This pot, that pot, hard to keep it straight, but that’s why we pay these folks the big bucks.
Editorial: City should stick to its plan for Prop. 1C money
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sacramento has a lot riding on a City Council decision today. The decision involves millions of dollars from Proposition 1C, the state's affordable housing bond.
The city has two strong proposals with great potential for creating whole new neighborhoods in aging industrial areas. One is The Railyards, on a 244-acre site in Sacramento's old downtown railyard. The other is Township 9, on a 65-acre site between the American River and Richards Boulevard. In the first phase, each is promising to build 850 units of housing around transit – with 15 percent for lower-income households.
For the first round of Proposition 1C funding, the council should stick with its Feb. 19 decision to make The Railyards its top priority for one pot of money and Township 9 its top priority for a second pot of money.
Unfortunately, The Railyards folks are panicking unnecessarily over the city's priorities in this first round of funding. Stan Thomas of Thomas Enterprises, developer of The Railyards, has sent a letter to Mayor Heather Fargo and the City Council falsely accusing the city of weakening its commitment to The Railyards. He demands that The Railyards be the city's top priority for both pots of Proposition 1C funds. Get a grip.
The fact is, Sacramento already has made The Railyards its top priority for the first pot of money (known as the Transit Oriented Development Program). That application was submitted March 15. The state will select one signature project per region, with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments region guaranteed one project.
