Bell City Council
August 27, 2025

Agenda
Regular Meeting of the
B
ell City Council/Bell Community Housing Authority/Successor Agency to the Bell Community Redevelopment Agency/ Bell Public Finance Authority Wednesday, August 27, 2025
5:00
P.M. CLOSED SESSION
7:00 P.M. OPEN SESSION
BEL

L COMMUNITY CENTER
6250 PINE AVENUE, BELL CA 90201
Ali Saleh
Mayor
M
onica Arroyo Francis Flores
Vice-Mayor Council Member

Ana Maria Quintana Alicia Romero
Council Member Council Member

Welcome to the City Council Meeting

The Bell City Council and staff welcome you. This is your City Government.

Individual participation is a basic part of American Democracy and all Bell residents are encouraged to attend meetings of the City Council. Regular City Council meetings are held the second and fourth Wednesday of the m onth at 7:00 p.m., Bell Community Center, 6250 Pine Avenue. For more information, you may call City Hall during regular business hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at (323) 588-6211 Extension 2615.

City Council Organization

There are five City Council members, one of whom serves as Mayor and is the presiding officer of the City Council. These are your elected representatives who act as a Board of Directors for the City of Bell. City Council members are like you, concerned residents of the community who provide guidance in the operation of your City.

Addressing the City Council

If you wish to speak to the City Council on any item which is listed or not listed on the City Council Agenda, please complete a Request to Speak Card available in the back of the City Council Chambers. Please submit the completed card to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. The Mayor will call you to the microphone at the appropriate time if you have filled out a Request to Speak Card. At that time, approach the podium and please clearly state your name and address, and proceed to make your comments.

Compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act

The City of Bell, in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), request individuals who require special accommodation(s) to access, attend, and or participate in a City meeting due to disability. Please contact the City Clerk’s Office, (323) 588-6211, Ext. 2615, at least one business day prior to the scheduled meeting to ensure that we may assist you.

Statement Regarding Compensation for Membe
rs of the Bell City Council

Compensation for the members of the Bell City Council is $673 a month. In accordance with Government Code Section 54952.3, Councilmembers will not receive any additional compensation or stipend for the convening of the following regular meetings: Successor Agency to the Bell Community Redevelop ment Agency, the Bell Community Housing Authority, the Bell Public Finance Authority, the Bell Surplus Property Authority, and the Bell Solid Waste Authority.

Meeting of the
Bell City Council and Related Agencies
August 27, 2025

REGULAR JOINT MEETING OF THE

Bell City Council/Bell Community Housing Authority/Successor Agency to the Bell Community Redevelopment Agency/Bell Public Finance Authority

August 27, 2025

5:00 P.M. Closed Session
7:00 P.M. Regular Meeting

Location: Bell Community Center, 6250 Pine Avenue, Bell CA 90201

Call to Order

Roll Call of the City Council in their capacities as Councilmembers/Members of all Related Agencies: Councilmembers Flores, Quintana, Romero, Vice-Mayor Arroyo, and Mayor Saleh

Communications from the Public on Closed Session Items

This is the time for members of the public to address the City Council and related Authorities and Agencies only on items that are listed under Closed Session.

Closed Session

The City Council and the related Authorities and Agencies will recess to closed session to confer with legal counsel regarding the following matters:

a. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: 7030 Atlantic Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

b. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: 4570 Gage Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

c. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)

MEETING WILL BE HELD IN-PERSON AT THE BELL COMMUNITY CENTER

PUBLIC COMMENT: If you wish to make a comment on items listed on the agenda, you may attend the meeting in- person at Bell Community Center. Please complete a Request to Speak Card available in the location and wait until the mayor call s you to approach the podium. Please clearly state your name and address and proceed to make your comments .

You may also submit input electronically through a temporary public comment email established for City of Bell City Council meetings at [email protected]. Your written comment must be submitted by 4pm on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Any emails received after the time indicated will not be included in the record. Written Comments will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words).

The meeting will be recorded and live streamed on the City’s website at http://www.cityofbell.org/?NavID=101

Meeting of the
Bell City Council and Related Agencies
August 27, 2025
Property: 6412 Woodward Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

d. Anticipated Initiation of Litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 (d)(3) regarding significant exposure to litigation in two cases.

e. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: 6400 Atlantic Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

f. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: APN 6226-005-900,901,902,903
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

g. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: APN 6226-006-900,901,902,903
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

h. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: 6335 Pine Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

i. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: 6339 Pine Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

j. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8)
Property: 6339 Atlantic Avenue, Bell CA 90201
Agency negotiators: Michael L. Antwine II (City Manager), and Dave Aleshire (City Attorney) Negotiating parties: To be Determined

Reconvene Regular City Council Meeting

Call to Order

Roll Call of the City Council in their capacities as Councilmembers/Members of all Related Agencies: Councilmembers Flores, Quintana, Romero, Vice-Mayor Arroyo, and Mayor Saleh

Pledge of Allegiance

Meeting of the
Bell City Council and Related Agencies
August 27, 2025
City Attorney Report

The City Attorney will report on any action(s) to be taken by the City Council/Agencies on Closed Session matters.

Presentations and Recognitions

a. Recognition of Former Chief of Police Carlos Islas
b. Presentation: New Website Update
c. Business Assistance Program by LEEAF

Communications from the Public

This is the time members of the public may address the City Council and related Authorities and Agencies on items that are on the agenda and non-agenda items that are under the subject matter jurisdiction of City Council and/or its related authorities and agencies. (Each speaker is limited to three minutes)

Mayor and City Council Communications

Pursuant to Assembly Bill 1234, this is the time and place to provide a brief report on meetings, seminars and conferences attended by the Mayor and City Councilmembers.

City Manager Report

In this portion of the agenda, the City Manager will provide a brief report on items of interest to the City Council and/or the community.

Business Session

1. A Resolution in Support of the Lower LA River Para Todos Campaign. (City Council)

Recommendation: It is recommended that the C ity Council read by title only, waive further reading, and adopt Resolution No. 2025-52 titled:

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELL

IN SUPPORT OF THE LA LOWER RIVER PARA TODOS

CAMPAIGN

2. Consideration To Approve a Public Works Agreement between the City of Bell and Bear Electrical Solutions, LLC., for Streetlight Maintenance and Repair Services. (City Council)

Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council approve a Public Works Agreement between the City of Bell and Bear Electrical Solutions LLC., for Streetlight Maintenance and Repair Services in an amount not to exceed $185,000 annually for a term of three (3) years.

3. A Resolution of the City of Bell Community Housing Authority to declaring Assessor Parcel Number (“APN”) 6325- 018-901, exempt surplus land under the Surplus Land Act (Government Code sections 54220 et seq.). (Bell Community Housing Authority)

Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council read by title only, waive further Meeting of the
Bell City Council and Related Agencies
August 27, 2025
reading and adopt Resolution No. 2025-48 titled:

A

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF BELL COMMUNITY HOUSING
AUTHORITY DECLARING ASSESSOR’S PARCEL NUMBER
6325-018-901 IN THE CITY OF BELL EXEMPT SURPLUS LAND

PURSUANT TO THE SURPLUS LAND ACT (GOVERNMENT
CODE SECTIONS 54220 ET SEQ.)

4. I
ncrease City of Bell Purchase Order Limit to $5,000. (City Council) R
ecommendation: It is recommended that the City Council approve the purchase order limit increase to five thousand dollars ($5,000).

5. C
onsideration to approve Amendment No. 2 with Transtech Engineers Inc. for contract building official, building inspector, and plan check related services. (City Council) R
ecommendation: It is recommended that the City Council approve the removal of the yearly cap and increase the contract sum with Transtech Engineers Inc. for contract building official, building inspector, and plan check related services for, and on behalf of, the City.

6. A
pproval of Bus Wrap Design Concept 2 for the City of Bell Fixed Route. (City Council) R
ecommendation: It is recommended that the City Council:

1. A
pprove Bus Wrap Design Concept 2 for the City of Bell Fixed Route Vehicle

2. Authorize staff to proceed with final production and selected design

7. A
nnual Appointments of Council Members to Serve on Various Committees. (City Council) R
ecommendation: It is recommended that the:

1. C
ity Council review and discuss the appointments of council members on the various committees;

2. Mayor appoint members to serve on the various committees, followi ng r
ecommendations from each council member as to where they would like to serve; and

3. Read b
y title only, waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 2025-49 titled:

A

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELL

APPROVING THE COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS TO REGIONAL

ORGANIZATIONS, VARIOUS BOARDS AND AGENCIES
C
onsent Calendar
The f
ollowing Consent Calendar items are expected to be routine and non- controversial. They are acted upon by the City Council and related authorities at one time without discussion. The reading of the full text of ordinances and resolutions will be waived unless a Councilmember requests otherwise.

R
ecommendation: Approve agenda items 8 through 14.

Meeting of the
Bell City Council and Related Agencies
August 27, 2025

8. Receive and File Donations Report for the month of July 2025. (City Council)

9. It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Read by title only, waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 2025-50 titled:

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELL ACCEPTING THE PRITCHARD FIELD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT - PHASE 1, AS

COMPLETE AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO PREPARE AND FILE THE

NOTICE OF COMPLETION WITH THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY RECORDER

2. Authorize staff to release retained construction contract amounts due to the contractor thirty-five (35) days after the filing of the Notice of Completion.

10. It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Read by title only, waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 2025-51 titled:

“A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELL ACCEPTING

THE CIVIC CENTER ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM PROJECT AS COMPLETE

AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO PREPARE AND FILE THE NOTICE OF COMPLETION WITH THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY RECORDER”; and

2. Authorize staff to release retained construction contract amounts due to the contractor thirty-five (35) days after the filing of the Notice of Completion.

11. Receive and File the Bell & Bell Successor Agency Investment Reports as of July 2025. (City Council and Successor Agency to the Bell Community Redevelopment Agency)

12. Minutes for the Regular City Council Meetings of June 25, 2025 and July 23, 2025, and for the Special Meeting held on July 23, 2025. (City Council)

13. It is recommended that the City Council approve the revised classification specification for the position of Housing Coordinator to Housing Specialist and authorize staff to incorporate the updated specification into the City’s Classification Plan.

14. General Warrants, Successor Agency to the Bell Community Redevelopment Agency and Community Housing Authority Warrants of August 27, 2025. ( Council/Successor Agency to the Bell Community Redevelopment Agency/Bell Community Housing Authority).

Pending Items – None

Next Regular Meeting Wednesday, September 10, 2025

I, Angela Bustamante, City Clerk of the City of Bell, certify that a true, accurate copy of the foregoing agenda was posted August 22, 2025 at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the meeting as required by law.

__________________________
Angela Bustamante, City Clerk

REGULAR MEETING OF THE

BELL CITY COUNCIL AND RELATED AGENCIES

August 27, 2025

5:00 P.M. Closed Session
7:00 P.M. Regular Session

INDEX

Agenda Category Item Number Page Numbers

CLOSED SESSION a – j

AGENDA & INDEX 1-8

PUBLIC HEARINGS None

BUSINESS SESSION 1 9-152
2 153-410
3 411
4 412-465
5 466-513
6 514-527
7 528-532

CONSENT CALENDAR 8 533-534
9 535-540
10 541-545
11 546-648
12 649-674
13 675-680
14 681-

A report on housing, homelessness, and workforce
development policies
Supporting Stronger, Greener Communities

Photo by Calvin Abe

The Lower LA River Revitalization Plan
Lower Los Angeles River Para T odos Campaign
Our Role
Data Overview
High-Level Demographics and Definitions
Housing and Homelessness
Workforce Development
5 6
7 9
9 11
16 Bell
Bell Gardens
Carson
Commerce
Compton
Cudahy
Downey
East Rancho Dominguez
Huntington Park
Long Beach
Lynwood
Maywood
Paramount
Rancho Dominguez
South Gate
Vernon
22 25
28 31
34 36
39 41
44 47
50 53
56 59
62 65
Appendix A. Peer Examples
Appendix B. T able of Housing Policies and Programs
Appendix C. T able of Workforce Development Policies and Programs Planning in the Lower LA River: Context of the Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Para Todos Campaign: Study Area Overview
Priority Topic Areas: Housing & Workforce Development
City Profiles
Appendices

4 This report was prepared by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and SGA Marketing to support the Lower LA River Para T odos campaign.

It consists of a review of affordable housing, homelessness, and workforce development policies and programs that can help enable communities to thrive in place alongside investments in river revitalization and urban greening. It also contains profiles of each of the cities in the Lower LA River region, their demographics, including their workforces and jobs, and their affordable housing, homelessness, and workforce development policies and programs.

