not just success for a few businessmen , landowners , the city — it ’ s a success that is broad-based .”
Boyd is project manager of the Stockton Blvd Plan to revitalize the corridor from Alhambra Boulevard to 65th Street , which is about 4.5 miles , includes more than 100 vacant parcels and spans about 10 neighborhoods . The city ’ s new Neighborhood Development Action Team , in the Office of Innovation & Economic Development , is spearheading the plan , which is expected to go before the Sacramento City Council in 2022 .
Cole , of Veritable Good , is a consultant for the project and is assembling a 10-member resident planning group ( participants will be paid $ 50 per meeting ). “ Stockton Boulevard has sort of emerged as this case study , or at least an opportunity , for us to explore what ( equity looks ) like ,” she says . Cole is engaging multilingual residents and getting the group up and running from the project ’ s onset , rather than “ as an afterthought ,” which she says is typically what happens .
Another related case study could be Aggie Square , a mixed-use development project by UC Davis on about 25 acres near its UC Davis Medical Center on Stockton Boulevard , which is projected to provide nearly $ 5 billion in annual economic impact and 25,000 ongoing jobs , according to the university . Phase one of construction on about 8 acres will begin next year .
The newly formed Sacramento Investment Without Displacement nonprofit is asking UC Davis to sign a community benefits agreement that will require the project to provide specific amenities or actions , including hiring local residents , using local businesses as vendors , safeguarding affordable housing and improving access to health care for Medi-Cal patients .
Kim Williams , hub director of Sacramento Building Healthy Communities , a coalition member of the nonprofit , says a legally binding contract is the best way to hold the university accountable and protect the community . The coalition wants to have the CBA in place by the end of this year .
“ I also want to make it very clear that none of us feel like this project should not happen ,” Williams says . “ We believe development and investments in our communities ( are ) vital . That ’ s what they need to thrive . But we can ’ t invest in these communities and then the folks who live there now don ’ t get the opportunity to benefit from those investments . In fact , they ’ re harmed by it because they ’ re pushed out , they ’ re displaced .”
The university would not comment specifically on a potential CBA with Sacramento Investment Without Displacement , but Robert Segar , Aggie Square planning director , did say the university and City of Sacramento are in the process of developing an agreement that will “ include more details on workforce development , employment opportunities , transportation and more .”
In terms of improving access to jobs for local residents , university representatives are “ participating in virtual job fairs ( and ) preparing to work with community-based organizations to partner on job preparation skills ,” Segar says . Additionally , the more than 5,000 construction jobs created by phase one will “ include a strong emphasis on apprenticeships and local hiring from our nearby communities where people are in greatest need . And during this construction period , the Aggie Square project will pilot new job-training programs in whole new industries we plan to attract to Sacramento , such as biomanufacturing .” UC Davis is collaborating with community colleges and industry partners on these programs .
The university ’ s partnership with the city will , Segar says , “ build new bridges to opportunity for our shared community . And the communities around us will have a formal voice in identifying priorities within their neighborhoods .” For the Stockton Boulevard and Aggie Square projects to be successful , environmental-justice activists say people of color need to be in the room where decisions are made , non-English speakers need a way to have their voices heard , and residents should be paid for their participation in various advisory
“ The framework of our inclusive economic development is : people , increasing their capacity ; the businesses , helping them thrive ; and the places , each neighborhood being good to live in . It ’ s not just success for a few businessmen , landowners , the city — it ’ s a success that is broad-based .”
ELIZABETH BOYD Senior planner , City of Sacramento
November 2020 | comstocksmag . com 43