Aug 30

Aug 30 Mayor Steinberg offers new vision to fund affordable housing, transit and safer streets

In The News, Keeping people housed, Supporting Sacramento's health, Helping all people thrive

*Low floor light rail train manufactured by Siemens Mobiltiy Inc. for Sacramento Regional Transit.*

Sacramento (Aug. 28, 2023) Mayor Darrell Steinberg has proposed raising the sales tax county-wide by a half-cent to fund climate-friendly affordable housing projects, public transit, road repairs and safer streets with better bicycle and pedestrian access.

The Climate, Clean Transportation, and Affordable Housing Act of 2024, which would require approval from two thirds of voters county-wide, would raise an estimated $8.5 billion over 40 years, according to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

Read Full Proposal

Mayor Steinberg proposed that a third of the funding from the new measure go for new affordable housing and programs to help people stay in their homes. A third would go to high-priority transit projects such as Bus Rapid Transit on major corridors. Another third would go to road repairs and active transportation projects such as pedestrian crossings, bicycle lanes and new paved trails.

The mayor announced his proposal at his third State of the City event on Aug. 25. The event was held at ARY Place Apartments, a new affordable housing complex in midtown built by the Capitol Area Development Authority, the city-state joint powers agency that manages state-owned land and builds new housing in the blocks to the south of the Capitol, including the R Street corridor.

*ARY Place Apartments on S Street. Photo by Doug Cupid Photography*

Mayor Steinberg emphasized that his proposal is the beginning of a negotiation among elected officials and regional leaders about what a ballot measure should include. He said it was important to lay out a vision that includes affordable housing. Voters have rejected recent attempts to raise the sales tax, including Measure A in 2022.

The defeated measures did not include housing. They included transit and road repairs but also would have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build new road capacity through greenfield areas.

“It’s time to shake off the old way of thinking and look at the new possibilities,” Mayor Steinberg said. “Housing is not only our most urgent need, having infill housing on commercial corridors is in fact the main ingredient for making transit work. We will never achieve the maximum impact of our transit investments unless transit is near where people live in numbers large enough to support it.

“The public knows what’s important. This is the start of a conversation that ultimately will lead to a better approach for voters. Let the discussion and the negotiations begin.”

One of the panelists for the discussion following Mayor Steinberg’s speech was Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, who thanked the mayor for his “great, bold vision” and said she supports the concept of a measure that includes housing.

Panelists at Mayor Steinberg’s State of the City Part 3. From left to right: Dr. Luke Wood, President of Sacramento State University; Gabby Trejo, Executive Director at Sacramento Area Congregations Together; Cathy Creswell, Board President at Sacramento Housing Alliance; Steve Cohn, former Sacramento City Councilmember; Bobbie Singh-Allen, Mayor of Elk Grove.

Rich Desmond, chairman of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, also expressed support for a new approach.

“I recently met with Mayor Steinberg and other local elected leaders to discuss a future Sacramento County transportation measure that would address some of our biggest transportation-related challenges: roadway repair and maintenance, housing along transit routes, and accessible public transit,” Desmond said in a statement. “As Chair of the Sacramento Transportation Authority, I applaud Mayor Steinberg for his focus on tackling our transportation issues in a way that promotes cooperation. Although different municipalities may have different needs and priorities for funding withing these three categories, I support a construct that highlights the challenges we collectively face in Sacramento County while maintaining flexibility. I look forward to continue working with Mayor Steinberg and all my fellow elected officials on this issue.”