HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS - Planning - Proposed Grant Application for Smart Growth Implementation Assistance 05-01-2008 - 4iORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: May 1, 2008
Action Agenda
Item No, ~--~
SUBJECT: Proposed Grant Application for Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Request for Applications Craig Benedict, Planning Director
245-2592
Perdita Holtz, Special Projects Planner
245-2611
PURPOSE: To consider submitting an application to the Development, Community, and
Environment Division (DCED) in the U.S. EPA's Office of Policy Economics and Innovation for
implementation assistance related to smart growth in the Efland area.
BACKGROUND: The Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program provides technical
assistance to communities and states that are interested in fostering economic growth,
protecting their environmental resources, enhancing public health, extending the benefits of
community redevelopment to all citizens equitably, and planning for development. The program
consists of direct technical assistance in the form of a multi-day visit from a team of experts
organized by EPA and its national partners to work with local leaders (it is not a direct funding
grant program).
The adopted Efland-Mebane Small Area Plan (EMSAP) includes a recommendation for a Mixed
Use area in Efland and the development of site and architectural guidelines for the proposed
Mixed Use area. These recommendations are directly related to Smart Growth concepts. If
Orange County were selected as a community for the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
Program, the team of experts could provide direct assistance with developing the policies and
guidelines that are needed to implement the concept of a Mixed Use area in Efland.
EPA plans to assist three to five communities in 2008, anticipates announcing the selected
communities in Fall 2008, and expects to work with the communities over a 12-month period.
The application must be received in EPA's offices no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 8,
2008.
Orange County applied for this program in 2007, but was not selected as a recipient during the
past grant cycle.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no cost to the County associated with this application. If the
County is a recipient of the assistance program, existing staff can provide support to the expert
team. Although this assistance will be free to the applicant, communities, regions, and states
that show commitment through partnerships, such as local government staff time, support from
local businesses, and other local resources, will have priority in the selection process. Matching
funds from the applicant will allow greater use of the expert team for the selected project. Staff
will examine application criteria to enhance the possibility of the award.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the submittal of
an application for the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program and authorize the
Chair to sign the application for submittal prior to the May 8, 2008 deadline.
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Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
2008 Request for Applications (RFA)
SMART GROWTH AND THE U.S. EPA
The Development, Community and Environment Division (DCED) in U.S. EPA's Office of
Policy Economics and Innovation is seeking applications from states, regions, and communities
that want to develop in ways that meet environmental and other goals. EPA will provide
technical assistance to successful applicants as described below. Eligible entities are tribal, local,
regional, and state governments and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership
with a governmental entity. Development practices that reflect the principles of smart growth
support national environmental and public health goals by protecting sensitive watersheds,
minimizing water quality impacts from development, reducing air emissions by increasing
transportation choices, lowering greenhouse gas emissions through more compact development
patterns, and encouraging clean-up and sustainable redevelopment of brownfields. Smart growth
is often characterized by a common set of principles:
-- mix land uses;
-- take advantage of compact building design;
-- create a range of housing opportunities and choices;
-- create walkable neighborhoods;
-- foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place;
-- preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas;
-- strengthen and direct development towards existing communities;
-- provide a variety of transportation choices;
-- make development decisions predictable, fair and cost effective; and
-- encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.
For more information on smart growth, please visit the DCED web site at:
www. ep a. Qov/sm art~rowth.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITY
Communities and states around the country are interested in fostering economic growth,
protecting their environmental resources, enhancing public health, extending the benefits of
community redevelopment to all citizens equitably, and planning for development, but they may
lack the tools, resources, or information to achieve these goals. In response to this demand, EPA
is offering direct technical assistance from national experts to communities and states that want
to incorporate smart growth techniques in their development. This assistance from EPA is
intended to help applicants overcome roadblocks by providing evaluation tools and expert
analysis.
EPA is soliciting applications from communities, regions, and state governments that want
assistance with either policy analysis or public participatory processes. Examples of project
ideas include, but are not limited to:
• crafting policies that allow or encourage specific smart growth techniques (e.g., transit-
oriented development; infill; redeveloping vacant properties, brownfields, abandoned gas
stations, etc.);
• reviewing state department of transportation investments to support smart growth;
• using smart growth to balance the goals of economic development and cultural
development through heritage preservation;
• analyzing plans, guidelines, criteria, or procedures for school investments;
• retrofitting a commercial corridor;
• coordinating communities' smart growth design with active aging programs;
• reviewing state, regional, or local investments and policies to support climate change
goals and more compact development;
• evaluating regional equity through access to healthy food and public transportation or
capacity building in underserved communities;
• analyzing a pending update to zoning codes;
• using smart growth to address BRAC-related challenges, including growing populations,
due to military realignment or closing of a local military facility;
• meeting a statutory deadline on stormwater ordinances;
• crafting a vision for reclaiming derelict property with the assistance of community
development corporations and youth-based housing rehabilitation programs; or
• reviewing subdivision regulations to support complete street networks and compact
development.