This report is designed as a resource for residents, city staff, and elected officials to learn about options available for their cities to make investments in equitable community development strategies. We hope it provides a way for cities to learn from one another as well as to lift up communities economically and environmentally. We intentionally do not make recommendations for individual cities, as we believe that the residents, city staff, and elected officials in each city should determine the policies and programs best suited for their communities.

We stand ready to assist in any way we can with those deliberations and decisions, answering any questions, and providing additional information that can help Lower LA River communities along this path.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Photo by Irene Garcia

5 The Lower LA River Revitalization Plan
The Lower Los Angeles River is the 19 miles of
the Los Angeles River that runs from the City
of Vernon to the mouth of the river in the City
of Long Beach. This portion of the river is the
centerline of Southeast Los Angeles and provides
critical environmental and social infrastructure
to the region. Primarily, the river manages flood
risk, collecting stormwater and channeling it to
the ocean. Without this flood water management,
heavy rains would pose severe risks to the built
and natural environment of the area. The river
also has a number of paths and trails that provide
space for the community to recreate, travel,
and connect with nature in the region. Despite
these functions, the river’s potential as a place
for relaxation, discovery, recreation, tourism, and
economic development is yet to be fully realized.

In 2015, California State Assembly Bill 530 (AB
530) was passed to revive the river through the
development of a watershed-based, equitable,
community-driven plan. The language of AB 530
(Rendon) called for Secretary John Laird of the
Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors,
to appoint members to participate in the Lower
Los Angeles River Working Group for the
development of the Lower Los Angeles River
Revitalization Plan (the Plan). The Working Group,
chaired by the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles
Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC),
included elected officials and representatives
from local cities, regional agencies, and
community advocates who came together to
create the Plan.

The Plan encompasses areas within one mile
on each side of the 19-mile section of the river,
which includes two unincorporated LA County
communities and 13 cities.

PLANNING IN THE LOWER LA RIVER:

CONTEXT OF THE REPORT

6 Lower Los Angeles River Para Todos
Campaign
A key part of this campaign will be ensuring new
park development in the region is accompanied
by adopting housing stabilization policies,
addressing homelessness, and investing in
workforce development.

One of the Plan goals and objectives is
Community Economics, Health and Equity. This
goal speaks to the intention to bring economic
and environmental benefits to all residents and
local, small businesses without contributing
to gentrification and displacement. The RMC
will be working with local stakeholders to
implement policies and programs that leverage
river investments while preventing displacement
of existing residents and businesses. The
following study outlines the existing conditions
in the Lower LA River as of 2023 and maps out
displacement avoidance strategies referenced in
the Plan and community stabilization toolkit. This
report is meant to be a resource to support the
implementation of those strategies in the region.

The Plan describes opportunities for improving
the environment and residents’ quality of life
along the river. It also aims to ensure the voices
of the people are heard now and in the future
as the river is reimagined and revitalized into
an integral part of a healthy, equitable, and
sustainable community.

The Plan is comprised of two volumes, Volume
1: People + Place + Process + Projects, maps out
the history of the lower LA River, the vision for
its future, and the community-driven process by
which the potential projects in opportunity areas
that shape its future were developed. Volume
2: T echnical Plan catalogs the 155 potential
opportunity areas and the benefits those projects
could provide to the region.

The Plan provides a number of resources in
addition to the two volumes, including a map of
the opportunity areas, a community stabilization
toolkit developed to help support existing
communities stay in place as revitalization moves
forward, a watershed education plan, and a
watershed informational pamphlet to inform
youth and adults about the revitalization effort.

The Lower Los Angeles River Para T odos (Para
T odos) campaign was created as a tool to
facilitate collaboration among partners and
continue community feedback loops as the Plan
is implemented. There are 155 multibenefit
potential project opportunity areas identified in
the revitalization plan, and as projects across the
region move forward, the Para T odos campaign
is meant to ensure equity and community
stabilization.

Over the next three years, the Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy (RMC) will be engaging
with community leaders to align development
along the river with the goals of advancing equity,
strengthening communities, and realizing the
vision of the Lower LA River Revitalization Plan.

7 Our Role
In this research report, we are building on the
Plan’s Community Stabilization T oolkit to provide
a more detailed list of policies and programs that
can be implemented to support the community’s
ability to remain in their homes and with their
businesses open throughout development. We
use the following process:
• T o understand the context we used a
multi-disciplinary research methodology to
understand the demographics of the region.

This includes a community profile for each
city with information on existing stabilization
policies and key demographic details.
• T o identify policy and program options for
community stabilization we conducted a
policy and program scan of possible tools
that can be used to combat displacement.

This policy scan is presented for each core
topic —housing, homelessness, and workforce
development — to inform a menu of options
that can be used when shaping equitable
community development strategies in each
city and the region.

Photo Courtesy of RMC

8 Study Area Population
531,707 62%
of residents live in an area
with a High or Very High Park
Need Score
94%
Renters13 Cities
2 Unincorporated LA
County Communities
PARA TODOS CAMPAIGN:

STUDY AREA OVERVIEW

9 MHI ($) Renter-Occupied Housing
Units (%)
Rent-burdened Renters (%)
LA County $76,123 54% 56%
Study Area $58,478 62% 59%
Hispanic or
Latino Origin
Black White
Non-Hispanic
Asian Two or more
Races
LA County 49% 7% 25% 15% 3%
Study Area 73% 9% 8% 6% 1%
High-level Demographics and Definitions
While analyses are detailed in subsequent sections for each city, the study area as a whole is made up of more low-income residents, renters, and residents of color than the Los Angeles County (LA County) average. Furthermore, nearly all residents (95%) live in census tracts designated within the top 25% of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 scores, indicating significant cumulative burdens in regard to environmental conditions, sensitive populations, and socioeconomic factors.

Workforce Data Utilized
Cities’ information on their workforce characteristics used the 2019 American Community Survey as it holds a more stable sample prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The most current unemployment data was obtained from California’s Employment Development Department (EDD).

Income and Housing
The study area’s median household income (MHI) is 77% of the LA County MHI (~$18,000 lower), qualifying the area as low-income.
1 Housing units are majority renter-occupied (60%) and over half of those households are rent-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on rent every month.

Low-income and rent-burdened residents are highly vulnerable to displacement in conditions of gentrification and rising housing costs, especially if insufficient tenant protection policies and programs are in place.
2 Race and Ethnicity
Racial and ethnic data were incorporated into the analyses to ensure the next phases of the Lower LA River Revitalization Plan are implemented with active, equitable engagement of communities of color.

People of color have historically been marginalized from discussions of public investment, and the Para T odos campaign aims to include the voices of all residents. For the region within 1.5 miles of the river, 92% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, Black, Asian, or two or more races or ethnicities, including 73% who identify as Hispanic or Latino.

Data Overview
Demographic and Environmental Data Utilized
T o better understand the communities within 1.5 miles of the Lower Los Angeles River, this study couples 2020 U.S. Decennial Census and 2021 American Community Survey data on income, race, ethnicity, and housing status with information such as LA County Park Needs Assessment results, river access points, USDA Department of Forestry Service urban tree canopy cover, and CalEPA Urban Heat Island data.

10 We know that some river revitalization efforts could contribute to gentrification — rising property values and rental costs and an influx of more affluent residents — and increase the risk of displacement for current residents in the region. This phenomenon of “green gentrification” occurs when investments in green space serve as a catalyst for economic displacement. 3 The “greenspace paradox” describes the
challenge of creating more equitable access to green space in historically deprived communities, which can ultimately contribute to financial pressures that force communities out of neighborhoods, unable to enjoy the benefits of new greenspace. A notable example of this is the High Line in New York, a former rail line transformed into an elevated park running through the Chelsea neighborhood in lower Manhattan. The economic impacts of the High Line have served as a caution for other cities turning to underutilized infrastructure for reinvestment.
4 Each city in the Lower LA River area is different and will implement the policies and programs that make sense for their context. Rather than prescribe solutions, this report lifts up tools that are already in use in the region, as well as additional tools available to cities and stakeholders, and it offers analysis of the contexts in which different tools can be effective. We created a catalog of all the activities cities operate to protect and promote affordable housing and address homelessness. Every program with publicly available information can be found in the charts in Appendices B and C. The following two sections highlight examples of local-level policies and programs that can be expanded across the region.

PRIORITY TOPIC AREAS:

HOUSING & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Photo from Jamboree’s The Affordable Housing Pipeline website

11 Production of Affordable Housing
Local government actions that result in increased
affordable housing production include legal
requirements of income-restricted units, financial
incentives for developers, dedicated fees to
increase municipal funds for housing, and policies
to add units to less dense neighborhoods.

Preservation of Existing Affordable Housing Stock
Resource Sharing: Housing can be complicated.

Whether it is navigating the housing market as a
first-time homebuyer, a renter at risk of eviction,
or a resident looking to address any number
of housing rights questions, there is a detailed
web of programs, agencies, laws, and grants to
navigate. The County of Los Angeles and some of
the cities in the LLAR make an explicit effort to
help residents understand the housing landscape
and the resources, grants, and loans that are
available to them. Examples of these resource
sharing programs include:
• Stay Housed L.A. (SHLA): a partnership
between Los Angeles County, the City of Los
Angeles and local community and legal service
providers created to provide residents with
information and resources to keep people in
their homes. SHLA is a central resource for
residents facing eviction, with lists of vetted
legal service providers, workshops, and other
educational materials.
5 • Paramount ADU Resources Page: The City of
Paramount has a page on their website that
walks those interested through the various
steps on building an ADU on their property.

The webpage has explainers on laws and
financing in English and Spanish as well as a
comprehensive explainer video.
6 • LB Resource Line: a hotline that supports
anyone in Long Beach who needs help finding
local, city and community resources. The
LB Resource Line is a central place where
residents can get access to information on
housing, food access, physical and mental
health services, and other resources.
7 Housing and Homelessness
There are a number of policies and programs
that can be implemented to maintain housing
affordability for low-income residents. These
housing initiatives are inextricably linked with
homelessness prevention programs, as any
activities that expand the affordable housing
stock have the potential to keep residents out
of homelessness and open up homes to those
already living without permanent shelter. The
programs included are specific to individual
cities, but there are additional regional efforts
such as the Los Angeles County land banking
pilot. The pilot focuses on land acquisitions
within two miles of the river with the intention
of holding land for affordable housing versus
market investment. The land banking effort will
complement local efforts. The programs detailed
fall into the general categories of production
of affordable housing, preservation of existing
affordable housing stock, and resident support
programs. Specific policies in each category and
by city are identified in Appendix B.

Resident Support Programs
Resident support programs surround the
production and preservation of affordable
housing and combine unique financing, policy
incentives, and cross-sector partnerships. These
city-specific programs could be expanded or
replicated to ensure residents can thrive in place.

Similarly, local governments can put in place
programs and policies that protect existing
affordable housing stock. Rent control and
rent stabilization ordinances cap the amount
tenants are required to pay monthly, keeping
units affordable. No Net Loss policies require
that affordable units that are removed from
the market be replaced, so there is no overall
loss in the number of available units. Finally,
organizations such as Community Land Trusts can
hold land permanently affordable while allowing
residents to own their specific units.

12 PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

GATEWAY CITIES AFFORDABLE

HOUSING TRUST
In 2023, the Gateway Cities Council of
Governments designated housing and
homelessness funds for the creation and
initial round of funding disbursement from
the Gateway Cities Affordable Housing Trust.

The Affordable Housing Trust created the
Affordable Housing Loan Program to fund the
construction of housing for residents with
limited financial resources. Since its inception
in 2023, two Notices of Funding Availability
have been issued for $8 million and $5.7
million for new construction and acquisition/
rehabilitation of affordable housing and
permanent supportive housing. Eligible
recipients include non-profit and for-profit
organizations or partnerships that serve lower
income households and people experiencing
homelessness; projects must be located in a
Gateway City that is compliant with all State
Housing Laws.

Nonprofit Collaboration: Many cities have
nonprofit partners that help them fill in social
service gaps. This support can be in the form of
providing services the city doesn’t have capacity
to operate and/or consulting with the city on
how to build out services to meet resident
needs. Many nonprofits have been operating
in the community for decades and have a lot of
knowledge on how to best address challenges
around housing. Most of the city/nonprofit
partnerships in the Lower LA River region
address homelessness. Some examples of these
collaborations include:
• Bell Gardens and PATH: People Assisting the
Homeless (PATH) partners with the City of
Bell Gardens for outreach and shelter support
in the unhoused community.
• City funded beds in shelters: The City of Bell
Gardens purchased beds at the Salvation
Army Shelter located in the City of Bell to
ensure their residents have access to shelter
when requested.

