Los Angeles – The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Council on Thursday, October 5, approved allocation of $2.5 million to six projects in the Inland Empire that support increased housing production, sustainable land-use strategies and multimodal communities.
In all, $12.3 million was awarded to 22 projects across the six-county SCAG region. Funds come from the state’s Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) grant program and Senate Bill 1. The bulk of that competitive grant funding – just over $8 million – is programmed through SCAG’s Housing Infill on Public and Private Lands (HIPP) Pilot Program. The remaining $4.3 million awarded today is programmed through SCAG’s Sustainable Communities Program – Civic Engagement, Equity and Environmental Justice (SCP CEEEJ) call. The money itself is coming from a combination of the state’s Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 grant program and Senate Bill 1.
These two funding programs are part of SCAG’s larger REAP 2.0 program, designed to implement Connect SoCal, SCAG’s regional plan for the future of Southern California, by supporting integrated and transformative planning and implementation activities that realize the region’s mobility, land use, housing and environmental goals.
“We congratulate these awardees for the innovative approaches they’re taking in addressing housing and land-use across the Inland Empire and Southern California and applaud the collaboration and hard work that went into securing this critical funding,” said Curt Hagman, First Vice President of SCAG’s Regional Council and a San Bernardino County Supervisor.
The Inland Empire awardees were:
HIPP Awardees:
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority/San Bernardino County Council of Governments. Public Land-to-Residential Project--Inventory, Analysis & Toolkit for Workforce and Teacher Housing ($720,000). This project includes a comprehensive assessment of public lands in San Bernardino County to identify sites ready and available for residential development. It also includes a toolkit to help public agencies use the Surplus Land Act to make sites available for affordable housing development with a focus on educators and the regional workforce.
City of Rialto. Catalytic Housing Initiative for Downtown Rialto ($193,875). This project will accelerate development of affordable housing on public and private lands in Rialto’s downtown by identifying site-specific constraints and solutions for utilities, financing and residential and mixed-use development. This initiative will include details such as land-use composition, total square footage of different uses, number of units, unit size and number of parking spaces, potential social services resources and developer relationships. There is an anticipation of issuing up to three Request for Proposals (RFPs) for the development of infill sites during the project expenditure period.
City of Riverside. Missing Middle Prototype Plans for Infill Housing Sites ($500,000) This project will expand mid-scale housing stock through prototype plans for infill development sites. The project will include options for ministerial-approval-ready, 100% construction level drawings and supporting calculations for two to four-unit clustered and low-rise infill residential projects, which can be used by developers as a means of improving efficiency through streamlining the permit process.
SCP CEEEJ Awardees:
City of Jurupa Valley: Pedley Town Center Plan – Implementation ($478,894). This project will result in the development of mixed-use zoning in the Pedley Town Center Plan area, accelerating infill, mixed-use, affordable and/or commercial development near a Metrolink station, reducing vehicle-miles traveled.
City of Moreno Valley: Pedestrian Access Plan ($294,018). This project will develop a citywide Pedestrian Access Plan that will lay out the pedestrian routes to access major employment centers, shopping centers, regional transit centers, schools and residential neighborhoods. It also will identify non-Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant locations throughout the city and provide safe routes for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users such as people with disabilities, older adults and children.
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority / San Bernardino Council of Governments. Active Transportation Priority Projects Outreach and Engagement ($294,765). This project will leverage outreach and community engagement to identify priority active transportation projects and inform planning efforts. Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice is co-awardee.
As the metropolitan planning organization representing six counties, 191 cities and a population of nearly 19 million people, SCAG has a critical role in addressing the housing crisis and climate change, and helping local jurisdictions overcome barriers to build more housing.