 Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, better known as an EIFD. The relatively new government tool is used by cities to fund public infrastructure in a designated geographic area without imposing increased taxes.
In this case, District 2’s growth in property tax revenue — normally meant for the city’s general fund — would be the funding source. Such a mechanism could generate between $145 million and $329 million over 50 years, according to early projections from the city.
Councilmember Roger Dickinson, who represents District 2, said the money could be used to cover a range of infrastructure needs including streets, sidewalks, utility lines, park maintenance and lighting. His district includes the Del Paso Heights, Hagginwood, Old North Sacramento and Woodlake neighborhoods.
“We’re playing catch up, and it’s, I think, only appropriate and fair to say that we’re going to dedicate investment into these basic infrastructure elements,” Dickinson said on Wednesday.
Residents living in the area, and even some leaders representing other districts, concur with Dickinson. The proposal already has the support of Council members Karina Talamantes, Caity Maple and Eric Guerra, according to a recent staff report.
At Tuesday’s Budget and Audit Committee meeting, Maple recalled her tour of District 2 when she first joined the council. Maple, who noted she also represents a “challenged district,” said she quickly realized the differences between the North Sacramento neighborhoods and other parts of the city.
“It was really clear to me that District 2 is the one district in the city that really needs the most love right now,” Maple said.
The proposal, which passed unanimously at Tuesday’s meeting, remains in its early stages of a likely long process. The adoption timeline for EIFD typically takes 12 to 18 months, according to the California Association for Local Economic Development.
Dickinson, who helped author state legislation to create EIFDs in California during his time in the Assembly, said the requirements include an analysis of the effect on the city’s general fund and an expenditure plan.
EIFDs became a tool for local governments after the state dissolved redevelopment agencies over concerns that the system diverted money from schools and subsidized developers, according to previous reporting from The Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento’s success approving use of the mechanism has been mixed thus far.
The city agreed to an EIFD for the controversial Aggie Square project near Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood in 2020. But in July, a proposed expansion of the EIFD for the Railyards — Sacramento’s 240-acre infill project — was blocked by a protest process for these types of special taxing districts.
Unlike either of those attempts, Dickinson said, the District 2 EIFD would not be tied to a “catalyst project.” He believes by establishing the EIFD first, and committing money to infrastructure, private investment might follow.
“We’re going to lead, so to speak,” Dickinson said.
Jefferson, who is the president of the Del Paso Heights Community Association, said the potential millions that could be generated from the EIFD would be the start of “catching up” to the rest of Sacramento.
“We don’t want to be better,” Jefferson said. “We just want to be the same as you.”