EPA is particularly interested in projects that seek to resolve challenges associated with
increasing the supply, quality, or accessibility of affordable (or workforce) housing in a smart
growth development context. While expanding housing choice is a core principle of smart
growth, the regulatory framework often inhibits the private market from producing a range~of
housing types that would satisfy the needs of all income levels. Some communities have had
success addressing affordability challenges using smart growth approaches, thereby better
understanding the environmental, transportation, and fiscal impacts - at the household and
community levels - of different housing options. Projects that can use this assistance to develop
innovative, practical, and replicable solutions to these challenges will merit careful consideration
under criteria #4 (see below) from reviewers this year.
Selected communities or states will receive assistance in the form of a multi-day visit from a
team of experts organized by EPA and other national partners to work with local leaders. EPA
will provide this assistance through an Agency contract vehicle, not a grant. Team members will
be nationally known experts in disciplines to be determined by the community's unique needs.
Team visits consist of meetings with state or local staff to study the context and specific project
and discussions with elected officials, business leaders, citizen organizations, and representatives
of many different sectors. On the last day, the team presents preliminary findings to the applicant
and its leadership. After the visit, the team works with the applicant to deliver a final report.
EPA plans to assist three to five communities in 2008. EPA anticipates announcing the selected
communities in fall of 2008 and working with the communities over a period of twelve months.
The lessons learned from these projects will be used to help other communities with similar
challenges.
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EPA must receive applications by S:OOPM EST, Thursday, May 8th, 2008.
PREPARING THE APPLICATION
EPA will evaluate applications based on the criteria listed below. Project descriptions should be
detailed and clearly identify the challenge the community, region, or state agency is facing and
the specific activities that would be most helpful from the EPA-led team. The criteria listed
below will be used to do a preliminary review of the applications. Following this initial review,
EPA will conduct conference calls with finalists. Conference calls will include the applicant and
major partners identified in the application. These calls will be used to further evaluate the
extent to which the applicant is successful in meeting the criteria. EPA will make final selections
following the completion of the conference calls.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
1. The applicant must be (1) a tribal, state, local, or regional government; or (2) an incorporated
nonprofit organization incorporated or domiciled in the United States or an academic institution
that has a demonstrated partnership with a governmental agency. Applicants must be located in,
and project activities must be conducted within, the United States, Puerto Rico, or a territory or
possession of the U.S.
2. Technical assistance will be .provided to integrate the principles of smart growth into state or
local planning processes to promote infill development. The assistance must relate to policy
analysis or public participatory processes that will improve the overall climate for brownfields
redevelopment as well as revitalization of other infill sites.
DCED will not consider applications that have a principal purpose of providing training,
research, and technical assistance to individuals and organizations to facilitate the inventory of
brownfield sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, site preparation, or
community involvement associated with the clean-up, assessment, or inventory of brownfield
properties. EPA funds these types of projects only under the Office of Brownfields Cleanup and
Redevelopment's "Brownfields Training, Research, and Technical Assistance Grants and
Cooperative Agreement Program."
We will consider applications for policy analysis or public participatory processes (as illustrated
by the bulleted list above) associated with the smart growth redevelopment of infill generally in a
city, county, state, or on tribal lands that includes brownfields sites as well as other types of sites.
However, community-involvement activities associated with the clean-up, assessment, or
inventory of individual brownfield sites are not eligible for funding under this RFA.
3. The community, region, or state must have a demonstrated understanding of and commitment
to the principles of smart growth. Applicants should describe actions that the community, region
or state has taken to address the location and design of development, regardless of whether they
have been successful. EPA is looking for applicants that have already learned about the
principles of smart growth and now want implementation assistance.
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4. The community, region, or state must clearly be facing adevelopment-related challenge,
whether it involves growth pressures, affordable housing needs, attracting more development, or
planning for the future, and must have identified opportunities for changing the way it handles
growth. The application should include a discussion of growth conditions in the area of interest,
as well as assets and challenges to implementing smart growth practices. The application should
also specify the type of assistance (policy analysis or public participatory processes) being
requested and how it will be applied.
5. The application must have a specific, clearly defined project, and there must be a clear role for
a team to assist with policy analysis or public participation. Applicants must describe the project;
discuss how it relates to local, regional, or state growth; describe partnerships in place to help
make the project succeed; and explain how its success would affect the applicant's
environmental, social, and economic health. EPA will work with each selected applicant to
develop a detailed statement of work to ensure that the contract support maximizes the expert
assistance available to the community, region, or state.
