TIF TALK! UPDATES

OZ 2.0: Are Your Tracts In?

The Opportunity Zone 2.0 local authority recommendation process is now open.

The Opportunity Zone 2.0 map is being drawn, and cities, counties, and other eligible entities can nominate their preferred tracts to put forward the most competitive application possible - but the door is closing fast. The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is taking recommendations from cities and counties through its OZ 2.0 Local Authority Recommendation Form.

The Hard Stop: Forms are due by 11:59 p.m. on July 25, 2026.

Here's Why it Matters: Once local recommendations are in, GO-Biz finalizes California's nominations to the U.S. Treasury. The U.S Treasury certifies the new map, which takes effect January 1, 2027, and locks it in for 10 years. A tract that doesn't get recommended will have to wait until the next round -in 2036- for another shot.

OZ 2.0 Key Dates

👉 July 25, 2026 — Public Agency OZ 2.0 forms due to GO-Biz

👉 July 29, 2026 — California finalizes its recommendations

👉 September 29, 2026 — Governor's nominations due to the U.S. Treasury (close of the California process)

👉 January 1, 2027 — New OZ 2.0 map and program take effect

[Q&A] What the State is Actually Asking?


Q: Does our existing financing and investment matter? — Yes. The application asks whether the tract already has committed public investment and whether it sits inside a TIF district (EIFD, CRIA, or CRD), formed, in process, or under consideration within six months. A governing-body action (proclamation, record of action, or resolution) could strengthen your case.

Q: How much does housing and RHNA compliance factor in? — Significantly. The State asks whether the tract includes a site in an HCD-approved Housing Element or otherwise supports RHNA goals. If OZ eligible tracts overlap housing sites, it could strengthen your application.

Q: What makes a tract competitive beyond eligibility? — Readiness and strategic fit: shovel-ready sites, alignment with California Jobs First strategic sectors, and a short narrative on how the tract attracts public and private investment.

TIF and OZs as an application approach:

As discussed above, if your TIF district is already formed and includes your eligible tracts, CONGRATS! If you’re in progress on TIF district formation with a Resolution of Intention approved by your legislative body, you’re still looking good! Short of that, you may still get some partial credit, if you’ve taken public action (e.g., resolution, proclamation, record of action) to evaluate a TIF district or make progress on potential implementation in the next 6 months.

There is still time! You have until July 25^th!

TIF BITS

What's Happening in the World of TIF?

Brought to you by the Friends of Value Capture

Potential future additions to the Value Capture Family:

Kosmont is working with several agencies to consider Resolutions of Intention in June.

• City of Pasadena EIFD — including the City's 710 Vision Plan Area, a site of potentially generational and significant regional impact.
• City of Desert Hot Springs EIFD — including the City's Downtown and freeway-oriented development opportunity sites.
• City of Malibu Disaster Recovery District (DRD) — a key potential funding tool in the City's recovery from the devastating Palisades Fire of January 2025.
• City of Cotati EIFD — including the City's Priority Development Areas (PDAs).
• City of Montebello EIFD — including the City's three key transformational corridors (Beverly, Whittier, and Washington).

The Future of TIF: TIF District Formations coming later this year (possibly)

• City of Santa Fe Springs / County of Los Angeles — TOD EIFD
• City of Artesia / County of Los Angeles — TOD EIFD
• County of Los Angeles — Unincorporated Santa Monica Mountains Disaster Recovery District (DRD)
• County of Sonoma — Unincorporated West County EIFD
• City of Scotts Valley / County of Santa Cruz / Scotts Valley Fire Protection District — EIFD
• City of Downey / County of Los Angeles — TOD EIFD 

Two Funding Tools...One Potent Combo: OZ 2.0 & TIF Districts

Opportunity Zones and Tax Increment Financing pull in the same direction from opposite ends. A TIF or EIFD district recycles the property tax growth a project generates back into the public infrastructure that makes development possible, while OZ status hands private investors a federal tax incentive to put their capital to work. One strengthens the public side of the ledger, the other the private side, and together could close financing gaps that neither tool clears alone.

That pairing also matters at the application stage. A nomination that shows a tract already sitting inside, or alongside, an established TIF or EIFD district tells the State the groundwork is real: infrastructure financing is in motion, local commitment is on the record, and that private capital may have a more compelling reason to invest.

Cities that can point to both tools working together may put forward a more credible / competitive recommendation to the Governor.

Once OZ designations take effect, the two run in tandem: TIF can help carry the infrastructure layer and infrastructure can make the site more attractive to outside investment, while OZ equity absorbs private-investment risk the district cannot.

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Reach out to Kosmont to discuss these complementary strategies.

Contact Info Found Below