Dedicated Staff: A few of the cities in the LLAR
have created staff positions in the past few
years dedicated to addressing homelessness in
their cities. These roles are meant to collaborate
with other city agencies to address the various
issues residents experiencing or at risk of
entering homelessness face. Some examples of
dedicated staff positions created to housing and
homelessness are:
• Bell and Cudahy Homeless Services Liaison:
created to help within the community in Bell
and Cudahy. The Homeless Liaison partners
with other city departments and divisions in
both the cities as well as service providers,
nonprofit agencies and local businesses to
connect individuals to services.
89 • Paramount has a dedicated full time city
position of Homeless Services Liaison.
10 Rent and Utility Assistance Grants: During the
peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of
utility and rent assistance grants were created to
help residents make bill payments during a time
of crisis. Some of these programs live on in an
effort to give low-income residents a cushion in
times of need. These city -operated short-term
programs created help residents avoid service
shut-offs or eviction include:
• Lynwood Utility Assistance Program, which
offers financial assistance to low-income
households on electricity, gas, trash, and
water bills. Recipients must be making 80%
or less of the area median income in order to
qualify for support.
11 • Huntington Park Emergency Rental
Assistance Program, three months of rental
assistance available to income-eligible
residents who live in Huntington Park. Funds
are distributed on a first come, first served
basis.
12

13 The city profiles in this report focus on city operated policies and programs to build a picture of what local level resources exist. Many of the cities in the Lower Los Angeles River region utilize federal, state, and county funding sources to support additional housing and homelessness programs in their jurisdictions. There are numerous funding streams cities in the Lower LA River region can and do apply for that support affordable housing construction, homelessness prevention, community economic development, and other technical assistance activities; however, these programs are big, bureaucratic, and can be difficult to track. For the most part, federal funding, often from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) trickles down through state agencies, like the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to local communities.

LEVERAGING FEDERAL HOUSING FUNDS

14 The Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG): The CDBG is an federal grant that is
distributed directly to large cities or through the
state to cities with populations under 50,000.

These funds are intended for projects that benefit
low- and moderate-income persons, aid in the
prevention or elimination of slums and blight,
or meet urgent needs. Many cities in the Lower
LA River region use CDBG funds to fund public
service and operations of community services.

CDBG grants can be used for rental housing
acquisition, improvements to public systems like
utilities, community facilities and operations, and
studies and plans for economic development.
13 Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME):

The HOME program was made by the US
Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) to create and retain affordable housing.

HOME funding goes into a city or county HOME
account which can be used to grant loans to
project developers. When these loans are repaid,
they are reused in local HOME accounts. HOME
loans can fund rehabilitation, acquisition, and
construction of multifamily and single-family
projects but must benefit low-income residents.
14 National Housing Trust Fund Program (NHTF):

The NHTF program is a federally funded
deferred payment loan created to increase and
preserve the supply of affordable housing, with
an emphasis on rental housing for extremely
low-income households. The 55-year loans
can be utilized by individuals, joint ventures,
trusts, and local public entities to fund housing
construction.
15 CalHome Program: CalHome Program is a state
grant to local public agencies and nonprofit
developers that can be used to support first time
homebuyers and homeowners in the form of
deferred payment loans. Recipients of CalHome
loans can use them for down payments, home
rehabilitation efforts, homebuyer counseling,
mortgage assistance, and other technical
assistance related to homeownership. Projects
with multiple owners qualify for CalHome loans.
16 Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing
(Pro Housing): Pro Housing is a new program
created by HUD to remove barriers to
affordable housing. The Pro Housing program
designated $85 million to be used by local
and state governments, metropolitan planning
organizations, and multi-jurisdictional entities
to identify and remove barriers to affordable
housing production and preservation. These
barriers could include outdated zoning, land use
policies, or regulations, inefficient procedures,
gaps in resources for development, lack of
neighborhood amenities, or expiration of
affordability requirements.
17 FEDERAL HOUSING FUNDS: GRANTS

15 In addition to grant programs, the Low-Income
Housing Tax Credit System (LIHTC) and the
Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV)
program are a significant portion of federal aid
directed to housing low-income residents.

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC): LIHTC
funding is the most significant resource for
creating affordable housing in the United States.

Federal tax credits subsidize the construction
and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing.

Each state has a dedicated agency responsible
for allocating the tax credits. In California, the
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee
(CTCAC) has the authority to issue tax credits
amounting to roughly $106 million in funding
annually to private investors building and fixing
rental housing for low-income residents.
18 Funds
are 2024 CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Map in
the sidebar to the right shows the geographic
distribution of opportunity based on economic,
education, and environmental indicators.
19 The
map shows areas with lower resources and with
high-poverty and segregation.

Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs): Sometimes
called “Section 8,” HCVs are a major source of
housing assistance for low-income families across
the nation. The federal government appropriated
$26.4 billion for HCV contracts in 2023. Funding
flows to local housing authorities that distribute
the housing vouchers to eligible low-income
residents. Some cities in the Lower LA River
region have dedicated housing authorities while
others rely on the county housing authority).

These vouchers are then used to pay up to
70% of market rate housing costs to landlords
on behalf of low-income residents. While
the program is well established, it has severe
limitations. Many programs are at capacity with
closed waiting lists and wait times of decades.

Vouchers are jurisdiction specific; recipients
cannot transfer vouchers to other jurisdictions.
20 FEDERAL HOUSING FUNDS: MARKET-BASED

16 PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

MAYWOOD YOUTH WORKFORCE

PROGRAM
The City of Maywood has a Youth Workforce
Program in partnerships with the Hub Cities
Consortium, LA County’s America’s Job
Center of California that provides workforce
development and career placement. The
program provides paid internships for youth
ages 17-30 who are residents of Maywood. The
first cohort
included 13 youth,
and the program
launched its second
cohort. This program
supports youth career
and educational
development while
building organizational
capacity.
21 Total Active Businesses in Southeast LA Cities
Top 10 Industries by Percentage of Active Businesses
Workforce Development
While individual worker training programs are
most associated with workforce development,
they are just one subset in a larger network
that builds economic resilience. Workforce
development also includes creating sustainable
programs, pathways, and opportunities for all
members of the workforce who are in different
stages of their careers as well as the local
businesses and industries.

The cities within the study area have a wide
range in the size of their workforce, economies,
and industry makeup. Within our 1.5-mile study
area, about half of residents aged 25 and older
have a high school diploma. Commuting patterns
are about the same in the study area as the
county, with more than half of workers driving
alone and about 5% using public transportation
as their means of transportation to work. About
41% of commute times fall between 10 and 29
minutes. For residents in renter occupied housing
units about 40% had one vehicle available and

13.4% did not have any vehicle available. Workers
overwhelmingly rely on driving as their main form
of transportation to work, and while some do
carpool, the majority drive alone.

The top three occupations for workers include
professional and related occupations (14%),
transportation and material moving (13%), and
office and administrative support occupations
(13%). About 19% of male employees have a
transportation and material moving occupation,
higher than the county’s 11.5%. For female
employees, office and administrative support was
the top occupation followed by professional, and
sales occupations.

Business information based on ZIP code
areas that overlap with the region show that
the majority of business establishments are
small businesses that employ fewer than five
employees (51%). Regionally, the industries with
the greatest projected sector employment growth

17 Total Active Businesses in Southeast LA Cities
Top 10 Industries by Percentage of Active Businesses
Business Support
Business support programs encourage the
creation and preservation of small businesses
through financial support, resource-sharing, job
placement services, and technical assistance.

Often these programs work on the employer-side
to help microenterprises build their resilience.

Moving towards specific large scale economic
goals will take time and addressing individuals’
situations will require collaboration between
different agencies and CBOs to provide
multiple paths of assistance. The following
policies and programs are broadly grouped into
three categories: business support; individual
training, pre-workforce, academic readiness;
and community-wide efforts that focus on the
economic realities of vulnerable populations
that are left out of traditional training programs
or non-traditional approaches to work. While
aspects of each category overlap, each category
takes different approaches.
are leisure and hospitality (48%), other services
(25.3%), and educational business services, health
care, and social assistance (21.7%). For the Los
Angeles - Long Beach Region, the industries with
the greatest growth are projected to be Leisure
and Hospitality, Other Services, and Educational
Business.

Business development support: Business
development can be addressed at different
scales and through various channels. Citywide
policies in the form of tax incentives or rebates
can foster business establishments and incubator
programs can provide support for small and
micro-enterprises. The region’s Harbor Gateway
Chamber of Commerce as well as city-level
chambers of commerce provide a centralized
space for businesses to access resources,
support, and network. The cities within the
region are serviced by multiple resource centers
including the LA County Economic Development
Corporation (LAEDC) workforce regions,
Gateway Cities and South Bay,
22 and four Labor
Workforce Development Areas (LWDA)23 that
administer programs funded by the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOWA).
24 LA City’s EWDD Worksource Centers and Hub
Cities Consortium offer employers services
to help manage growth, staff training and
certification, and incentive programs. Employers
can also receive specialized support for their
specific or timely needs, including recruitment
and layoff aversion.
25 Existing business support: Programs like the
Commercial Façade Improvement grants, can
help businesses stay competitive without having
to go into debt. During the COVID-19 pandemic,

18 Photo by Olivia Arena
federal and state relief provided some assistance
in the form of grants but the majority of funding
programs have been phased out. Multiple cities
have expressed interest in increasing business
development through programs like financial
incentives, expedited permits, renovation grants,
tax breaks, and more recently, post-COVID
impact grants, including the Microenterprise
Recovery Grant Program. LA County offers loan
programs that assist with business expansion and
development such as the Business Expansion
Loan Program and Float Loan Program.

Business incubators: Working in partnerships
with local organizations, business incubators can
help small businesses implement a long-term plan
and scale up their operations. Business guidance
can be beneficial in establishing industry
connections and support. In 2020, Sustainable
Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA)
launched their Seasoned Accelerator program to
support small and micro healthy food focused
businesses.
26 Similarly, the Los Angeles Cleantech
Incubator (LACI) provides clean technology
startups a series of workshops and tailored
support to develop their business.
27 Through
LACI’s Impact Fund and Debt Fund startups can
secure $500,000 in equity and debt financing.

Tax exemptions and rebates: California’s
Manufacturing and Research and Development
exemption allows for qualified participants to
pay a lower sales or use tax rate.
28 In 2018, the
exemption was amended to include businesses
that generate, distribute, or store electric power.

The exemption was extended until June 2030
and its rate remains at 3.3125 % sale or use tax
not including additional district-imposed taxes.

California Competes Tax Credit: With an available
pool of $180 million each fiscal year until 2027-
2028, the California Competes Tax Credit offers
income tax credits to any business located in the
state, especially to those classified as “high value
employers,” businesses that provide good wages
and benefits.
29 Through their Public Utilities Department, the
City of Vernon offers a Natural Gas Rebate
Program aimed at reducing the cost of projects
that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This
program is designed to help reach the GHG
emission reduction goals of AB 32.
30 Funding for
this program comes from the city’s revenue from
“freely allocated gas allowances” through CARB’s
Cap and Trade.

19 Photo: Long Beach Conservation Corps
Individual training career-specific training
programs: Programs that have a specific training
focus can provide participants a specialized
toolkit to better prepare them for career paths.

Programs like the Los Angeles River Rangers
run by the Los Angeles Conservation Corps
not only provide exposure to green careers,
but their cohort design provides a supportive
environment.
31 Participants receive specialized
training in green careers and following the
completion of the program participants can
follow a pathway to full time employment. These
programs are beneficial in different sectors.

Establishing programs for growing and emerging
fields can help residents take advantage of
increased job opportunities.

Supporting undocumented workers and day
laborers: Day Laborers often face job instability
and risk of wage theft. The Instituto de Educación
Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA) offers
multiple bilingual know-your-rights workshops
and acts as a liaison between employers and
employees through their Day Labor Program.
32 Implementing city wide information campaigns
in collaboration with established organizations to
provide accurate and tailored information can be
a first step to addressing vulnerable populations.

American Job Centers (AJCC): Funded by the
U.S Department of Labor’s Employment and
Training Administration, American Job Centers
(AJCCs) provide multiple range of assistance
to job seekers under one roof. Established
under the Workforce Investment Act and
reauthorized in the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunities Act of 2014, the centers offer
training referrals, career counseling, job listings,
and similar employment-related services. These
resources can be accessed at training centers or
in partnership at core community locations. Both
employers and job seekers can benefit from their
programs. A youth focused program Y outh @
Work (Y@W) helps youth aged 14 to 24 obtain
work experience while subsidizing up to 100
hours of wages for employers who host a worker.

There are nine centers within the region and two
within the study area, the Rancho Dominguez
AJCC and Slawson AJCC.
33 There is also the
SELACO Workforce Development Board, which
provides support for the entire SELA region.

