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San Rafael council to weigh new Opportunity Zone nominations ahead of July 25 deadline
Summary
City staff will bring Opportunity Zone nominations to the July 20 council meeting for direction before the state's July 25 application deadline; councilmembers pressed for a clear report on displacement risks, tenant protections and prioritization of tracts.
San Rafael city leaders discussed whether to nominate additional census tracts for the state's Opportunity Zone application and directed staff to return to council on July 20 with a focused report on trade-offs and recommended priorities before the state's July 25 deadline.
"Opportunity zones present the notion of benefit, but also the notion of risk," said Councilmember Hill, urging staff to identify "known risks and mitigations and even unknowns" so the council can avoid decisions that later require substantial staff time or upset the community. Hill said the city's experience in the last Opportunity Zone cycle included investment that contributed to displacement pressures.
A member of the public who addressed the council said Marin County is often categorized as likely to attract capital even without Opportunity Zone designation and argued application materials should show why additional tracts need this designation rather than relying on overall-county statistics.
Staff reported the state application form went live recently and asks jurisdictions for basic administrative details (jurisdiction name and census-tract numbers) plus four in-depth questions tied to priority areas; a points-scoring rubric was referenced in the state instruction sheet but the rubric details were not yet published. "They included the instruction questions, but the points are missing from that sheet," a staff member said, noting staff will follow up as the state clarifies scoring.
Staff told the council that a local resolution is not required for the application but may be included as a supplemental link in the application if available. Given the short timeline, staff asked whether the council wanted them to place the item on the July 20 meeting in advance of the July 25 state deadline; council consensus favored returning the issue with a crisp staff report that identifies risks, mitigation options and a recommended prioritization.
Councilmembers discussed disentangling tenant protections from the state's application mechanics and stressed that local guardrails should be considered proactively. Several members suggested prioritizing the strongest four tract nominations rather than stretching to a fifth nomination due to the compressed schedule and potential competition among tracts.
Next steps: staff will prepare a written report and recommended prioritization for the July 20 council meeting so the council can decide whether to submit nominations before the state's July 25 deadline.
