Author’s Note: This ZennieReport.com post is based on and expanded from “Toward An Oakland Coliseum JPA EIFD To Finance Future Development” by Zennie Abraham, April 15, 2022, in Oakland News Online.
Oakland – Forget the Coliseum feral cat story! The Oakland Coliseum Joint Powers Authority (JPA) can establish its very own Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District to help pay for Coliseum-related development projects.
The language from Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts Resource Guide is clear. It reads as follows:
What is an “Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District” (EIFD)
On January 1, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law, SB628, “Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts” (EIFDs) which allows for a separate government entity1 to be created by a city or county within a defined area to finance infrastructure projects with community-wide benefits. EIFDs are an upgraded version of the Infrastructure Financing District (IFD). When formed through a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), an EIFD can be established without voter approval. EIFDs can finance public infrastructure projects, as well as private child care centers, affordable housing and parking facilities. While no voter approval is required to form an EIFD, a 55% affirmative vote is required for the EIFDs issuance of bonds.2 Through the establishment of a Joint Powers Authority, the EIFD accommodates more flexible institutional collaborations.
UPDATE: Public Vote No Longer Required For EIFD To Issue Bonds
As of California Assemblymember Phil Ting’s California Assembly Bill 116 (2019), a public vote of property owners in an EIFD is no longer required. Here’s the Bill’s language:
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district, with a governing body referred to as a public financing authority, to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance. Existing law requires a public financing authority to adopt an infrastructure financing plan and hold a public hearing on the plan, as specified. Existing law authorizes the public financing authority to issue bonds for these purposes upon approval by 55% of the voters voting on a proposal to issue the bonds. Existing law requires the proposal submitted to the voters by the public financing authority and the resolution for the issuance of bonds following approval by the voters to include specified information regarding the bond issuance.
This bill would instead authorize the public financing authority to issue bonds for these purposes without submitting a proposal to the voters.The bill would require the resolution to issue bonds to contain specified information related to the issuance of the bonds. The bill would also require the public financing authority to hold 3 public hearings on an enhanced infrastructure financing plan, as specified. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB116
Oakland Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Can Form Its Own EIFD: Oakland Coliseum JPA EIFD
The idea here is to form an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District of all of the property within a boarder formed by 66th Avenue, San Leandro Boulevard, 98th Avenue, and The San Leandro Channel Inlet, and including the Oakland Airport Business Park. A tax increment financing zone would be established using that EIFD boundary. Within it, not only would we capture property tax revenue for use in a planned Coliseum City Complex bond issue, but any special fees like those from stadium seat licenses, and any special surcharge that may be established.
The objective of creating this EIFD and forming the Coliseum JPA Public Financing Authority and Coliseum JPA Infrastructure Financing Plan, is to cause the creation of a flow of funds that could be applied to what development plans the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) create. The establishment of the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts will help accelerate overall project financing, and establish a basis for the payment of development project administrative costs using a small percentage of TIF revenue money.
The Coliseum JPA would have to engage the County of Alameda and the City of Oakland’s participation, as well as BART and AC Transit and EBMUD taxing agencies. Given the nature of the Coliseum property and lands that would be in the EIFD, and the BART and AC Transit operations within the EIFD, planning for the use of expected revenues to be able to catalyze BART and AC Transit program plans in the EIFD is possible.
The EIFD would be large enough to capture revenue for, and install infrastructure improvements to combat, expected future sea-level rise. Meanwhile, there would be enough revenue generated to cause the construction of extremely affordable housing in the EIDF.
The Next Step Toward A Coliseum EIDF: Resolutions To Council
The next step are two resolutions to present intent to, then establish, the Coliseum Public Financing Authority (CPFA) and for it to hire a consulting firm and secure relevant City of Oakland and County of Alameda staff to design and present the EIDF boundary, as well as work with the County of Alameda in the boundary formation process. Before the Infrastructure Financing Plan can be written, the Public Financing Authority (PFA) must be established first, by law.
The next determination is who sits on the Coliseum Public Financing Authority or CPFA.
Coliseum Public Financing Authority Should Have A Seat For OUSD Board Member
The recommendation here is that the PFA include members of BART and AC Transit Board as they represent the impacted taxing agencies, as well as the Oakland Unified School District Board, AKA OUSD, because, while the law protects OUSD from being included in the property tax give to the Public Financing Authority, what the PFA plans impacts OUSD. So, OUSD should have representation in order to assure a redevelopment plan that meets the need of the school district. Such a consideration is not prohibited by California law.