Individual Training, Pre-workforce, Academic
Readiness
On the worker-side, workforce development
programs can provide individual training, career
readiness supports, or specific programs tailored
to groups that often need additional support
like undocumented workers or youth. Programs
and policies in this bucket strengthen the skills,
provide coaching resources, and connect job-
seekers with employment opportunities.

20 Photo by Olivia Arena
Community Ownership: The “regenerative
economy” model of LA Más has focused on
providing a space for community vendors
to organize and have agency in their local
economies.
34 Their support for owner
autonomy promotes collective decision making,
participatory budgeting, and allows residents to
take an active role in shaping and guiding their
local economy. As a result, business owners have
greater agency and collective power. In the SELA
Agenda one of the concerns around workforce
development was the financial disempowerment
caused by lack of investment contrasted with a
high number of places with predatory lending
practices.
35 Mission Asset Fund, located in San
Francisco, has focused on creating accessible
entries into financial systems that often leave
people behind. Access to credit and credit scores
can change a person’s trajectory whether it be
through buying a home or starting a business.

Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs):
negotiated between developers and unions, as
well as community coalitions, can set specific
criteria for developments or projects that enable
the surrounding community to benefit from
upcoming development. These can include but
are not limited to local hiring, wage commitments,
and inclusion of affordable housing units.

In planning for the construction of the SELA
Cultural Center, the San Gabriel and Lower Los
Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
(RMC) is negotiating with the Los Angeles/
Orange Counties Construction and Building
Trades Council to create a Community
Workforce Agreement (CWA) aimed at
prioritizing the local workforce. Contractors must
comply with the requirements of the agreement
by providing workforce training and employment
opportunities to the local community. These
requirements were established to prioritize hiring
of local residents and increase efforts to enroll
residents in apprenticeship programs as a way to
develop the local workforce.

The City of Long Beach has also engaged
with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building
and Construction Trades Council, along with
its affiliated local unions and the Southwest
Regional Council of Carpenters, through a
Project Labor Agreement (PLA).
36 Similar to
CWAs, PLAs set requirements that support local
hiring, employment of disadvantaged workers,
and continuity of work. The Long Beach PLA
includes provisions mandating that 40% of
construction hours must be completed by local
workers and 10% must be completed by veterans
or transitional workers. This PLA also supports
pre-apprenticeship programming for residents
through partnerships with Long Beach City
College, Pacific Gateway, and the Trades.
37 Their lending circles provide participants a way to
establish a credit line without risky high interest
rates with the ultimate goal being financial
security and literacy.

Community-Wide Efforts
Finally, there are efforts that provide benefits
to employers, employees, and communities as a
whole. Community Benefits Agreements include
stipulations that require projects to provide
economic benefits to communities impacted by
developments. Agreements can include funding
set asides or hiring obligations. Other efforts
attempt to reimagine entire economic systems
in a community. Regenerative economic models
encourage cooperative and collective ownership
and participatory economic governance.

ENDNOTES
1 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2018). HUD’s public housing program. HUD. https:/ /www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/ phprog
2 Cohen, M., & Pettit, K. (2019). Guide to Measuring Neighborhood Change to Understand and prevent Displacement. National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership. https:/ /www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/100135/guide_to_measuring_neighborhood_change_to_understand_and_prevent_dis- placement.pdf
3 Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J.J.T., Cole, H. et al. Green gentrification in European and North American cities. Nat Commun 13, 3816 (2022). https:/ /doi. org/10.1038/s41467-022-31572-1
4Flynn, K. (2019). “The High Stakes of the High Line Effect.” Architect Magazine. https:/ /www.architectmagazine.com/aia-architect/aiafeature/the-high- stakes-of-the-high-line-effect_o
5 More information on Stay Housed L.A. can be found at www.stayhousedla.org/ 6 www.paramountcity.com/government/planning-department/planning-division/adu-resources 7 www.longbeach.gov/press-releases/long-beach-expands-lb-resource-line-a-city-hotline-connecting-residents-with-local-community-resources/ 8 www.cityofbell.org/?NavID=2705
9 www.cityofcudahy.com/324/Homelessness-Services
10 www.paramountcity.com/government/public-safety-department/homeless-outreach-services 11 www.lynwoodca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1131/UtilityAssistanceProgram-Application-and-Guidelines?bidId 12 hpca.gov/819/Emergency-Rental-Assistance-Program-ERAP 13 www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/programs-active/community-development-block-grant 14 www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/programs-active/home-investment-partnerships-program 15 www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/programs-active/national-housing-trust-fund-program 16 www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/programs-active/calhome 17 www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/pro_housing 18 www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/program.pdf
19 2024 Opportunity Map methodology is explained at belonging.berkeley.edu/2023-ctcac-hcd-opportunity-map 20 nlihc.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/2023AG4-01_Housing-Choice-Vouchers.pdf 21 www.youtube.com/watch?v=siEEPrtxGVs
22 data.lacounty.gov/datasets/36e588a194a04b2f917919f147d2f707_0/explore?location=33.911658%2C-118.089152%2C9.70 23 www.ajcc.lacounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/50/637446812000330000 24 www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/wioa
25 hubcities.org/businesses/
26 foodaccessla.org/seasoned-accelerator
27 laincubator.org/incubation/
28 www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub541.pdf
29 business.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/California-Competes-Tax-Credit-FAQ-11-30-23.pdf 30 www.cityofvernon.org/home/showpublisheddocument/3510/638318706843270000 31 ewddlacity.com/index.php/press/updates/1151-la-river-rangers-program-is-hiring-youth 32 idepsca.org/daylabor
33 www.ajcc.lacounty.gov/job-seekers/general-placement-services/employment-services 34 www.mas.la/regenerative-economies-programs
35 www.selacollab.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SELA_Collab_2021_Agenda_Final_040621-sm.pdf 36 The City of Long Beach includes more information on the PLA at www.longbeach.gov/finance/business-info/compliance/project-labor-agreement/ 37 More information on the Port of Long Beach’s PLA can be found at polb.com/port-info/news-and-press/pla-paves-way-for-port-infrastruc- ture-03-28-2023/

22 The City of Bell is home to 1.7 miles of the river
and 32,000 people with about 28,783 living in
the study area, making it one of the densest cities
in LA County.

Bell has two distinct portions, one on the east
side of the river and one on the west. Much of
the riverfront on the east bank is an industrial
district with few residences, while the western
portion of the city has more homes, parks,
schools, and community-serving businesses.

The
tree canopy cover is low (0-14%) in the eastern
industrial areas of Bell, but slightly higher to the
west (15-24%).

In general, the Southeast region of Los Angeles
ranks high in the park needs assessment for LA
County. The City of Bell is no exception. While
the county average is 3.3 park acres per 1,000
residents, Bell has only 0.4 park acres per 1,000
residents. While 77% of the population lives
within half a mile of a park, these open spaces
that exist are too small to adequately serve the
dense population.

Bell has a notably lower average income than the
surrounding area. The median household income
in Bell is just over $50,000 a year, more than
$8,000 less than the rest of the study area and
about $16,000 less than the average countywide.

The City’s residents are majority renters (71%),
60% of whom are rent-burdened. Bell is a
majority Latino community with nearly 90% of
the population identifying as such in the 2021
American Community Survey (ACS).

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~28,783
Rented
71%
$50,079

Rent-burdened Renters
60%
BELL

23 Workforce
The City of Bell does not have any existing
tenant protection policies but does have a few
homeowner support programs, specifically a
residential rehabilitation program funded through
a federal community development block grant.

The residential rehabilitation program provides
up to $18,000 in grant funding to income-eligible
homeowners for things such as lead-based
paint and asbestos testing, repairs, electrical
and plumbing, and correction of municipal code
violations.
32 Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and
Administrative Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Retail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
14 %
17 %
14 %
Bell has a labor force of 14,600 people, and an
unemployment rate of 5%. More than half of
workers drive to work alone, with about 11%
carpooling and 7% using public transportation.

About 11% of residents in renter occupied
housing units do not have access to a car while
42% do have access to a vehicle. Commuters
mostly spend between 10 to 59 minutes on their
commute but about 15% of workers spend more
than an hour traveling to work. Nearly half of
residents over 25 years old have a high school
diploma and about 8% have a bachelor’s degree
or a higher degree. The main occupations in this
area include transportation and material moving
(17%), office and administrative support (13%),
and production (13%). Occupations by gender for
male employees were similar to the study area
with transportation and material moving (25%)
and construction, extraction, and maintenance
(19%) being the most represented. Similarly,
office and administrative support (20%) and
professional occupations (14.5%) for female
employees were reflective of the study area.
73% 11% 7% 3%
Means of Transportation
to Work

24 Currently the City of Bell operates a Commercial
Façade Improvement Program that provides
financial assistance to update business exteriors.

A residential program is also available for both
mobile homes and houses providing $11,000
to $14,000 in grant funding for exterior home
improvements.

*Categories were collapsed for reporting
BELL

25 The City of Bell Gardens is about the same size as
Bell, but it is even denser with 16,978 people per
square mile and a total land area of approximately

2.5 square miles. Bell Gardens is one of the
densest cities in the southeast region of Los
Angeles and LA County.

Bell Gardens is situated southeast of Bell with
Downey to its south and Commerce on the
northeastern border. Nearly all of Bell Gardens’
land area is within the study area and about
90% of the city’s population — around 34,200
residents — lives within 1.5 miles of the eastern
bank of the river.

In the county’s park needs assessment, Bell
Gardens is high to very high in park need. There
are about 2.36 park acres per 1,000 people in
Bell Gardens, compared to the county average
of 3.3 acres. In a similar situation to Bell, most
residents in Bell Gardens live within a half mile
of a park (82%), but because the parks are small
and there are so many people in the city, there
isn’t enough park space to meet the needs of the
population. Most of Bell Gardens has about 15 to
24% tree canopy cover.

The median household income in Bell Gardens
is low. Estimated in the 2022 U.S. Census Data,
at $53,935, it is the lowest among cities on the
lower LA River, almost $10,000 less than the
average on the lower river, and $29,000 less than
the rest of the county.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~34,200
Rented
79%
$48,946

Rent-burdened Renters
61%

BELL GARDENS

26 Workforce
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
Male
Female
Transportation and
Material Moving
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Construction
Transportation,warehousing,
and utilities
Retail
16 %
15 %
13 %
In the area of housing policy, Bell Gardens has
passed tenant protections to support their renter
population and address rising rent concerns.

These include a rent stabilization (Ordinance
925) paired with tenant eviction protections
preventing landlords from terminating a lease
after a tenant has legally resided in a unit for 12
months unless there is just cause (Ordinance
925).
33 Bell Gardens also has two programs that support
residents’ ability to buy homes and stay in the
homes they are living in.

The First Time Homebuyers Program provides
loans from $10,000 to $100,000 to support
down payments, while the Owner-Occupied
Rehabilitation Program funds income-eligible
homeowners’ repairs and renovations through
loans up to $125, 000.
34 Means of Transportation
to Work
73% 11% 5% 2%
In addition to being low-income, according to
the Bell Gardens 6th Cycle Housing Element, the
city’s population in the study area is 79% renters,
61% of whom are rent-burdened. Bell Gardens
is majority Latino, with almost 97% of the study
area’s residents identifying as such.

27 Bell Gardens has a labor force of 15,300 workers
with an average 4.7% unemployment rate. The
top three industries include manufacturing
(15.8%), retail and trade (14.4%), and
transportation, warehousing, and utilities (12.6%).

Among the city’s current active businesses,
the main industries are (other services (21%),
construction (14%), and retail trade (14%). The
occupations with the highest percentage of
workers include production, transportation, and
material moving (33%), sales and office (25%),
and service (19.4%).

The City of Bell Gardens’ Community Family
Service Center acts as a community hub to
connect numerous services ranging from
parenting classes to job placement. They provide
multiple utility assistance programs, and in
partnership with Job Corps, they connect youth
aged 16-24 years with training in multiple fields.
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

BELL GARDENS

28 Demographics
Carson is situated to the west of Long Beach
and south of Compton and Rancho Dominguez.

The area of Carson in our study area is primarily
zoned for heavy manufacturing, with a small
residential area west of Alameda Street and south
of Dominguez Street. This area is home to 7,842
residents or 8% of the City’s total population.

Residents primarily identify as Hispanic or Latino
(69%), followed by Asian (14%), White (7%), and
Black (6%).

The median household income is $75,670,
making it comparable to that of LA County and
considerably higher (+$17,000) than the overall
study area. In contrast to other cities, housing
units in Carson’s study area are predominantly
owner-occupied (69%). However, 63% of renter
households are rent-burdened.

