TITLE
Recommendation to request Climate Action and Environmental Committee to work with appropriate City staff, the Infrastructure Funding Alliance, Southern California Edison, labor organizations, and other stakeholders to be identified to better understand the potential regional and local impacts of the proposed “Freedom Villages” project and consider the formation of an Enhanced Infrastructure Finance District, and forward recommendations to the Ports, Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee; and
Request Ports, Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee to review the recommendations of the Climate Action and Environmental Committee, working with appropriate City staff, the Infrastructure Funding Alliance, Southern California Edison, labor organizations, and other stakeholders to be identified, and forward recommendations to the City Council.
DISCUSSION
The Infrastructure Funding Alliance approached Harbor staff and City Council offices in 2021 regarding a Zero-Emissions freight corridor project white paper, originally prepared for Edison International, that would reduce truck trips into the Port complex and provide a significant, grid-level electricity storage element to help with regional power grid resiliency. Harbor staff were generally supportive of the idea in concept but did not at the time have the capacity nor the direction to engage further with the proposal.
Throughout 2021 and into 2022, the Infrastructure Funding Alliance has been in active communication with local elected leaders, labor unions, Harbor staff, and other regional partners about their proposal. The response from each has been generally positive. The project is proposed to be financed by the formation of an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, which is an incremental tax mechanism. Such a structure would affect both the City’s and the County’s tax base and needs to be further analyzed by staff in conjunction with County staff.
The project would implement project dev...
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