Executive Director’s Monthly Report, January 2023
10 SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING SUPPORTIVE GRANT APPLICATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
In addition to Permanent Local Housing Allocation application assistance, SCAG is offering technical assistance for jurisdictions and Tribal Governments to prepare and submit applications for housing-supportive funding.
Several grant funding availability notices are being made available by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and other public agencies. SCAG has expert assistance available on a rolling basis to help selected recipients prepare and submit applications for these funds and grants.
Applications for assistance are available on SCAG’s housing webpage and can be submitted to SCAG until program funds are expended. For more information, email housing@scag.ca.gov.
RELEASE OF SOCAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY RESOURCE HUB
To support local jurisdictions in their efforts to advance transportation safety and help the region achieve its annual safety targets, SCAG developed the SoCal Transportation Safety Resource Hub, a centralized source of information on SCAG’s transportation safety data, reports and resources.
This hub features:
- A summary of regional transportation safety goals and targets
- An overview of SCAG’s transportation safety existing conditions
- An interactive map of SCAG’s Regional High Injury Network (HIN) along with downloadable data and resources to support local jurisdictions in creating their own HIN
- Opportunities to get involved with ongoing transportation safety programs
- Data, tools, funding and other resources from SCAG and other organizations
For questions or additional information, please contact Anita Au at au@scag.ca.gov.
NEW AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY (ACS) DATA FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
On Dec. 8, the Census Bureau released the latest ACS 5-year data (2017-2021), which represents data from a period that includes time on either side of the COVID-19 pandemic. The advantage of these data is that they are available for smaller geographic areas like cities and tracts, as well as population subgroups.
Drawing on the current ACS data and comparing it to data from the previous five-year ACS, SCAG staff have computed several key variables for the Southern California region, like commuting and work from home patterns, renter household numbers and more. Click here for more details on this ACS data.
TOOLBOX TUESDAY RESOURCE WEBINARS
SCAG hosted a special “Money Monday” webinar on Nov. 21, with information on regional funding opportunities made possible by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act. SCAG Legislative Staff led this session and the video recording is available here.
On Dec. 13, SCAG staff hosted a Toolbox Tuesday webinar on site planning for electric vehicles and associated infrastructure needs; this session was led by Alison Linder from SCAG’s Transportation Team. Video of the session is available here.
All past Toolbox Tuesday training webinar recordings are available here.
2023 SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
SCAG is now accepting nominations for the 2023 SCAG Sustainability Awards! Each year, SCAG honors projects and plans that exemplify core principles of sustainability toward accomplishing the goals of the Connect SoCal regional plan.
The deadline to submit nominations is Jan. 10. Click here to learn more about this opportunity or to submit a nomination.
The winners of the SCAG Sustainability Awards will be presented at the 2023 Regional Conference and General Assembly at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert on May 4-5, 2023.
JANUARY 2023: SCAG OFFICES REOPEN TO THE PUBLIC
SCAG offices have been closed to the public since March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. While Regional Council and Policy Committee meetings will continue to be held in a hybrid format for the near future, beginning in January 2023, SCAG offices will reopen to the public to allow public participation at SCAG’s legislative body meetings in person.
Members of the public can choose to attend in-person or virtually and have the option to participate in the meetings via written or verbal comments. Members of the public are encouraged, but not required, to submit written comments by sending an email to: ePublicComment@scag.ca.gov by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting. Members of the public wishing to verbally express their comments in real time during the meeting will be allowed up to a total of three minutes to speak on agenda items.
For more details on how to participate in the Jan. 5, SCAG Regional Council meeting, click here, and for a list of future Regional Council and Policy Committee Meetings, click here.
REGIONAL EARLY ACTION PROGRAM (REAP) 1.0 BIANNUAL UPDATE
Our REAP 1.0 program had a good 2022. Under the extension granted by SB 197, we now have until 2024 to complete programs and spending.
Our Housing Policy Leadership Academy concluded last November, graduating nearly 200 participants. As part of the program, participants created policy proposals to address the housing crisis locally. Many participants indicated they will try to further these proposals outside of the program.
We also held our fourth Housing Forum in partnership with SANDAG, and we will partner with them again for a fifth forum in 2023.
Many of our subregional partners used REAP funding to augment housing element work and successfully reach compliance. Additionally, the Cities of Covina and Yucaipa voted on a resolution of intent to establish an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District under one of the REAP programs. This is an excellent example of jurisdictions exploring new ways to fund important housing infrastructure.
The full report on each program area is in the Regional Council agenda packet.