The City contains a large portion of the
Dominguez Channel but does not come into
contact with the Lower LA River. Residents may
experience temperatures 0.8 to 1.5° Fahrenheit
hotter than non-urbanized areas due to urban
heat island effects. Additionally, the entire area
has high park needs and very low tree canopy
cover (0 to 14%), likely due to the industrial
zoning.

Carson’s housing policies focus on homeowner
support. The Foreclosure Prevention Awareness
Initiative and the Neighborhood Pride Program
direct funding and resources to low- and
moderate-income homeowners to help them
avoid foreclosure and update their dwellings.

Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 7,842
$75,670
Housing Units
Rented
31%
Rent-burdened Renters
63%
CARSON

29 The Neighborhood Pride Program is funded
through a federal Community Block Grant and
provides residents grants of $15,000 to $20,000
or deferred loans of $50,000 to make safety
updates to mobile homes and single-family
dwellings.
35 Carson’s unemployment is 5.2% and has a labor
force of about 45,000. About 54% of residents
over 25 have a high school diploma and about
30% have a high school degree or higher, one
of the highest in the region. Female and male
residents have similar educational attainments,
with 34% having less than a high school diploma
and about 65% having a high school diploma or
higher. Construction is the most represented
industry based on current active businesses.

Residents, however, were mostly employed in
professional (21%), office and administrative
support (15%), and transportation and material
moving occupations.

Workers mostly rely on driving alone as their
means of transportation. Only about 2% of
workers use public transportation, and 7%
carpool. Almost 56% of travel time to work falls
under 30 minutes and only 9% of trips taking
longer than 60 minutes.

Workforce
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
Male
Female
Professional and
Related
Professional and
Related
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
ProHessional scientific
management,
and administrative
Manufacturing
27 %
11 %
10 %
Means of Transportation
to Work
81% 7% 2% 2%

30 Like Bell, Carson City offers a Commercial Fa2ade
Improvement project to help update business
fronts and exteriors. Their Small Business Grant
Program is intended to help businesses that were
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Successful
applicants receive between $5k-$15k and have
less than 50 employees.

Carson is home to the One Stop Career Center,
providing career support, workshops, and training
to residents seeking employment.
*Categories were collapsed for reporting
CARSON

31 Commerce is on the northeastern edge of the
study area. About 72% of the City’s land area
and 55% of its residents are within the study
area. Much of the northeastern and southeastern
regions of the city are zoned for industrial and
commercial manufacturing, while the western
portion has more residential and commercial
districts.

The median household income within the study
area is $59,932, which is slightly lower than that
of the entire city ($63,343). While this median
household income is in line with the rest of the
study area, it is almost $17,000 less than that
of the county. Commerce is a majority Latino
city with 95% of the population identifying as
Hispanic or Latino according to census data.

Most of the residential areas in Commerce are
zoned for low-density, detached and attached
single-family dwellings). Approximately 48% of
units in the study area are renter-occupied, 53%
of which are rent-burdened. The population
density of Commerce is 1,894 people per square
mile which is low for the region and the county.

Commerce has a handful of parks and has
moderate to high park needs. There are 2.3 acres
of park per 1,000 people compared to 3.3 acres
of parkland per 1,000 people in the county.

Around 50% of the population lives within ѽ mile
of a park which is the county average.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 6,990
Rented
48%
$59,932

Rent-burdened Renters
53%

COMMERCE

32 Commerce has a number of housing policies
in place to support homeowners and renters,
including:

Rent StabiliŒationĹ A landlord cannot increase a
tenant’s rent by more than 5% plus the Consumer
Price Index (CPI), or 10%, whichever is lower,
within a 12-month period.
37 ust Cause ProtectionsĹ Tenants may only be
evicted for specific “for cause” or “no-fault”
reasons, such as not paying rent within three days
of receiving notice, creating a nuisance or using
the unit for illegal purposes, the lease started
after July of 2020, or the landlord intends to
demolish or substantially rehabilitate the unit.
38 A
irst-tile Hole Buyers ProgralĹ This
program from 2022 is a partnership with a local
housing development called Rosewood Village.

In this program, nine participants could get up
to $150,000 in assistance for a down payment
and closing cost on units in the development.

To qualify, participants need to be first-time
homebuyers who have lived in Commerce for at
least five years. Participants were chosen through
a lottery process.
39 Hole Preservation rantĹ A grant program
provides income-qualified residents with up to
$25,000 in grant funding for essential home
improvements such as roof repairs and electrical
upgrades. These grants are for single-family
homes that are the owner’s primary residence.
40 Workforce
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Construction,
Extraction,
and Maintenance
Construction,
Extraction,
and Maintenance
Transportation and
Material Moving
+
Transportation and
Material Moving
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Arts, entertainment,recreation,
accommodation and food services
Educational services, health care
and social assistance
25 %
13 %
10 %
Manufacturing
Means of Transportation
to Work
77% 10% 3% 4%
In addition to the city program at Rosewood
Village, Commerce is also participating in the
first-time homebuyers program run by the LA
County Development Authority to provide loans
at 0% interest with deferred payment options for
first-time homebuyers for up to $85,000 or 20%
of the purchase price, whichever is less.
41

33 The Commerce labor force is one of the
smallest with around 5,500 workers and an
unemployment rate of 5%. Wholesale trade
and construction businesses make up 20% and
16% of current active businesses. Male workers
with construction, extraction, and maintenance
occupations were the largest group with 20%,
followed by transportation and material moving
(17%), and production occupations. Production
and transportation were both slightly higher
than county levels but more or less similar
to the neighboring cities. Female workers in
professional occupations made up 23%, which
while lower than the county, a big higher than the
region. Overall, professional, management, and
construction occupations were the largest.

*Categories were collapsed for reporting

COMMERCE

34 The area of Compton within 1.5 miles of the river
is home to 24,246 residents (25% of the city’s
total population), the majority of whom identify
as Hispanic/Latino (71%) or Black (27%).

Residents in the study area have a median
household income of $61,151, or 80.1% of the
median household income of LA County. Slightly
less than half (42%) of all occupied housing units
are rented, and 61% of those households are
rent-burdened.

The entire area has high park needs and no
river access points. Due to urban heat island
effects, Compton residents in the study area may
experience temperatures that are 1.5 to 2.3°
hotter than more rural reference points, and the
majority of the area has 15 to 24% tree canopy
cover.

Compton has a City Housing Authority that
manages the federally funded Housing Choice
Voucher program. This program subsidizes
60 to 70% of eligible residents’ rent and is at
capacity. The waiting list to get support for rent
is closed and as of October 2023, not accepting
applications.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 24,246
Rented
42%
$61,151

Rent-burdened Renters
61%

COMPTON

35 *Categories were collapsed for reporting
Workforce
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
Male
Female
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Transportation and warehousing,
utilities
Manufacturing
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
19 %
18 %
15 %
Means of Transportation
to Work
77% 14% 5% 1%
Compton’s Labor force is around 38,000 and
has a 7% average unemployment rate, one of
the higher rates in the region. Workers who hold
office and administrative support occupations
make up 24%, higher than the county’s 17%.

Professional and sales occupations made up 15%
and 11%. More than half of residents over 25
hold a highschool diploma (54%) and 10% have a
bachelor’s degree or higher.

36 Cudahy is a small, densely populated city located
just south of Bell. Cudahy is 1.23 square miles
in area and nearly all of Cudahy lies within 1.5
miles of the LA River. The population of Cudahy
is about 22,300 people. This makes Cudahy one
of the densest cities in the region and the county.

Roughly 20,300 of those residents live within 1.5
miles of the river
The median household income in Cudahy within

1.5 miles of the river is on the low end of our
study area at $46,439 a year, this is roughly
$12,000 lower than the study area and $30,000
lower than the county average. Cudahy is also a
majority renter population with 86% of units in
the city renting their home. 60% of those renters
are spending 30% or more of their income on
rent every month.

Cudahy is a majority Latino city with 97% of the
residents within 1.5 miles of the river identifying
as Hispanic or Latino.

There are four access points to the river in
Cudahy. The City overall has a very high park
need. There are 0.8 park acres per 1,000 people
in Cudahy compared to the 3.3 county average.

Although 82% of residents live within half a mile
of a park, there just is not enough park space to
meet the needs of the city’s residents.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 20,311
Rented
86%
$46,439

Rent-burdened Renters
60%
CUDAHY

37 WorkforceCudahy has passed tenant protections over
the past few years to support their renter
population’s ability to stay in place. These
protections include:

Rent StabiliŒation (Ordinance ƕƒѵ)Ĺ Created to
protect tenants from excessive rent increases
and promote long-term stability for tenants. The
ordinance does so by blocking landlords from
being able to raise rent by more than the change
in CPI (consumer price index) or 3% annually,
whichever is lower.
43 $ enant Protections (Ordinance ƕƒƕ)Ĺ is paired
with the rent increase restrictions to protect
tenants from being evicted as a means for
landlords to raise rents. Landlords cannot
terminate a lease after a tenant has been in a unit
legally for 12 months unless there is just cause.
44 Cudahay has a number of other policies and
programs in place to support the production
and preservation of affordable housing. The
City has an inclusionary housing program in
the zoning code which requires developers
of projects of four or more units to assign
15% of the total units as affordable, rented to
households earning 80% of AMI or below. These
units are reserved for residents that meet lower
income guidelines. Cudahy is also working on
passing a rental assistance program to provide
residents struggling to pay rent with financial
assistance. The program would allocate $120,000
for direct rental assistance over a one-year
period.
46 T o support residents looking to become
homeowners in Cudahy, the City participates
in the county-run First-Time Homebuyers
Assistance Program.

Means of Transportation
to Work
73% 13% 8% 2%
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
15 %
14 %
14 %

38 With a labor force of approximately 9,700,
Cudahy’s labor force is one of the smallest in the
region. The City has an unemployment rate of
approximately of 5%. The percent of employed
residents in production decreased from 18% to
13%. Transportation and material moving (19%)
and construction, extraction, and maintenance
(13%) round out the top three occupations.

About 6% of residents aged 25 or older have
a bachelor’s degree or higher and 25% have
obtained their high school degree.

Cudahy’s strategy to increase business, outlined
in their 2040 plan, includes an implementation
of a chamber of commerce to connect
businesses, and the implementation of a business
improvement district.
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

CUDAHY

39 Downey is a 12.5-square-mile city with a
population of 111,645 people east of the
LA River. There are about 17,598 people in
Downey who live within 1.5 miles of the river.

These residents are majority Hispanic or Latino
(72%). The median income of households is
$77,860, which is higher than the county median
household income of $76,123 a year, and among
the highest in the region.

Less than half of the units within 1.5 miles of the
river in Downey are occupied by renters (48%),
and 62% of those renters are spending 30% or
more of their income on rent each month (i.e. are
rent-burdened).

About half of the City of Downey has moderate
park needs and the other half has high to very
high park needs. Though 39% of the residents of
Downey live within a half-mile of a park, there are
only 1.1 park acres per 1,000 people in the city,
which is a third of the average number of park
acres per 1,000 people in LA County. Downey
is not adjacent to the LA River so there are no
access points in the city. However, there are
access points to the Rio Hondo.

Downey has no tenant protections beyond
the state-ordered rent stabilization from
California’s AB 987. There are some resources
for homeowners hoping to make critical home
improvements funded by HUD.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 17,598
Rented
48%
$77,860

Rent-burdened Renters
62%
DOWNEY

40 *Categories were collapsed for reporting
Workforce
Downey has one of the larger labor forces
with a labor force of about 56,000 and an
unemployment rate of 5%. The city has one of
the highest rates in the region for people with
a high school diploma or higher (81%) and only
19% of people over 25 who have less than a high
school diploma. About 24% have a bachelor’s
degree or higher and 56% have a high school
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
Male
Female
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Professional and
Related
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Manufacturing
Retail Trade
20 %
11 %
11 %
Means of Transportation
to Work
77% 11% 3% 2%
Like many cities construction is the most
represented industry based on current
businesses. Workers hold professional
occupations (20%), office and administrative
support (14%) and management, business,
and financial operation occupations (14%).

People who commuted to work used public
transportation (3%), carpooled (11%), but mainly
drove alone (77%).

Educational services,
health care and social assistance

41 East Rancho Dominguez is an area in
unincorporated LA County located between the
cities of Compton and Paramount. Sometimes
referred to as “East Compton,” East Rancho
Dominguez is roughly 0.83 square miles with
a population of 15,114 residents (2021 ACS).

The area is one of the densest in the region
and county with around 18,200 people per
square mile. The median household income
in East Rancho Dominguez is slightly higher
than the wider study area at $60,278 a year.

