Bond Act: Proposition 84
Agency of Appropriation: Secretary for Natural Resources
Bond Statute: 75065(a), ref 2
Implementing Statute: SB 732 Dated 8/31/08
- Front-end
- In-progress
- Follow-up (Audit)
The Strategic Growth Council Urban Greening Program is a competitive grants program created under the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 84), administered by the California Natural Resources Agency, on behalf of the Strategic Growth Council. The Strategic Growth Council is composed of agency secretaries from the Business Transportation and Housing Agency, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and a public member appointed by the Governor. One of the SGC’s many objectives is managing and awarding financial assistance to cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations for the preparation, planning, and implementation of urban greening projects and plans.
Program bond expenditures will be made based under the broad guidance of the Proposition 84 Bond Act; SB 732; Executive Orders S-03-05, S-06-06 and S-02-07; and direction from the Strategic Growth Council.
Urban greening program criteria were developed and vetted by the Strategic Growth Council, which received written comments and held public meetings before finalizing the criteria and initiating an application period. The Urban Greening program solicits projects and plans for funding consideration. The Urban Greening Review Team, which includes staff and technical members, evaluates complete and eligible applications using the evaluation criteria contained in the grant guidelines and performs site visits on those projects that compete well during initial review. Staff recommendations for awards are then presented to the Strategic Growth Council for approval at a council meeting. Final award recipients are posted to the SGC Web site at Urban Greening Grant (UGG) Program.
Urban Greening projects and plans selected for funding under the California Urban Greening Program are required to spend grant funds according to the approved project scope and budget. The Natural Resources Agency requires quarterly progress reports for all projects and conducts site visits during construction for each development project. Payment requests must include a certification by the grantee that each expense complies with requirements outlined in the grant agreement. Grantees must also submit supporting documentation for each expense, with reimbursements approved only for eligible expenses pursuant to program guidelines and contained within the approved project budget. The Natural Resources Agency also withholds up to ten percent of each payment request to be released upon project completion.
All projects and plans funded via the Urban Greening Program receive a close-out review conducted by the Natural Resources Agency at the time the project is complete and prior to releasing final grant funds. The purpose of the close-out field visit is to ensure all project components were completed according to program guidelines and the terms of the grant agreement, including project scope and budget. For projects, all grantees must record a document against the project property that gives public notice of the Natural Resources Agency’s rights as specified in the grant agreement. All grantees must comply with current laws and regulations which apply to the project and submit documents summarizing total project costs and all additional funding sources.
Projects within this Program: