u/nowooski

Apparently El Cerrito gets to weigh in too since the parcel straddles the municipal line.

For years, the city constantly told us that building a new library was “a top community priority” as measured by their surveys*. Last week’s election results make me extremely skeptical that was ever true. A city doesn’t vote 3-1 against its top priority.

So I’m curious: if the city had $2.5m a year to fund capital projects, what, if anything, do you think should be the top priority for investment?

Note: feel free to assume either cash flowed spending or using the money to bond for $30-40m.

*The city has refused public records requests to release raw data from one of its surveys earlier this year. I’d also note that the survey design of El Cerrito’s regular surveys don’t give the impression that accurate results are the primary goal.

Short version: The California Air Resources Board yesterday voted on changes to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction fund that could effectively zero out a grant program that EC Plaza development was designed to rely on.

More context:

California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund finances a number of state programs, including the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant program.

This program is a major source of funding statewide for affordable housing projects. Securing this funding was part of the financing plan for the EC Plaza affordable housing projects.

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is large and funds a bunch of different programs, but state law puts the eligible programs in priority tiers and mandates waterfall funding. AHSC grants are tier 3, and analysis earlier this year from the state estimates that with the $2b in cuts approved by the air resources board, there would be no money left for tier 3 grant programs.