This is $16,000 lower than the county median
household income in 2021 which was $76,123.

East Rancho Dominguez is majority Latino, with
84% of the population identifying as Hispanic or
Latino and 13% of the population identifying as
Black. Less than half of the units in East Rancho
Dominguez are renter occupied (48%) and slightly
over half of those renters (54%) are spending
30% or more of their income on rent.

East Rancho Dominguez is completely within 1.5
miles of the Los Angeles River but is not adjacent
to the river. The area has a high to very high
park needs as there are only .6 park acres per
1,000 people. This is much lower than the county
average of 3.3 acres per 1,000 people. Much like
the other high-density areas of the region, 76%
of residents live within ѽ mile of a park, which is
higher than the county average of 49% but there
is not enough park space to meet the needs of
those residents.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 15,114
Rented
48%
$60,278

Rent-burdened Renters
54%

EAST RANCHO

DOMINGUEZ

42 As it is part of unincorporated LA County,
residents of East Rancho Dominguez qualify for
some county-run housing assistance programs
including the:

irst-$ile Holebuyers Assistance ProgralĹ
run by the LA County Development Authority to
provide 0% interest with deferred payment loans
for first-time homebuyers for up to $85,000 or
20% of the purchase price (whichever is less).
rants =or inor Hole RepairsĹ up to $5,000
in grant funding to help preserve existing homes
with minor repairs. These funds are available to
specific groups including seniors, permanently
disabled, or large families (+5).
rants =or Senior Holeo‰nersĹ up to $15,000
to assist the mobility and habitability repairs
to homes for seniors who own their homes in
unincorporated LA County.

HO
nvestlent Partnerships (HO
)
ProgralĹ a federal block grant that provides
funds to both homeowners and proposed new
affordable housing developments in LA County.

Grant funding is very flexible and can be used
in multiple ways, including rental assistance or
direct loans.

Workforce
East Rancho Dominguez has an unemployment
rate of 5.5%. The main industries represented
are manufacturing (13%), retail trade (12%) and
transportation, warehousing, and utilities (10%).

The occupations reflect this, as transportation
and material moving (19%), sales (12%), and
production occupations (11%) make up the top
three occupations. Almost 30% of male workers
have a transportation and material moving
occupation, the highest of the neighboring cities.

Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
ProHessional scientific
and management,
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
16%
14%
13%
Means of Transportation
to Work
76% 9% 3% 2%

43 About 18% of female workers held office and
administrative support occupations, followed by
healthcare support (15%), and sales (12%). Similar
to the county makeup, 44% of residents over 25
have a high school diploma, 50% have less than
a high school diploma, and 6% have a bachelor’s
degree or higher.

Car accessibility is high with 63% of renter
occupied units having between 1 or 2 vehicles
available. Trips between 30-59 minutes make
up the majority of commuting trips. Only 4%
of workers work at home and 10% spend 60
minutes or more traveling to work. Carpool use is
similar to the county with 9%, but driving alone
made up the majority of means of transportation.
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

EAST RANCHO

DOMINGUEZ

44 Huntington Park is a 3.03 square mile city just
west of Maywood. The City is densely populated,
with about 20,223 residents per square mile,
making it one of the densest cities in the region
and county. Only a small portion of Huntington
Park falls within 1.5 miles of the LA River, but
because the city is so dense, there are roughly
11,165 people in Huntington Park living within

1.5 miles of the LA River. Huntington Park is a
majority Latino community with 96% of residents
identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

Residents in the study area of Huntington Park
have a median income of $54,568 a year, $4,000
lower than the greater study area and $12,000
lower than the county median household income
of $76,123. Residents in the study area of
Huntington Park are 66% renters and 56% of
those renters are rent-burdened meaning they
spend 30% or more of their income on rent.

Huntington Park is not adjacent to the LA River
but has very high park needs. There are only 0.7
acres of parkland per 1,000 people compared to
the county average of 3.3 acres per 1,000 people.

Similar to other dense cities with few parks, a
high proportion of the residents live within ѽ mile
of a park (68%) but because there are not enough
acres of parkland, there isn’t enough space in the
park to meet the needs of residents.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 11,165
Rented
66%
$54,568

Rent-burdened Renters
56%

HUNTINGTON
PARK

45 Huntington Park also has resources for rent
occupied homes that are currently experiencing
economic difficulties. The Emergency Rental
Assistance Program (ERAP) was a three-month
COVID-19 emergency rental and utility assistance
program funded by HUD’s CBDG grant program
in addition to the CARES act. Residents must
fall within 80% of area median income (AMI) to
be eligible. The city also has funding available
for homeowners and prospective homeowners
through the:

Hole Repair ProgralĹ which provides up to
$25,000 in grant funding and a $75,000 zero
interest deferred loan to income-qualified
homeowners in single-family homes to make
health and safety repairs to their residences. This
funding is offered on a first come first served
basis.

irst $ile Holebuyer ProgralĹ which provides
assistance to low-income households on a down
payment and closing costs for a home. To qualify
for this assistance, buyers need to be residents of
Huntington Park for at least 1 year.

Workforce
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
18 %
14 %
13 %
Means of Transportation
to Work
67% 13% 9% 5%
Huntington Park has a labor force of 26,700 and
an unemployment rate of 4.5%. Production,
transportation, and material were moving saw
an increase from 29% to 33%. The number of
workers in sales and office occupations decreased
between 2010 and 2019, from 27% to 24%.

46 *Categories were collapsed for reporting

HUNTINGTON
PARK

47 The area of Long Beach within 1.5 miles of
the LA River encompasses nearly half of the
city’s population with 229,509 residents. These
residents are diverse, with 54% identifying as
Hispanic or Latino, 14% as Black, 14% as White,
and 13% as Asian. The median household income
is $53,039, or 70% of the median household
income of LA County ($76,367). Approximately
66% of all occupied housing units are
renter-occupied, while more than half (56%) of
renter households (35% of all households) are
rent-burdened.

Within the study area, 60% of residents live
within an area with a high park need and 31%
in an area with very high park need. There are
13 access points to the river in Long Beach.

While the downtown portion of Long Beach
experiences minimal urban heat island effects,
residents north of the San Diego Freeway may
experience temperatures 1.8 to 3°F higher than
the downtown area. Canopy cover is lowest
south of the Pacific Coast Highway (0 to 14%
cover) and highest in and around the Virginia
Country Club (25 to 41% cover).

Long Beach has several grant programs to
help residents become homeowners and make
updates to their dwellings and neighborhoods,
primarily through the First-Time Homebuyer
Assistance program which offers grants for
residents to buy their first home, as well as the
Neighborhood Grant Program which provides
funding to create neighborhood associations.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 229,509
Rented
66%
$59,039

Rent-burdened Renters
56%

LONG BEACH

48 The City also offers a resource line through
their Multi-Service Center to support residents
in finding help with social services surrounding
housing but does not have formal programs to
protect renters from displacement.

Workforce
Long Beach has the largest labor force of the
region’s cities with around 230,400 people, and
a 5% unemployment rate. It is similar to the
county in terms of educational attainment, with
20% of residents aged 25 or older having less
than a high school diploma, 48% holding a high
school diploma, and about 33% a bachelor’s
degree or higher. Similar county percentages for
educational attainment by gender are seen for
the city. Professional occupations, management,
business, and financial operations, and office
and administrative support are the top three
occupations for workers over the age of 16 with
23%, 15%, and 12% respectively. Female workers
have the same top occupations, with 26%, 16%,
and 17.5%. Similarly, the top two occupations
for male workers are the same except for office
and administrative support which is replaced by
transportation and material moving occupations.

Long Beach has the highest number of workers
who worked at home in the region (10%) , almost
as many as the county’s 11%. The rest of the
workers commuted by car, the majority driving
alone ( 71%), carpooling (8%) and using public
transportation (5%). The city also had the highest
number of vehicles available for renter occupied
housing units (47%).

Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Construction,
Extraction,
and Maintenance
Construction,
Extraction,
and Maintenance
Transportation and
Material Moving
+
Transportation and
Material Moving
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
ProHessional scientific and
management
Arts, entertainment,recreation,
and accommodation
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
19%
23%
12%
Means of Transportation
to Work
71% 8% 5% 5%

49 The Long Beach Pledge uaranteed ncole
Pilot Progral provides 250 households at or
below 100 percent of federal poverty level with
$500 a month for 12 months. The program was
funded through the Long Beach Recovery Act
in partnership with the Fund for Guaranteed
income, and its expansion for 2024 is funded
through the city’s local homelessness emergency
proclamation.

Businesses that meet requirements can obtain
credit towards their business license fees.

Some of these include incentive to relocate or
expand, support manufacturing, renovation and
construction, or to create jobs.

The PaciCc ate‰ay Work=orce nnovation
Net‰ork provides support for both employers
and residents looking for career support.

Employers can receive on the job training support
for new employees, and guidance through the
recruitment and hiring process. The center
offers job fairs and online databases, workshops,
and scholarships for people who are seeking
employment.

*Categories were collapsed for reporting

LONG BEACH

50 Lynwood is one of the larger cities in the region
with an area of 4.84 square miles. Roughly half
of Lynwood falls within 1.5 miles of the river and
about 34,905 Lynwood residents live within 1.5
miles of the river. Lynwood has a population
density of about 14,260 residents per square mile
making it one of the densest cities in the region
and county.

Lynwood residents in the study area have a
median household income of $69,289 a year
which is roughly $10,000 higher than the median
income for the study area and $7,000 less than
that of LA County as a whole. These residents are
majority Latino, with 87% identifying as Hispanic
or Latino and 9.5% identifying as Black. Less
than half of the Lynwood residents in the study
area are renters (45%) and of the renters, 56%
spend 30% or more of their income on rent every
month.

Lynwood has moderate to high park needs within
the study area of 1.5 miles from the river, and
three access points to the Los Angeles River.

There are 1.6 acres of parkland per 1,000 people
compared to the county average of 3.3 acres per
1,000 people.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 34,905
Rented
45%
$69,289

Rent-burdened Renters
56%

LYNWOOD

51 Lynwood provides support for renters and
homeowners through the:

Utility Assistance ProgralĹ which offers
financial assistance to low-income households on
electricity, gas, trash, and water bills. Recipients
must be making 80% or less of the AMI in order
to qualify for support.

Homeowners in Lynwood can also get support
in creating and maintaining affordable housing
through the:

Hole nvestlent Partnership rant ProgralĹ
which provides funds for building, buying, and or
rehabilitating affordable housing. The program
offers up to $45,000 to homeowners through a
$35,000 deferred payment loan and/or $10,000
grant to income-eligible households.

Workforce
Lynwood’s workforce is about 28, 000 people
and has an average unemployment rate of

5.6%. Similar to Long Beach, the industry most
represented by current active businesses is
construction. Occupations that are the most
represented by workers over 16 include
transportation and material moving (17%),
office and administrative support (13%) and
production occupations (12%). Male workers in
transportation and material moving occupations
(23%) are more than double of workers in
the county (11%). Similarly, the third largest
occupation, production, is slightly higher
(15%) than double the county’s (7%). Similar to
neighboring cities, the top occupations for female
workers include office and administrative support
(21%) , professional (13%), and sales (11%).

Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and
Administrative Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
16 %
16 %
11 %
Means of Transportation
to Work
73% 16% 5% 3%
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

52 Almost 90% of workers rely on cars to commute
to work, with 73% driving alone and 16%
carpooling, the highest in the area and higher
than the county’s 9%. Public transportation
commuters made up 5%, and 3% worked at
home. The majority of trips traveling to work
were evenly split between 10-29 minutes and 30-
59 minutes. Workers with commutes longer than
60 minutes made up 13% which was about the
same as the county.

The LA County Business Assistance Program
is a partnership between LA County Economic
Development Corporation (LAEDC) that provides
free business support in the form of navigating
existing resources for small businesses. These
include, tax credits and incentives, workforce
development and navigation of the hiring process,
and permitting and license guidance.

LYNWOOD

53 Maywood is in the northern portion of our study
area. The City has an area of roughly 1.2 square
miles and 100% is located within 1.5 miles of the
LA river. Maywood is one of the most densely
populated cities in the region and county, with a
population density of 23,638 people per square
mile. In 2021, 25,138 people lived in Maywood
with 97% of those residents identifying as
Hispanic or Latino.

Maywood’s median household income in 2021
was $54,762, which is lower than the study area’s
median income of $58,478 a year and much lower
than the county median income from that year
of $76,123. Maywood is also a majority renter,
with 73% of units being renter occupied and 56%
of those renters spending 30% or more of their
income on rent.

