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GoBiz outlines California OC2 selection timeline and priorities for nominating Opportunity Zones
Summary
Brian Coleman of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development told local officials that California expects to open a portal in mid–late June for jurisdictions to recommend census tracts for Opportunity Zones 2; submissions will likely be accepted through July, evaluated in August–September, and nominations sent to the U.S. Treasury before the Sept. 28 deadline.
Brian Coleman, project financing manager with the regional economic development initiatives team at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GoBiz), told attendees of a statewide Opportunity Zones 2 webinar that California will open an online portal in mid–late June to accept formal census-tract recommendations for OC2 nominations to the U.S. Treasury.
Coleman said the portal will request the submitting jurisdiction, a lead point of contact, the census tract number and brief responses describing how a tract aligns with the state’s economic development priorities. The submission window will likely remain open through the end of July; state staff will evaluate and score recommendations in August and September and the governor’s office plans to submit final nominations to Treasury before the Sept. 28 deadline.
Why it matters: the new Opportunity Zones 2 designations will take effect Jan. 1 and remain in place for 10 years. Coleman said the state intends to prioritize tracts that advance the Jobs First regional plans and the statewide economic blueprint, attract private investment into housing that aligns with local housing needs assessments, include GoBiz-designated 'business ready' or shovel-ready sites, and show evidence of planned public investment (for example, infrastructure financing or a TIF district).
Who can recommend tracts: Coleman said formal recommendations will come from local government agencies and subdivisions — cities, counties, special districts, councils of governments and similar public agencies — and that private stakeholders (economic development organizations, community groups, developers) should coordinate with their local government partners to submit nominations through the portal.
Resources and next steps: GoBiz will post webinar recordings, FAQs and guidance materials on its OC2 web page and link to Novogradic’s interactive mapping tool. Coleman encouraged jurisdictions to begin collecting the information required for the portal and to subscribe to GoBiz newsletters for future announcements; the webinar series continues on May 26 with additional guest speakers.
