Caltrans seeks public input on Senate Bill 1 planning grants guides

SACRAMENTO – Caltrans is on a fast track to launch new grant funding from Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, releasing Aug. 3 for public review and comment the final drafts of the SB 1 Sustainable Communities and Adaptation Planning Grant guides.

SB 1 will provide more than $270 million in planning grants for local communities over the next decade.

“I encourage the public and our stakeholder partners to provide their feedback to help shape how these grants will be allocated to communities around the state,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “These grants will provide much needed funding to support the efforts by local and regional agencies to improve transportation in their communities.”

These Grant Application Guides for the new SB 1 planning grant funds encompass the following:

• Transportation Planning: Caltrans will provide $25 million in annual grants for local and regional planning to support the goals and best practices cited by the California Transportation Commission in its regional transportation plan guidelines.
• Climate Change Adaptation Planning: Caltrans will provide $20 million over three years to local and regional agencies to support resilient transportation infrastructure planning for areas that are potentially vulnerable to climate change. This funding will help these agencies conduct adaptation planning in a way to ensure transportation assets are resilient in the face of climate change.

The formal 30-day comment period for the final draft guides will be open through Wednesday, Aug. 31. The draft guidelines and comment forms can be found at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grants.html.

Additionally, two workshops will be held to discuss the Grant Application Guides and provide the public and stakeholders with a final opportunity to provide feedback. Other State Agencies, including the California Air Resources Board and the California Department of Housing and Community Development, will be present to answer questions related to their areas of expertise, such as planning for housing and the proposed 2017 Climate Change Scoping Plan Update.

The workshop locations and dates are: Sacramento, Friday, Sept. 1, noon to 2 p.m., Caltrans basement board room, 1120 N Street; and Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Caltrans District 7 Building, 100 S. Main Street, Room 1037.

The Sacramento workshop will also be webcast live and will be viewable at http://ctmedia.dot.ca.gov/webcast/live/live_event.asp.

Caltrans is also partnering with these other state agencies to ensure that planning grants incorporate strategies to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction target goals of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. This much needed funding will support planning that aims to improve the environment while building communities anchored by a stable economy.

Grant applicants are encouraged to begin considering possible applications based on these drafts. More details about the workshops, the grants and applications can be found at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grants.html.