There is currently one access point to the river in
Maywood and the city overall has very high park
needs. Currently, there are 0.3 acres of parkland
in Maywood for every 1,000 residents compared
to the county average of 3.3 acres of parkland
per 1,000 residents. Similar to other dense cities
with few parks, a high proportion of the residents
live within ѽ mile of a park in Maywood (94%) but
because there are not enough acres of parkland,
there isn’t enough space in the park to meet the
needs of residents.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~25,138
Rented
73%
$54,762

Rent-burdened Renters
56%

MAYWOOD

54 Workforce
The City of Maywood built out its housing
programs substantially in 2023. T o protect
renters from increased housing costs as
pandemic protections wind down, the City
passed emergency rent regulations which limit
rent increases; Urgency Ordinance 23-01-U Rent
Control is a rent cap that keeps landlords from
increasing the rent for residents who have lived
there since before February 6, 2023.

The City established a Housing Division in
September of 2023, dedicated to providing direct
service support to residents with issues of rental
assistance, wrongful eviction, code enforcement
violations, and shelter referral. T o help residents
looking to become homeowners, Maywood is
also participating in the First-Time Homebuyers
Assistance Program run by the Los Angeles
County Development Authority.

Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
Transportation and
Material Moving
1Hfice and
Administrative Support
Manufacturing
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
18 %
14 %
12 %
Maywood’s workforce is around 12,000 with
an average unemployment rate of 4.8%. Almost
13% of residents in renter occupied housing do
not have access to a vehicle, which is comparable
to that of the county. Workers with a commute
greater than 60 minutes almost reach 15% and
commute times between 10 and 59 minutes
are the most common. Of the 82% workers that
drive to work 68% drive alone, 14% carpool, and
almost 7% use public transportation.

Of the businesses that are classified, construction
is the largest industry (26%). Production
occupations and transportation and material
moving are both about 15%. For male workers
these two occupations are also the highest
although a higher percentage for transportation
(20%) and (17%) for production. Office and
administrative support occupations were among
the highest for female workers (18.5%), followed
by sales (14%), and professional occupations
(13%).

In partnership with the HubCities career center,
the City of Maywood provides youth aged 17-30
paid internship opportunities with businesses
and the city as a way of expanding job skills and
obtaining career experience.

As a way to increase internet access and address
the digital divide, a partnership with EveryoneOn
connects residents to affordable internet services

55 Means of Transportation
to Work
68% 14% 7% 4%
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

MAYWOOD

56 The population of Paramount is 52,506 (2021),
the majority of whom identify as Hispanic or
Latino (84%), followed by Black (7%), White
(4%), and Asian (3%). Around 68% of the city’s
residents live within 1.5 miles of the LA River
(36,230). The median household income is
$56,773, which is lower than the median
household income of LA County. More than half
(61%) of all occupied housing units are rented,
and more than half (62%) of renter households
are rent-burdened (28% of all occupied housing
units).

The area of the City within 1.5 miles of the river
has Very High park need. There are five access
points to the LA River: south of Rosecrans Ave,
in Ralph C. Dills Park, south of Somerset Blvd,
Alondra Blvd, and south of Alondra Blvd. Tree
canopy cover ranges from 0 to 24% across the
area. And the majority of the area experiences
temperatures that are 2.3 to 3Ŧ Fahrenheit hotter
than non-urbanized areas.

The city of Paramount does not have any
programs in place specifically for renters,
but it does have a number of programs for
homeowners to make improvements to their
homes. These include the Home Improvement
Program grants for exterior improvements
and the Home Security Rebate Program for
camera and alarm systems. Additionally, the city
supports the development of accessory dwelling
units (ADUs) by making related informational
resources available on their website for residents,
contractors, and anyone else interested in
understanding how to build an ADU.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~ 36,230
Rented
61%
$56,773

Rent-burdened Renters
62%

PARAMOUNT

57 Paramount has a workforce of approximately
24,000 people and a 5% unemployment rate. The
main industry represented from active businesses
is construction (31%). Office and administrative
support is the largest occupation for female
workers (22%), above the county’s 17%, and male
workers are primarily employed in construction,
extraction, and maintenance occupations (21%)
Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher
make up about 11% of residents over the age
of 25, and residents with a high school diploma
make up 54%. Like most of the cities in the
area, workers rely on driving to commute to
their jobs. While 77% of workers drove alone,
12% carpooled, 3% used public transportation
and almost 5% worked from home. Almost half
of commuters had a travel time less than 30
minutes and 10% had travel times greater than
60 minutes. The majority of renters have access
to one or two vehicles with 6% not having access
to a vehicle at all, lower than the county’s 13% .

Workforce Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
Male
Female
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
19 %
16 %
11 %
Means of Transportation
to Work
77% 12% 3% 2%

58 The city’s Paramount Education Partnership (PEP)
program focuses on providing resources to youth
to prepare them for their future careers. The PEP
Learning Center offers multiple programs for
tutoring services for K-12 students, A partnership
between the city, unified school district, and
chamber of commerce, the PEP scholarship
ranges between $1,000 to $3,000 and offers
financial support for college or vocational/trade
students.
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

PARAMOUNT

59 Rancho Dominguez is an area in unincorporated
LA County located just south of Compton.

Rancho Dominguez is roughly 2.67 square miles
with a population of around 2,833 residents. The
area is one of the lowest population densities in
the region and county with a population density
of around 1,000 people per square mile. Few
people live within 1.5 miles of the LA River
in Rancho Dominguez because it is primarily
zoned for manufacturing, heavy agriculture, and
commercial uses. The median household income
in the portion of Rancho Dominguez that falls
within 1.5 miles of the river is higher than the
median household of the wider Lower LA River
study area and the county at $78,612 a year.

Rancho Dominguez is 59% Hispanic or Latino,
21% Black, 12% White, and 4% Asian according
to the 2020 Census. A small portion of units in
East Rancho Dominguez are renter-occupied
(11%) and slightly less than half of those renters
(46%) are spending 30% or more of their income
on rent.

Rancho Dominguez is not adjacent to the LA
River, but the area within 1.5 miles of the river
has very low park need as there are about 3.2
park acres per 1,000 people. This is on par with
the county average of 3.3 acres per 1,000 people.

That said, only 3% of the population lives within a
half-mile of a park in Rancho Dominguez.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~2,833
Rented
11%
$78,612

Rent-burdened Renters
46%
RANCHO

DOMINGUEZ

60 Workforce
Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Transportation
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
19 %
13 %
15 %
As it is part of unincorporated LA County,
residents of East Rancho Dominguez qualify for
some county-run housing assistance programs
including the:

irst-$ile Holebuyers Assistance ProgralĹ
run by the LA County Development Authority to
provide 0% interest with deferred payment loans
for first-time homebuyers for up to $85,000 or
20% of the purchase price (whichever is less).
rants =or inor Hole RepairsĹ up to $5,000
in grant funding to help preserve existing homes
with minor repairs. These funds are available to
specific groups including seniors, permanently
disabled, or large families (+5)
Grants for Senior Homeowners: up to $15,000
to assist the mobility and habitability repairs
to homes for seniors who own their homes in
unincorporated LA County.

HO
nvestlent Partnerships (HO
)
ProgralĹ which funds the homeownership
program and proposed new affordable housing
developments in LA County.

Rancho Dominguez has a higher percentage
of population over 25 that has a high school
diploma (53%) than the county (46%). The area
has a labor force of about 2,000 people and an
unemployment rate of 4.5%. The educational
attainment between male and female residents
over 25 is about the same, with 79% obtaining
a high school diploma or greater. For workers
over the age of 16 the main occupations include
professional (20%), transportation and material
moving (13%) and office and administrative
support (10%).
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

61 The majority of workers rely on driving as their
main method of transportation, with 85% driving
alone and 11% carpooling. Residents in occupied
housing have access to at least one car and about
30% have access to two vehicles. Only 15% of
workers have a commute shorter than 20 minutes
as the majority have a commute between 20 and
60 minutes.

Rancho Dominguez is served by an AlericaĽs
ob Center o= Cali=ornia (ACC) that provides job
search assistance to residents and recruitment
support for employers.

Through the county’s OLce o= Slall Businessķ
the Procurelent $echnical Assistance Center
(P$AC) businesses can obtain information
and guidance for businesses to compete for
government contracts. The center is part of the
larger nationwide association of procurement
technical assistance centers (APTAC).

In partnership with Bet Tzedek Legal Services,
Public Counsel, and the Legal Aid Foundation
of Los Angeles, small businesses can access
a resource library, webinars, and direct
representation and guidance through different
legal matters.

Means of Transportation
to Work
85% 11% 1% .05%
RANCHO

DOMINGUEZ

62 The City of South Gate covers roughly 7.45
square miles. making it one of the bigger cities in
the region. About 60% of the city is within 1.5
miles of the LA River, and roughly 36,410 people
live in the portion of South Gate that falls within
that study area. South Gate has a population
density of roughly 13,000 people per square mile
making it average for the southeast region, but
high for the county.

The median household income in the South
Gate study area is $61,911, which is slightly
higher than that of the study area ($58,748)
and $15,000 lower than the median household
income in the County of LA ($76,123). South Gate
93% Hispanic or Latino, and 5% White according
to the 2020 Census. Just under half of the units
within 1.5 miles of the river in South Gate are
rented, and 55% of those units are occupied by
renters who are spending 30% or more of their
income on rent every month.

South Gate has three access points to the LA
River, and moderate to high park need within

1.5 miles of the river. Across the city, there are
about 1.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 people
compared to the 3.3 average number of acres per
1,000 residents across LA County. Roughly 45%
of South Gate residents live within a half-mile of a
park compared to the 49% average of the county.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~36,410
Rented
47%
$61,911

Rent-burdened Renters
55%

SOUTH GATE

63 South Gate has its own Housing Authority
that works to provide safe and decent sanitary
housing for very low-income families in the city.

In addition to the Housing Authority, South Gate
has a virtual resource center for renters which
explains the stipulations of the county-wide
eviction moratorium and connects residents with
emergency rental assistance that is provided
by city partners Compatior and Helpline Youth
Counseling.

T o encourage the development of affordable
housing, South Gate has an nclusionary
Housing Progral which requires developments
with ten units or more to make 10 to 14% of
rental and owner-occupied units affordable.

South Gate also has a few programs to support
homeowners such as the Hole lprovelent
Progral which is funded by the federal HOME
Program for homeowners to use for repairs
such as roofing, window replacement, and code
violations. The City is also working with Office
Of: Office, a planning and design firm, to create
a comprehensive Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
program to lower barriers to the creation of new
housing units on eligible properties. The goal of
the program is to increase homeowner uptake
in ADU construction, leading to the increase in
affordable housing units in South Gate. South
Gate runs a homeless prevention program with
the County of Los Angeles Homeless Services
Authority. The South ate Holeless Outreach
Progral works with the South Gate Police
Department and the Salvation Army Bell Shelter
to provide care management and other services
to help individuals access shelter and housing.

Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
1Hfice and #dministrative
Support
Transportation and
Material Moving
Manufacturing
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
16 %
16 %
12 %
Workforce
South Gate has a workforce of around 42,000
and an average of 5.1% unemployment rate.

Nearly half of residents over 25 years old have
a high school diploma and about 10% have a
bachelor’s degree or higher. When compared
by gender, female residents have higher rates of
high school completion or higher (83%) than male
residents (70.5%). Male residents employed in
transportation and material moving made up the
largest group (22%), followed by construction,
extraction, and maintenance (17.5%). While
transportation and material moving is about two
times that of the county, it is comparable to the
other cities in the region. The main occupations
for female residents include office and
administration support (20.5%), professional and
related (15.5%), and sales (12.6%). Construction
makes up almost 27% of active businesses.

64 The majority of workers did not work at home,
with about 77% having a commute time between
10 and 59 minutes. South Gate has the largest
number of people who carpool to work with
almost 17%, almost double the county’s 9%.

The rest of transportation modes include driving
alone (70%) and public transportation (4%).

As a way to encourage businesses to settle in the
city, the City of South Gate has implemented a
low business cost in the form of no utility user
tax, and a low business license tax.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
at Long Beach City College also provides services
for the City of South Gate. Their team provides
consulting services to business owners and
connects them with staff who have a range
of expertise, from marketing to government
contracting. This branch is part of the Los
Angeles Regional SBDC network.

Means of Transportation
to Work
71% 17% 6% 1%
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

SOUTH GATE

65 Vernon is located on the northern edge of our
study area. The city covers roughly 5.22 square
miles, and has a population of around 250
individuals. Almost all of Vernon is within 1.5
miles of the LA River, and roughly 222 people
live in the portion of Vernon that falls within that
study area. Vernon has a very low population
density of roughly 50 people per square mile,
primarily due to the fact that Vernon is almost
exclusively comprised of commercial and
industrial enterprises. Though few people live
in the city, almost 50,000 people are employed
there, with the majority of workers commuting
from neighboring Southeast Los Angeles cities to
Vernon’s 1,800 businesses.

