Technical Assistance Made Possible through the BOOST Pilot Program was Funded by the State Legislature & Designed to Help Local Governments Address California’s Climate Change & Equity Goals
The Institute for Local Government (ILG) is excited to announce that three cities participating in its BOOST Pilot Program have been awarded nearly $12 million in Cap-and-Trade funds from the California Strategic Growth Council to help meet California’s statewide climate change and equity goals.
The BOOST Pilot Program, which is administered by ILG, is designed to help local governments work collaboratively to address California’s climate change and equity goals. As part of the program, ILG has been able to support participating cities and regions with capacity building and technical assistance support in the form of grant application assistance and a number of other activities related to climate action and sustainability.
The cities of Arcata, Ventura and San Diego have participated in the BOOST pilot program since its launch in 2019 and were recently notified of their successful applications.
The City of Arcata partnered with the Yurok Indian Housing Authority on the Arcata 30th Street Commons Project, which received the first Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) grant awarded to a California Native American Tribe. The $11.4 million grant will allow the city to fund 36 units of affordable housing, several bike lanes, 1,000 feet of safe accessible walkways, a one-mile active transportation multi-use trail, and a pedestrian bridge that will connect Tribal members and City of Arcata residents to surrounding neighborhoods and amenities including the city’s closest grocery store.
The City of Ventura was selected to receive a Proposition 84 Wildfire Resiliency and Recovery Planning Grant of nearly $200,000. The city recently experienced a wildfire threat from the Thomas Fire, which caused more than $2.2 billion in damage. The Prop. 84 grant will ensure the city is better equipped to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, and more capable of addressing the increasing wildfire threats brought on by climate change. Ventura will use the funding to create a Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) plan that the city will develop in conjunction with its General Plan Update.
The City of San Diego partnered with the Environmental Health Coalition which received a $200,000 Transformative Climate Communities Planning Grant. This funding will support a collaborative effort to conduct community engagement and planning for the Barrio Logan and Logan Heights neighborhoods. Engagement efforts will focus on affordable housing, urban greening and climate-resilience education through local cultural centers.
“These successful grant applications exemplify regional collaboration and engagement, which is exactly what the BOOST pilot program is designed for,” said Erica L. Manuel, CEO and Executive Director of the Institute for Local Government. “Over the last 18 months we have been working closely with our BOOST cities to define their goals, build capacity, and foster collaboration. The last piece of the puzzle was to find funding sources to meet those goals. This grant funding does just that and will bring critically-needed resources to build more affordable, resilient and equitable communities throughout California.”
The goal of the BOOST Pilot Program is to help local governments advance their climate and equity goals by building capacity, developing equitable plans, identifying meaningful projects, and securing adequate funding to create a place where all Californians have access to clean air and water, clean transportation, affordable housing, and economic opportunity. The BOOST Pilot Program is funded by the Strategic Growth Council through a $1 million appropriation by the California Legislature in the Budget Act of 2018 (SB 856) from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is administered through California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health outcomes, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
About the Institute for Local Government
The Institute for Local Government (ILG) is the non-profit training and education affiliate of the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties and the California Special Districts Association, which represent 1000s of local agencies across the state. ILG helps local elected officials and staff navigate the constantly changing landscape of their roles by offering training, technical assistance, written resources and facilitation services specifically designed for local agencies. From leadership to public engagement to housing and workforce, ILG helps local government leaders with a wide range of complex issues. Visit www.ca-ilg.org to find out more.
About the BOOST Program
The BOOST Program is a partnership between the Institute for Local Government and the California Strategic Growth Council (SCG) to help local governments across the state address climate change and equity goals. The BOOST Pilot Program helps communities: Build awareness of funding opportunities to address climate action; Organize projects to be best positioned to meet goals; Optimize existing resources and build more capacity; Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders and identify new opportunities for regional engagement and collaboration; and Transform their approach to addressing climate action. Find out more at www.ca-ilg.org/BOOST.