Dec 28

Dec 28 Lawsuit threatens to delay project key to Sacramento’s economic recovery

Building up business, Breaking News, Helping Sacramento work, Investing in young people, Keeping people housed

Sacramento (Tuesday, Dec. 28) Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Councilmembers Jay Schenirer and Eric Guerra Monday decried a lawsuit that threatens to derail the biggest economic investment Sacramento has received in decades. They were joined by Kevin Ferreira, Executive Director of the Sacramento-Sierra’s Building and Construction Trades Council.

Scheduled to break ground in 2021, the UC Davis Aggie Square knowledge community offers economic hope for Sacramento as it recovers from the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Centered around more than a half-million square feet of public and privately run labs, Aggie Square represents the largest infusion of well-paying jobs the city has seen in recent history.

An estimated 5,000 people will be needed to help construct new buildings and housing on the 10 acres along Stockton Boulevard and 2nd Ave. The development will create an estimated 3,500-5,000 permanent jobs, along with community spaces and classrooms for lifelong learning. More than a quarter of the jobs are not expected to require a four-year college degree.

Mayor Steinberg, Councilmember Schenirer and Councilmember Guerra have spent months negotiating with community and advocacy groups, including the group Sacramento Investment Without Displacement, to ensure that Aggie Square directly benefits the surrounding neighborhoods by providing jobs without pricing current residents out of housing. More community meetings will be held in January.

The City has committed to adopting a community benefits agreement that will spell out the neighborhood benefits the project will deliver in terms of jobs, workforce training, affordable housing and improved mobility. Read more here. UC Davis and Wexford Science + Technology, the project’s developer, are also finalizing an agreement with the Sacramento-Sierra’s Building & Construction Trades Council to make sure local residents are hired to build Aggie Square, with a focus on those from disadvantaged communities and groups.

In addition, the City has committed to creating special district in the Stockton Boulevard corridor where new property taxes could be used to build affordable housing. More than 700 housing units are already in the planning stages on the Stockton Boulevard corridor, 400 of them affordable. The City is also pursuing programs to stabilize existing residents with renter and homeowner assistance, including help with property repairs.

Despite this commitment, Sacramento Investment Without Displacement last week filed a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act challenging the UC system’s approval of Aggie Square. This lawsuit (see attached) has the potential to cause substantial delays to the project and up to $1 billion in anticipated investment.

In a joint statement (attached) Mayor Steinberg and Councilmembers Schenirer and Guerra called the lawsuit “both unfortunate and, ultimately, unproductive.”

“There is no community benefits agreement without a project,” the statement says. “There is no new inclusive economic development for the neighborhoods without a project. Five thousand union construction jobs and 3,500-5,000 ongoing jobs, many of which will be reserved for local residents, will be lost without a project.”

Kevin Ferreira, Executive Director of the Sacramento-Sierra’s Building and Construction Trades Council, called the lawsuit “the pinnacle of irresponsibility.”

“This lawsuit sends a direct message to thousands of would-be workers that it is better for them to receive unemployment checks than to have a job that pays living wages and benefits,” Ferreira said.

The three elected officials said they remain committed to negotiating a strong community benefits agreement with both UC Davis and Wexford. They said they would continue to work with community groups and residents who were not parties to the lawsuit. City officials have committed to bringing forward a community benefits agreement for City Council adoption simultaneous with approval of an enhanced infrastructure financing district, which would allow up to $30 million in increased property taxes produced by the project to help fund key infrastructure. Twenty percent of the City’s share of property taxes from the new project would be set aside to build affordable housing – an amount expected to total tens of millions of dollars.

To learn more about Aggie Square, visit the UC Davis website or the City’s portal.