Sacramento — Streetcar Vote Fails

June 2015

The Sacramento Bee reported on June 3 that votors rejected a special taxing district to pay for the proposed streetcar line that would link Sacramento and West Sacramento. Nonetheless, advocates say they won’t give up their quest to build the downtown streetcar system.

However, supporters have no alternate plan for a new source of local funds to build the 3.3-mile, $150 million line, which would have streetcars crossing the Tower Bridge and through downtown and midtown Sacramento to 19th Street.

In the vote, downtown Sacramento residents (both owners and tenants) on June 2 rejected by a significant margin a proposal to establish a $30 million streetcar tax district to generate funds for the project. The no vote was 52% of those casting ballots rejected the plan, which required a two-thirds margin to pass.

In February an advisory vote by property owners, weighted by the size of their property, narrowly passed the two-thirds threshold, but their support was not shared by the 3,700 downtown residents who voted.

Elected and transit officials still support the line for its economic development benefits and are seeking alternate sources of the needed local funding.