One of Strong SacTown’s priorities is to End Parking Subsidies, and the Railyards development is no exception. The city is planning to borrow from future taxpayers to finance a $63 million parking garage right next to multiple rail transit stations. Tell the city: do not allow EIFD reimbursements for parking garages in the Railyards.
- In-Person: Show up at 📍 City Hall (915 I St) on 🗓️ Tuesday November 10, 2026 at ⏰5:00pm
- E-Comment: Go to https://publiccomment.cityofsacramento.gov/LA55484, click the “🗨️ Comments” tab, and leave your comment for item #29.
Re: Item 29, Approving the Proposed Expansion of the Railyards Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District and the Amended Infrastructure Financing Plan (File ID 2026-01236)
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
We support Item 29 with one amendment:
Eliminate EIFD reimbursements for parking garages.
Strong SacTown supports making the Railyards a model walkable, transit-oriented neighborhood. We welcome its new homes and support raising affordable housing’s share of revenue from 20% to 25%.
However, the EIFD plan currently allows property taxes to subsidize a 1,218-stall, full-block parking garage. This publicly financed garage will cost up to $63 million, and act as a net drain on the EIFD. Residents and businesses across the otherwise transit-oriented Railyards will pay for the garage, whether or not they use it. In 25 to 30 years, when the $245 million of new streets, parks, and utilities need major repairs, the EIFD funds diverted to this financially unproductive garage will have to be found somewhere else.
The fewer EIFD dollars spent on parking, the more are left for parks, streets, and affordable housing. That money should go to the things that can make the Railyards a livable and financially productive neighborhood.
Railyards West is a poor location for such a large garage. It is walking distance from downtown, next to Sacramento Valley Station, and near a planned light rail station. A full block of parking within a five-minute walk of multiple transit stations undermines those transit investments, and is at odds with General Plan policies to concentrate homes and jobs near transit (LUP-2.4, LUP-4.1). For people who need to drive, dynamically priced meters work best to keep spaces open on every block (M-2.17). San Francisco’s SFpark, modeled on Donald Shoup’s parking research, cut drivers’ search time 43% without building more costly parking.
Let the market decide how much parking is actually needed without burdening taxpayers to subsidize it.