Sustainable Communities Grant and Loan Program
Report of Activities 2005

Project Highlights

SCGL is making a tremendous impact in California. Here is what the awardees are telling us.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GRANT TO THE CITY OF SAN GABRIEL

"The award of the SCGL grant to the City of San Gabriel in May 2003 could not have come at a better time. The City was in the midst of updating its general plan for the first time in more than a dozen years. It wanted to include development of a comprehensive strategy for its most important commercial street, Valley Boulevard, as a goal in that plan. Like many small cities its size however, San Gabriel was constrained by very limited resources, such that it looked like a Valley Boulevard strategy would remain a goal that would take years to realize.

"Thanks to the SCGL program, the future for residents of San Gabriel's Valley Boulevard Neighborhoods promises to be healthier environmentally, economically, and aesthetically. The specific plan made possible by the grant will result in smart, well-planned development that will provide a model for how to implement sustainability strategies in a dynamic, diverse older suburban community."—Mark Gallatin—

 

 

CITY OF RIVERSIDE TRANSFORMS BLIGHTED LOTS INTO NEW HOUSING

"The RIDI program is helping to improve our low to moderate-income neighborhoods by providing incentives to developers to build single-family homes on underutilized, undeveloped parcels of land.  This program decreases the instances of pollution, dumping and crime associated with vacant and underutilized lots.  RIDI is also a vehicle to revitalize neighborhoods while creating affordable housing for low and moderate-income families.

As a result of the SCGL grant for the Riverside Infill Development Incentive, 20 single family homes have been built and 39 are still under construction."
—Michelle Davis— 

CITY OF SANTA CRUZ ADU PROGRAM GETS NATIONAL RECOGNITION

"The ADU Development Program has been acknowledged for its innovative approach and importance as a tool for creating infill rental housing with 4 local and 3 national awards.

The program also received recognition for the Job Training/Wage Subsidy Program under the Women Ventures Project (WVP).

Seven women graduated from the training session held from September 6 through October 10, 2005 by the WVP. As a part of this training session, WVP made special arrangements with Habitat for Humanity to use an ADU being built by Habitat for part of that training."
—Carol Berg—

BAKERSFIELD DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR OLD TOWN KERN BAKER STREET CORRIDOR

"The Strategy focuses on key sustainability principles. Implementation of the Strategy has resulted in a revised development proposal for the Baker Street Village Project with Triumph Companies (see further details under Project Description in Exhibit I below). Baker Street Village intends to create a friendly downtown neighborhood sense of place providing affordable housing alternatives suitable for an urban environment in a mixed use village development. The project also will include a compatible neighborhood shopping village for the residents of these new homes and the community to enjoy."
—Donna Barnes, Project Manager—

SCGL FUNDS GREATLY FACILITATE REOPENING OF FRESNO'S HISTORIC SANTA FE DEPOT

"State and local officials recently participated in the grand opening and dedication of the newly restored and rehabilitated Fresno Santa Fe Depot, which serves Amtrak California San Joaquin passenger trains and Thruway Motorcoach service.

This $6 million restoration project included new and enlarged Amtrak ticketing and waiting areas, a large ticketing counter, business offices, adjacent retail space, increased parking, new landscaping and better access for buses, taxis and pedestrians. SCGL funds supported a crucial part of the rehabilitation, the ability to make seismic retrofits, without which the building could not have been opened for public use under California Building Codes.

The "new" station actually dates to 1899 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is one of the few California mission-style buildings constructed before 1900 still standing. It will host thousands of people traveling in California every year on one of the busiest Amtrak lines in the country.

Restoring the Santa Fe Depot puts approximately 25,000 square feet of unused space in Fresno's urban core back into useful, productive service.  The completion of the project serves as a positive catalyst in Fresno's larger strategy to revitalize the downtown area." —Marcie Williams—

 

This report of activities for the Sustainable Communities Grant and Loan Program (SCGL) is submitted pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 44525.6 for the calendar year ending December 31, 2005.