Santa Paula General Plan gets $175,000 boost with SCAG grant
February 10, 2017
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Santa Paula is in line for a hefty piece of the pie from a grant meant to help fund countywide active transportation and sustainability projects.
In all, four Ventura County grants were approved February 2, totaling more than $442,000 in funding for active transportation and sustainability projects ranging from pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements to climate action plans and integrated land-use initiatives.
The Ventura County projects were among 54 throughout Southern California that were approved for funding by the SCAG (Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments). Final approval will come from the California Transportation Commission and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC).
The money will be used to finance – or help finance – projects that promote active transportation and smart land use in an effort to improve the mobility, sustainability and economic vitality of communities throughout the six-county SCAG region.
Ventura County was awarded $200,000 in active transportation grants for projects and programs that promote safety and encourage people to walk and bike more. The county also was awarded $242,000 in grants for integrated land use and the Green Regions Initiative, both of which promote sustainability.
Specific projects receiving SCAG approval were a countywide Safe Routes to Schools master plan ($100,000), an active transportation plan for Thousand Oaks ($100,000), Gold Coast Transit ($67,000) and a Sustainable Communities Strategies Consistency Framework for Santa Paula’s General Plan ($175,000). Santa Paula City Councilman John Procter said, “These funds will significantly help Santa Paula reinvigorate the local economy, improve sustainability and well-being, and take us one step closer to revitalizing our downtown.”
Procter told the City Council about the grant at the February 6 meeting, “We are very happy…it’s nice to know we’re getting some help.”
Planning Director Janna Minsk noted that the grant was discovered while “reading through opportunities to increase the budget for the General Plan,” and she and plan consultant John Douglas “put our heads together and requested $200,000,” receiving almost the full amount.
The grant, she added, will be used “to boost our General Plan fund…it’s a wonderful opportunity for us and we’re very grateful we got this.”
“If you don’t ask,” said Procter, “you don’t get,” and the city scored by obtaining close to half of the entire grant.
“The fact that there’s more funding available than ever for active transportation and integrated land use shows how big a priority this has become,” Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director of SCAG, stated in a press release.
“The quality of life in our region is very much dependent upon these kinds of projects.”
SCAG, the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organization, has become a leading regional and national voice on transportation alternatives and the relationship between land-use planning, mobility, air quality and economic vitality. Its advocacy of active transportation includes sponsorship of the Go Human campaign, a regional marketing, education and outreach program designed to encourage more walking and bicycling — as well as greater awareness of pedestrian and bicycling safety — in a region of more than 18 million people. SCAG’s recently approved 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy includes $12.9 billion in active transportation investments in the six-county region.
SCAG is the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organization, representing six counties, 191 cities and more than 18 million residents. SCAG undertakes a variety of planning and policy initiatives to plan for a livable and sustainable Southern California now and in the future. For more information about SCAG’s regional efforts, please visit www.scag.ca.gov