6. The applicant must be able to demonstrate how it anticipates using the results from the EPA-
led team to implement changes at the. local, regional, or state level. The applicant should also
describe the authority that it has to implement any changes and the steps necessary to implement
design or policy options developed through the project.
7. The applicant must form a team to work with the EPA-led expert team and to follow up on the
technical assistance. This team should include representatives from relevant sectors, including
government, business, public interest groups, civic associations, and individual citizens. The
team will be responsible for working with the EPA-team pre- and post-site visit and working
with the applicant to ensure all appropriate stakeholders are represented in the assistance.
As a proponent of collaborative environmental problem solving, EPA supports meaningful
public involvement, especially among underserved populations or non-traditional stakeholders.
Applicants are encouraged to reach beyond political and professional stakeholders and target
faith-based groups, parents, senior citizens, schools, retirement centers, and community service
organizations when forming their team.
Applicants should submit letters of support and participation from the principal partners on the
team, signed by an individual who can commit the organization to the project. The EPA-led team
will be on site for only a few days. The applicant and its partners must carry out the bulk of the
work and must have the dedication- and vision to succeed. Applicants must also specify the staff
who will work on this project before and during the team visit and during the follow-up.
8. Elected officials -mayors, county commissioners, city council members, state agency
directors, etc. -must support this project and be committed to its success. T'he response to this
request for applications will require a letter of support from the primary elected official in the
community, as well as a list of other elected officials who support it. If a state agency is
applying, this letter should be from the agency head or elected official who will have
responsibility for carrying out the project.
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9. Although this assistance will be free to the applicant, communities, regions, and states that
show commitment through partnerships, such as local government staff time, support from local
businesses, and other local resources, will have priority in the selection process. Matching funds
from the applicant will allow greater use of the expert team for the selected project. Applicants
should include a list of supporters and describe any previous collaborations on growth and
development issues, if applicable. Applicants should also mention any potential matching funds
and other technical assistance programs or grants for which they may be applying.
SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
To be considered complete and eligible for review, all applications must include a summary
page, cover letter, project description, letter of support from the community's main elected
official or agency decision official, and documentation of partner participation. All parts of the
application must be submitted together. The following format is required:
Summarypa~e (no longer than one pane)
The summary page should include the project title, contact information for the project manager,
type of assistance requested (policy analysis or public participation processes), and an abstract of
the project. If a nonprofit organization or academic institution is submitting the application, then
the name and contact information for the governmental partner must also be provided.
Cover letter (does not count a ag inst page limit)
The cover letter that accompanies your application must be signed by an official with the
authority to commit your government, agency, or organization to the project and should be
written on your official letterhead.
Project description (no loner than 5 uaae sided
The request for assistance must describe the project clearly and specifically. The narrative must
provide a concise overview of the project, including how it ties into larger issues of local or
regional growth and how EPA assistance will support the project. The description must detail
support for action and resources (e.g., staff time, support from business, cost-sharing, etc.) that
the applicant's team will bring to the project. The narrative must also address how the
application meets each of the criteria and what environmental results the applicant expects. If
other project partners or funding sources are involved, their role and contribution must be clearly
defined. In reviewing the project description, reviewers will not consider any pages over the 5-
page-side limit. Project descriptions must use no smaller than IO-point type and should have
page margins all around of at least one inch.
Letter of support from elected official (not included in vase limit)
Applicants must include a letter of support from the primary elected official in the community
(e.g., mayor, county commission chair). If the applicant is a state government agency, the letter
should be from the head of the agency or an elected official. Also include a list of other
stakeholders who support the project; letters from these people are not required. Please include
these materials with the application.
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Documentation of aU rtner participation (not included in va a limit)
Applicants should include letters of support from the principal partners in the local team that will
be assisting the EPA-led team and directing follow-up activities. Please include these letters with
the application. Principal partners will be expected to participate in a conference call for the
finalists.
EPA must receive applications by S:OOPM EST, Thursday, May 8, 2008. No late applications
will be accepted. Applicants must submit one original and four copies of their full application.
All applications must be submitted in accordance with the requirements described above. No fax
submissions will be accepted. Postmarks or meters will not be considered sufficient
documentation of on-time delivery.
If you are sending your application via hand delivery (e.g., UPS, Federal Express, courier, or
some other means) send it to:
Deloris Wingo-Huntley
Development, Community and Environment Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1301 Constitution Ave. NW
EPA West Building, Room 1408
Washington, DC 20004
202-566-2862
If you are mailing your application, send it to:
Deloris Wingo-Huntley
Development, Community and Environment Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Mail Code 1807T
Washington, DC 20460
Please note that there may be substantial delays in conventional mail service to EPA due to
heightened security screening.
If you have questions about this solicitation, please contact:
Brett VanAkkeren
van akkeren.brett~epa. gov
202-566-2865
or
Kevin Nelson
nelson.kevin a-.epa.~ov
202-566-2835
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