Camarillo City Council
AGENDA REPORT
Date: July 8, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Greg Ramirez, City Manager
Submitted by: Carmen Nichols, Assistant City Manager
Subject: Resolution Supporting the City’s Application for Opportunity Zone
2.0 Nomination
BACKGROUND
The federal Opportunity Zone (OZ) Program was established under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage the reinvestment of capital gains into economically distressed communities. The program provides preferential federal tax treatment for capital gains invested in qualified projects located within designated low-income census tracts. Eligible investments may include real estate construction, rehabilitation of vacant or underutilized properties, equity investments in operating businesses, infrastructure, and other qualifying projects that support long-term economic growth and community revitalization.
In 2025, the federal program was made permanent and expanded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The next round of federal designations, commonly referred to as Opportunity Zones 2.0, will establish a new map of qualified census tracts for a ten-year period beginning January 1, 2027.
California is managing its local recommendation process through the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), in coordination with the California Department of Finance. Local jurisdictions may recommend eligible census tracts through the state's Local Authority Recommendation Form. The state process is competitive because the Governor may nominate only a portion of eligible tracts for submission to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The City of Camarillo has one census tract that appears on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's official Opportunity Zones 2.0 eligible low-income community tract list. Census Tract 06111005502, locally referred to as Census Tract 55.02, is located within the incorporated City and generally includes central Camarillo neighborhoods and commercial areas along the U.S. 101 corridor and North Lewis Road. The City's adopted
Opportunity Zone 2.0 Nomination Application
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Housing Element identifies Census Tract 55.02 as one of the areas with a higher concentration of lower-income households in Camarillo.
Because GO-Biz does not require a governing body resolution, Council action is not legally required to submit a recommendation. However, a formal resolution of support will strengthen the local record, demonstrate City Council alignment, and provide a concise public policy basis for the City's recommendation during the state's competitive review and subsequent public comment process.
DISCUSSION
Staff recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution supporting the City's application for Opportunity Zone 2.0 nomination of Census Tract 06111005502 and authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to submit the Local Authority Recommendation Form and related materials.
Census Tract 06111005502 meets the federal eligibility criteria for Opportunity Zones 2.0 based on Treasury data. The tract has a poverty rate of approximately 24.0 percent, a median family income of approximately $89,055, and a median family income ratio of approximately 70.8 percent of the applicable area median family income. This compares with a citywide poverty rate of approximately 8.5 percent and demonstrates that the tract has a distinct socioeconomic profile within a generally higher-income community.
The tract is a strong local candidate because it combines demonstrated socioeconomic need with practical investment capacity. Unlike some census tracts where private capital may be difficult to deploy, Camarillo's candidate tract is located within a built urban corridor with existing infrastructure, nearby transit, civic facilities, commercial centers, and proximity to the U.S. 101 freeway. These characteristics make the tract more likely to attract qualified private investment if the designation is awarded.
The designation would also support the City's adopted housing and redevelopment objectives. Camarillo's 2021-2029 Housing Element identifies a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 1,376 units and includes the Camarillo Commons Specific Plan area in the land inventory with capacity for 487 units. Opportunity Zone designation would not approve any housing project, change zoning, or modify the City's land use authority.
However, the designation could improve the financial feasibility of future mixed-use, multifamily, workforce, and affordable housing opportunities in and near the City's central commercial corridors, including the Camarillo Commons Specific Plan area, as future planning and market conditions warrant.
This recommendation also directly supports the City Council's Community Redevelopment goal to focus on the potential incremental redevelopment of the Camarillo Commons Specific Plan area by affirmatively engaging property owners in the Plan area and identifying or evaluating incentives and market-based solutions that may facilitate redevelopment. Staff have undertaken outreach with property owners, developers, and brokers in the Camarillo Commons area to better understand actual ownership Opportunity Zone 2.0 Nomination Application
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conditions, redevelopment interest, and constraints. That outreach has consistently indicated that existing property owners' tax basis, potential capital gains exposure, and related property disposition considerations are the single largest market-based hurdle to reinvestment, sale, or repositioning of long-held properties. An Opportunity Zone 2.0 designation is uniquely aligned with this issue because the incentive is directly tied to capital gains tax treatment and long-term private investment, making it a practical tool to complement any future public financing tools, such as an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, while advancing the Council's incremental redevelopment objective.
This is particularly important because many infill and commercial corridor redevelopment projects face feasibility challenges due to high land costs, construction costs, tenant relocation, infrastructure needs, and the cost of integrating affordable or workforce housing. Opportunity Zone equity is not a substitute for City land use review or public infrastructure planning, but it can help close private financing gaps and make long-term redevelopment more viable.
The nomination also aligns with statewide and regional economic development priorities.
GO-Biz has indicated that California's evaluation will consider regional economic development objectives, including California Jobs First priorities and business-ready sites. Camarillo is located within the Uplift Central Coast California Jobs First region, which has identified aerospace, defense, advanced air mobility, innovation, workforce development, and high-quality job creation as regional priorities. In addition, the HIVE Autonomous Innovation Center and Area 805 Advanced Air Mobility Test Range at Camarillo and Oxnard Airports provide nearby regional assets that reinforce the City's ability to connect private investment, workforce development, advanced industries, and commercial corridor reinvestment.
For these reasons, the City's application should be framed as a targeted, high-impact nomination rather than a broad incentive request. The requested designation would focus on one eligible census tract where the City can demonstrate need, investment readiness, housing capacity, redevelopment opportunity, and alignment with state and regional economic development strategies.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no budget impact as a result of this action.
CEQA DETERMINATIONS
City staff has determined, in accordance with Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, that a resolution supporting the City’s application for opportunity zone 2.0 nomination is not subject to CEQA review because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the an administrative and policy advocacy action may have a significant effect on the environment. Future development Opportunity Zone 2.0 Nomination Application
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projects, if any, would remain subject to all applicable City review, discretionary approvals, and environmental review requirements.
CITY COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN FY 2025/26
This item supports the City Council’s Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives:
Objective 4.6 – Land Use, Transportation, Transit and Community Development; Develop alternate methods to move forward with housing and non-housing projects without traditional redevelopment property tax increment and evaluate financing opportunities for instituting such projects.
Objective 4.7 – Land Use, Transportation, Transit and Community Development; Focus on the potential incremental redevelopment of the Camarillo Commons Specific Plan area by affirmatively engaging property owners in the Plan area and evaluating market-based solutions for facilitating redevelopment of the Plan area.
Objective 4.10 – Land Use, Transportation, Transit and Community Development; Encourage the development of appropriate infill housing projects that include affordable housing opportunities to help address the housing crisis in our area.
RECOMMENDATION
1. Find that the action is not a project subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and alternatively exempt from CEQA review pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines; and
2. Adopt a resolution supporting the City's application for Opportunity Zone 2.0 nomination of Census Tract 06111005502; and
3. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute and submit the Local Authority Recommendation Form and take all administrative actions necessary to support the City's Opportunity Zone 2.0 nomination request.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution Supporting the City's Application for Opportunity Zone 2.0 Nomination
2. Proposed Opportunity Zone 2.0 Nomination Area Map
REFERENCE MATERIALS – AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT CITY HALL None