Coliseum PFA Board Composition
The Coliseum Public Financing Board should consist of its own Executive Director, The Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Executive Director as second in command, the City and County JPA elected officials, representatives of BART, AC Transit, EBMUD, and OUSD, two of the four representatives of the business community that sit on the JPA, and one seat representing a staffer or public official from the Port of Oakland, one seat representing the Oakland Airport Business Park, two seats each representing AASEG and Oakland A’s, and one seat representing team tenant organizations, one seat representing Coliseum Entertainment Service Providers, one seat representing Visit Oakland.
Why Such A Large PFA Board? To Serve As A Task Force For The Development of The Oakland Coliseum Grounds
The reason for a 19-person board is simple: to meet the representation needs caused by the scope of the project, and the need for the Oakland Coliseum task force long wished for but never created. Indeed, the original enabling legislation of the Coliseum JPA called for 20 board members. The closest organization the City of Oakland has had was the 45-board-member Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Sports Commission formed by this blogger in 1999 and for the purpose of creating Oakland’s bid to host Super Bowl XXXIX, and draw and produce sports events to be held in Oakland.
Coliseum JPA / City / County Resolution To Transfer Bond Issuance Capacity To Coliseum Public Financing Authority
Another task that should be done as part of the approval of the formation of the PFA is a resolution for the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda and the Coliseum JPA to transfer bonding capacity to the Coliseum Public Financing Authority. In this was the Coliseum PFA would have the official assurance that its bonds could be floated with the backing of the City and the County unless a specific bond language prohibits such an arrangement.
To understand the role of the PFA with respect to the City and County, refer to MOUNT SHASTA PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY SERIES 2019 REVENUE BONDS (CITY AND WW TREATMENT PLANT SOLAR PROJECT) BANK QUALIFIED.
Source: http://cdiacdocs.sto.ca.gov/2019-1853.pdf. Also $10,025,000 OAKLEY PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY 2016 LEASE REVENUE BONDS Source: http://cdiacdocs.sto.ca.gov/2016-2917.pdf .
It’s also important to note that the Coliseum PFA can’t levy taxes for a bond issue, only the City and the County can do that. That said, the Coliseum PFA is not prohibited from establishing user fees for activities within its boundaries. Remember that user fees are charges for service provided by a governmental agency to the public. Arguably, the very ownership of and to a degree operation of facilities by the Coliseum PFA would allow the creation of user fees for the public to pay, as needed.
The Coliseum EIFD Infrastructure Finance Plan – Possible Configuration
The Infrastructure Financing Plan components consist of the following:
- Map and Legal Description
- List of Facilities and Programs
- Tax Increment Revenue Projections
- Financing Plan
- Fiscal Impacts on Affected Taxing Entities
- Date District will Cease
- Replacement Housing Plan
- District Goals
- Tax Increment Limits
Source: https://caled.org/how-to-create-an-eifd/
Also, The City of Napa provides an excellent online example of how they produce an EIFD and the IFP for it.
All of those components can be assembled for an IFP in less than a month. To date, in eight years of the EIFD law that was established in 2015, the City of Oakland has not started a process to create one, and so has not written an IFP.
Beyond that, the Infrastructure Financing Plan would have two primary parts: one for a “wish list” of projects deemed of community-wide significance, and the the other for the AASEG project. The “wish list” must and will complement the AASEG by calling for needed sea-level rise fixes, small business and affordable housing subsidy programs, and street and road improvement, as well as the BART and AC Transit projects. Again, the Infrastructure Financing Plan work should not start until the PFA is approved, funded, and staffed.
Note: AB 336, which was also signed on June 28th 2021, will allow any member of the legislative body of a participating affected taxing entity who serves as a member of the PFA of an EIFD, to serve as a member of the governing body of a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) where the taxing entity is a member. This bill eliminates potential conflicts in current law against public officials holding incompatible offices. Incompatible office law generally prohibits a public officer, including an appointed or elected member of a governmental board, commission, committee, or other body, from simultaneously holding two public offices that are incompatible. AB 336 has the potential to lower transactional costs of an EIFD and may increase efficiency by clarifying the roles of board members.
In closing, establishing the Coliseum EIFD will unlock and speed up the overall Oakland Coliseum development process.