Environmental Justice: Context Sensitive Planning Grant Program

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Environmental Justice Context Sensitive Planning
Grant Program

• California Department of TransportationDivision
  of Transportation PlanningOffice of Community
  Planning

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Presentation Overview

• Environmental Justice
• Purpose of EJ Planning Grant Program
• Criteria for Grant Awards
• Grant Program Requirements
• Attributes of Successful Grant Proposals

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Environmental JusticeGeneral Overview

• Fair treatment of all races, cultures, and
  incomes.
• Fair distribution of environmental burdens and
  benefits across all impacted communities.

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Environmental JusticeBarriers in Under-Served
Communities

• Access to affordable transportation options,
  jobs, employment opportunities
• Air and noise pollution
• Later and more frequent transit service
• Pedestrian and bicycle safety
• Access to affordable housing
• Language Proficiency

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Environmental JusticeCore Principles

• Invite the full and fair participation of all
  potentially affected stakeholders
• Minimize unfair negative impacts caused by
  transportation projects
• Fairly distribute the positive and negative
  impacts of transportation projects and policy
  decisions.

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Purpose of EJ Planning Grant Program

• Promote the involvement of low-income and
  minority communities and Native American Tribal
  Governments in transportation planning projects
  statewide that
• improve mobility and access to transit
• support environmental justice principles
• stimulate economic development and support
  economic growth
• create opportunities for affordable housing and
• improve pedestrian bicycle safety.
• Develop lasting partnerships between underserved
  communities, government agencies, and Tribal
  Governments.

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Criteria for Grant Awards

• Project Description and Justification
• EJ Planning Grant Program Goals
• California Transportation Plan (CTP) Goals
• Public Participation
• Project Implementation and Management

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Criteria for Grant AwardsProject Description
and Justification

• Describe the project.
• Define the project.
• Describe the project area.
• List the major project activities and
  deliverables.
• Identify the problems and deficiencies and how
  will the project address the problems and
  deficiencies.

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Criteria for Grant AwardsGrant Program Goal

• Describe how the project addresses transportation
  and economic development issues in low-income,
  minority, Native American, and underserved urban
  and rural communities.

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Criteria for Grant AwardsCalifornia
Transportation Plan Goals

• Improve Mobility and Accessibility
• Expanding the system and enhancing modal choices
  and connectivity to meet the States future
  transportation demands.
• Preserve the Transportation System
• Maintaining, managing, and efficiently utilizing
  Californias existing transportation system.

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Criteria for Grant AwardsCalifornia
Transportation Plan Goals

• Support the Economy
• Maintaining, managing, and enhancing the movement
  of goods and people to spur economic development
  and growth, job creation, and trade.
• Enhance Public Safety and Security
• Ensuring the safety and security of people,
  goods, services, and information in all modes of
  transportation.

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Criteria for Grant AwardsCalifornia
Transportation Plan Goals

• Reflect Community Values
• Finding transportation solutions that balance and
  integrate community values with transportation
  safety and performance, and encourage public
  involvement in transportation decisions.
• Enhance the Environment
• Planning and providing transportation services
  while protecting our environment, wildlife, and
  historical and cultural assets.

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Criteria for Grant AwardsPublic Participation

• Identify the project stakeholders
• Identify low-income and minority communities,
  Native American Tribal Governments, other
  under-represented groups, community-based
  organizations, and businesses.
• Describe the outreach methods
• Focus on traditionally under-represented
  communities.

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Criteria for Grant AwardsProject Implementation
and Management

• Explain how the project carried forward to the
  next stage/phase.
• Describe how the project be managed.
• What work is to be done?
• Who is responsible for what tasks?
• When the work is to be done?

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Grant Program RequirementsGeneral Requirements

• Contingent upon passage of the annual State
  budget, 3 million anticipated.
• Competitive grant program.
• Local contribution-minimum 10 match of requested
  grant amount. Up to 1/2 of local match amount may
  be in-kind contribution.
• Funds are only for planning-related activities
• Reimbursable program

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Grant Program RequirementsProgram Eligibility

• Applicants
• Regional Transportation Planning Agencies
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations
• Federally Recognized Tribal Governments
• Cities
• Counties and
• Transit Agencies.

• Sub Applicants
• Universities and Community Colleges
• Community-Based Organizations
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Other Public Entities

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Attributes of Successful Grant Proposals

• Applicant fully addresses the application
  questions and meets grant program requirements.
• Answers are clear and concise
• Project proposal addresses multiple California
  Transportation Planning goals.
• 3Es environment, economy, and equity
• Innovative outreach public participation
  methods
• Sound project management product oriented
• Project Implementation- How the project will be
  carried forward to the next stage

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Additional Information

• For more information, please contact your
  District EJ grant Liaison listed in the
  application.
• You can also visit
• http//www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grants.html