SCAG’S REGIONAL EARLY ACTION PLANNING GRANT PROGRAM (REAP) 2.0 UPDATES
On Nov. 30, 2022, the Executive Administration Committee, on behalf of the Regional Council, approved SCAG’s full REAP 2.0 application. SCAG is eligible to receive approximately $246 million in formula grant funding through REAP 2.0, a one-time funding program administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). SCAG submitted the full application to HCD and the State Interagency Partners by the Dec. 31 deadline.
SCAG’s full application is driven by the state program guidelines, released in July 2022, and an extensive engagement process. Since 2021 and throughout 2022, SCAG has reached out to a broad array of regional stakeholders to identify programs and partners and develop the full REAP 2.0 application.
On Dec. 14, SCAG received notice from HCD and State Interagency Partners announcing a staff-level approval SCAG’s Advanced Application, which allocates ten percent of the REAP 2.0 funds SCAG is eligible to receive. SCAG’s Advanced Application is subject to final approval by the HCD Internal Loan Committee.
RESOURCES FROM THE 13TH ANNUAL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT
SCAG would like to thank all who joined us at the 13th Annual Southern California Economic Summit on Dec. 1. Special thanks to SCAG Regional Council President Jan Harnik for guiding us through the summit, as well as to all our speakers and panelists who helped make this year’s summit a success. A photo gallery of special moments from the summit can be seen here.
To access the resources and information that SCAG and partners prepared for the 2022 Economic Summit, including the SCAG Regional Briefing Book, SoCal Economic Trends Tool (beta), go to scag.ca.gov/economicsummit.
2022 GO HUMAN YEAR IN REVIEW
SCAG’s Go Human program has had a busy year providing resources to communities across the Southern California region, prioritizing those that have been disproportionately impacted by traffic violence. Emphasizing community-led storytelling, the program’s efforts funded and amplified local groups and agencies working to improve safety. Click here to learn more about the program’s 2022 accomplishments.
LOCAL DATA EXCHANGE (LDX) UPDATE
On May 23, 2022, SCAG officially launched the LDX process, which allows local jurisdictions to provide input related to land use as well as household and employment growth to help inform the development of the Connect SoCal 2024 regional plan.
Throughout 2022, SCAG’s Local Information Services Team met with local jurisdictions to provide background on the data, available tools and details of this input opportunity. Feedback and data edits were due to SCAG by Dec. 2, 2022. As of December 2022, the Local Information Services Information Team met with 164 of the 197 jurisdictions in the region and received input from 136 jurisdictions.
FALL LEGISLATIVE OUTREACH MEETINGS
SCAG is hosting series of virtual meetings with members of our region’s legislative delegation to maintain positive working relationships and continue to advocate for SCAG’s priorities during the legislature’s recess.
Priorities shared with each of the members during these meetings include continuation of the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program, continued funding for the Active Transportation Program, adding more flexibility for local jurisdictions to meet their Regional Housing Needs Assessment goals and gaining continued support for Regional Early Action Planning Grant Programs.
From the Senate, we met with Senators Rosalicie Ochoa-Bogh (R-Rancho Cucamonga) and Steven Bradford (D-Gardena). From the Assembly we met with Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), Mike Fong (D-San Gabriel), Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) and Freddie Rodriguez (D-Chino).
IMPERIAL LITHIUM MOBILE WORKSHOP
The SCAG Executive Team and Regional Council President Jan Harnik visited Imperial County last month and attended a comprehensive tour of several major regional infrastructure and energy projects.
The tour began at the U.S.-Mexico border, where we visited both the Calexico East Port of Entry bridge widening project and the Calexico West Port of Entry expansion.
The SCAG group then joined a meeting of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, where we shared updates on SCAG’s ongoing work in the county and discussed opportunities for collaboration on environmental mitigation efforts around the Salton Sea.
Our final stop was a visit to the Imperial County Known Geothermal Resource Area on the south end of the Salton Sea, where there has been optimism around the development of lithium extraction facilities in tandem with existing geothermal plants.
STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL GRANT PROGRAM
On Dec.15, 2022, the Strategic Growth Council announced awardees of the Regional Climate Collaboratives (RCC) Grant Program, with three of six awardees being from within the SCAG region: Gateway Cities Regional Climate Collaborative, led by Gateway Cities Council of Governments; Southern California Tribal Regional Climate Collaborative, led by the Pala Band of Mission Indians; and, the 2030 Resilient Networks Collaborative, led by the Fernandeño Tataviam band of Mission Indians.
The RCC Grant Program is a new capacity-building grant program for under-resourced communities in California and enables partners to deepen relationships and develop processes, plans and projects to drive and sustain climate action.
SCAG engaged with partners across the region on applications to the new RCC Grant Program, and provided letters of support to eleven applicants, including two of the three successful awardees. SCAG congratulates the awardees and we look forward to supporting their work under this program.