The median household income in the Vernon
study area is $64,844, which is slightly higher
than that of the study area ($58,748) and
$12,000 lower than the median household
income in the County of LA ($76,123). Vernon is
Hispanic or Latino (90%) and 6% White according
to the 2021 census. Most of the housing units
within 1.5 miles of the river in Vernon are rented
(73%), and 23% of those units are occupied by
renters who are spending 30% or more of their
income on rent.

Vernon has two access points to the LA River and
a very low to high park need within the 1.5-mile
buffer of the river. There are no existing parks
in Vernon, as its composition differs from other
cities.

Demographics
Within 1.5 miles of the
LA River
Study Area Median
Household Income
Population
Housing Units
~222
Rented
73%
$64,844

Rent-burdened Renters
23%
VERNON

66 Top Occupation by
Gender
Major Employment Sectors
MaleFemale
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Construction,
Extraction,
and Maintenance
Construction,
Extraction,
and Maintenance
Transportation and
Material Moving
+
Transportation and
Material Moving
Management,
Business,
and Financial Operations
Public Administration Public Administration
Retail TradeRetail Trade
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
Educational services,
health care and social assistance
19 %
15 %
15 %
The city’s current residential population is so low
and there are parks outside of the city that are
within a half-mile of the residents who do live in
Vernon, however, an improved tree canopy and
additional open space would offer environmental
resiliency and health benefits for Vernon’s large
daytime population of workers and its residents.
.

The City of Vernon owns and manages 18 single-
family homes and an 8-unit apartment building
that are for lease to the public at unsubsidized
market rates. Additional housing in Vernon
consists of a privately owned 45-unit income-
qualified apartment complex located adjacent to
the LA River. The city recently adopted zoning
changes to encourage residential and live/work
construction in the city. With newly added
mixed-use residential zoning, an increase in the
city’s population is anticipated within the next
two to three years as residential developments
materialize.

Workforce
The city of Vernon has the smallest labor force
made up of around 100 people. With an average
unemployment rate of 6% it is slightly higher
compared to the County. About 70% of residents
over the age of 25 have a high school diploma
and 10% have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Around 60% of workers have a commute time
between 10 to 59 minutes, 70%of workers drive
alone to work, and 13% carpool. According to
LA City Office of Finance Data, off the current,
registered active businesses in Vernon, about
27% represent wholesale trade, 14 % retail
trade, and about 14% manufacturing. Office
and Administrative Support is the largest
occupation amongst workers (33.6%) followed by
Transportation and Material Moving (17%).

67 As one of only four cities in the state of California with its own health department, the City of
Vernon maintains its own municipal health
authority. This enables the community to deal
directly with Vernon’s Department of Health &
Environmental Control (DHEC). Established in
1908, Vernon’s DHEC officials address important
environmental and health-related issues, thus
enhancing the City’s ability to respond quickly,
especially in critical times like the recent
pandemic.

DHEC staff are equipped to efficiently address
situations that have the potential to impact
the health and wellness of the community. The
team partners with complementary agencies
including Los Angeles County Fire, Los Angeles
County Public Health, and Vernon’s own Police
Department; and engages third-party resources
when necessary. The DHEC will often be the first
on-scene when a hazardous incident is reported,
as the team possesses the expertise to coordinate
resources, and can spearhead the implementation
of remedies to ensure that the City is safe haven
to live and conduct business.

The following programs are areas within the
purview of Vernon’s DHEC: Food Safety, Food
Defense, and Consumer Protection; Water
Quality; Land Use; Solid Waste; Liquid Waste;
Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA);
Groundwater and Soil Clean-up; Emergency
Preparedness and Disaster Response; and
Environmental Sustainability.
*Categories were collapsed for reporting

Means of Transportation
to Work
70% 13% -% -%
VERNON

68 The City of Vernon offers a variety of rebate
programs and services to encourage the efficient
use of energy, and reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions through transportation electrification.

In particular, the city provides incentives to help
businesses offset the cost of installing energy
efficient equipment, such as LED Lighting. A
no-cost energy audit is also available to assist
Vernon Public Utilities (VPU) customers with
identifying energy efficiency opportunities and/
or developing a broader energy management
strategy.To help support the growth of zero-
emission vehicles, the city has over 20 EV
chargers free to the public at City Hall and 20
direct current fast chargers for electric vehicles
(EV) spread across two sites that are available
to the public at an affordable charging rate. In
addition, Vernon’s electric utility also offers
generous rebates through its Commercial
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger Incentive Program,
Commercial Electric Forklift Incentive Program
and Residential EV Purchase and EV Charger
Install Programs.

As a natural gas provider, the City of Vernon’s
gas utility also contributes to the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions through the Natural
Gas Rebate Program administered by VPU.

This program is designed to reduce natural gas
consumption and align with the goals set forth
through Assembly Bill 32. To accomplish these
objectives, incentives are available for utility
customers looking to upgrade to higher efficiency
natural gas equipment or implement operational
changes that require an upfront investment.

The City, along with VPU, has continued to
engage with customers to identify projects that
can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which may
include investments in municipal infrastructure.

The Natural Gas Rebate Program is funded
by City revenues from “freely allocated gas
allowances” through the California Air Resources
Board’s (CARB) Cap and Trade Program.

Equitable Community Development Planning and Community Engagement Los Angeles, California
Community Taylor Yard Equity StrategyĹ A Collaborative Approach to Planning for Equitable evelopment
etroit, Michigan
Community enefits rdinanceĹ Legislation !equiring evelopers to Proactively Engage with the Community
Housing PolicyĹ A@ordable Housing Preservation and Creationķ and Holelessness Prevention
Houston, Harris County, T exas
Housing Houston’s HeroesĹ A Successful ľHousing FirstĿ Initiative to End (eteran Homelessness Anacostia, Washington, .C.
11th Street ridge ParkĹ A Land Trust !esponse to Park Gentrification Grows into a Citywide Strategy to Preserve Affordable Housing
owntown San Jose, California
Guadalupe !iver Park !evitalizationĹ Planning for &nhoused &sers in !e-Envisioning Public Green Space
owntown T oronto, Canada
The entwayĹ A Park &nder an EŠpressway Commits to !esources and Partnerships that Support &nhoused !esidents and Park &sers
’ahu, Hawai’i
ahauiki (illageĹ Housing Formerly Homeless Families and Elders Work=orce eveloplent Policies and Prograls
ayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco, California
India asin Waterfront Park’s Construction Training ProgramĹ Supporting Community Economic Needs with Goal of Hiring Locally
Los Angeles, California
Planning and Supporting (endorsĹ Food Access and Economic pportunity APPEN I* AĹ PEE! E*AMPLESAPPEN I* AĹ PEE! E*AMPLES

The City of Los Angeles, California State Parks, and the Mountains and Recreation Conservation Authority (MRCA) formed the 100 Acre Partnership to jointly plan, implement, and operate 100 acres of connected park space across the Taylor Yard site.

When complete, the 100 Acre Partnership at Taylor Yard will be the largest Los Angeles River revitalization project in the City of Los Angeles. Taylor Yard is a former rail yard that runs through Northeast Los Angeles (NELA), home to communities of color and longtime residents with limited economic resources. The proposed development of Taylor Yard as a large-scale park threatens to increase investment in neighboring communities, exacerbating the risk of displacement in NELA.

Recognizing the potential threat of green gentrification, the 100 Acre Partnership invested in the coordination of a group of community-based advocacy, research, and service organizations to develop the Taylor Yard Equity Strategy (TYES). Led by the Los Angeles Regional Open Space and Affordable Housing Collaborative (LAROSAH), ten organizations formed the Coordinating Committee of the Community Taylor Yard Equity Strategy with the goal of identifying specific, effective, and community-driven strategies to ensure that longtime residents and legacy businesses can benefit from new park-based investments and thrive in place.

Los Angeles, California
2021-Ongoing
Partners
City of Los Angeles
California State Parks
Mountains and Recreation
Conservation Authority
(MRCA)
UCLA Institute of the
Environment and Sustainability
Los Angeles Regional Open
Space and Affordable Housing
Collaborative (LAROSAH)
members:
• Holos Communities
(formerly Clifford Beers
Housing)
• Community Nature
Connection
• Inclusive Action for the
City
• Little T okyo Service Center
• Los Angeles Neighborhood
Land Trust
• Mujeres de la Tierra
• Natural Resources Defense
Council
• Southeast Asian
Community Alliance
• The Trust for Public Land
Source: 100 Acre Partnership

COMMUNITY TAYLOR YARD COMMUNITY TAYLOR YARD

EQUITY STRATEGYEQUITY STRATEGY
A Collaborative Approach to Planning for Equitable
Development

Source: Community TYES
Early in the process, the TYES Coordinating Committee recognized the presence and validity of community distrust and planning fatigue. Communities in NELA had already repeatedly expressed their concerns in planning processes prior to TYES. In response, the TYES Coordinating Committee took a deliberate and preemptive approach to community outreach - one grounded in listening and learning from past and present efforts. This research-driven approach involved synthesizing previous community concerns, priorities, and solutions from multiple planning and policy documents and conducting demographic analysis to identify key communities that had been previously excluded. These priorities were then ground-truthed for their current relevance through community interviews and outreach efforts. As part of this ground- truthing strategy, over the summer of 2023, a TYES community organizer conducted one-on-one interviews with over 20 residents, volunteers, and organizers, attended community meetings, and held events in NELA to revisit, validate, and build upon existing efforts.

Three initial areas of concern emerged from ground-truthing efforts: housing stability, rising homelessness, and a lack of opportunities for workforce development. UCLA researchers conducted deep dives into existing policies and programs on these three community priorities. The TYES Coordinating Committee synthesized and presented the knowledge generated through the collaborative data collection process enacting anti-displacement strategies ahead of park construction.

The multi-jurisdictional nature of the Los Angeles River poses challenges for the coordination of funding, management, and programming. The TYES Coordinating Committee involves a cross-sector, multi-jurisdictional partnership between public agencies, academia, community-based organizations, and advocacy groups at the city, state, and region level. Members of the TYES Coordinating Committee vary, not only in their geographies, but also in their resources, constituencies, and capacities to program, organize, research, advocate, and deliver services. This collaborative structure helped leverage relationships, ensure multiple voices were represented, and meet strategic needs. Trusted community- based organizations drew on established relationships with local

WHAT MAKES IT WORK

Key Words
Equitable development
Park development
Affordable housing policy and
legislation
Affordable housing
preservation and
homelessness prevention
Cross-sector collaboration
“100 Acre Partnership at Taylor Yard Ň Los Angeles River.” 2024. 100 Acre Partnership. 2024. https:/ /www.100acrepartnership.org/. “LA ROSAH.” 2021. LA Regional Open Space + Affordable Housing Collaborative. 2021. https:/ /larosah.org/. leaders and experience with constituencies deeply rooted in NELA.

Institutional members of the Coordinating Committee mobilized their specific influence, knowledge, and expertise. Each member drew on their specific strength to inform a multifaceted approach to equitable development ahead of a major urban park investment.

TAKEAWAYS
Despite differing resources and capacities, cross-sector partnerships across varying levels of governance can more easily facilitate relationship-building and address potential gaps in research, funding, and project management needs. Trusted community-based organizations can leverage local connections, and institutional partners may bring specialized influence and expertise. For example, community partners, drawing on their deep understanding of community dynamics and extensive work with community, highlighted the issue of participation-related fatigue stemming from previous engagement efforts. T o prevent restarting community engagement efforts from scratch, UCLA researchers leveraged their policy and planning expertise to conduct rigorous scans of previous efforts. They then produced easily shareable materials to communicate research findings and guide subsequent outreach efforts. Building trust both at the internal and external level provided a critical starting point for TYES partnerships.

Practitioners should be willing to invest time in solidifying a strong foundation of trust between organizations and recognize the additional energy and trust building required when convening a new group of collaborators and working in communities with historic distrust of institutions.

Source: City of Detroit
Approved by Detroit voters in 2016 and amended by City Council in 2021, the Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) legally mandates developers to proactively engage with the community to identify project benefits for residents who stand to be the most affected by new development.When a project obtains a defined amount of public investment, usually in the form of resources, subsidies, or land, The CBO applies when a development project:”
• Is $75 million or more in value
• Receives $1 million or more in property tax abatements OR • Receives $1 million or more in value of city land sale or transfer” 1 The impact area boundaries are set by census tract but can be expanded to include additional impacted residents to ensure all residents in the impacted area have an equal voice in the process.

The CBO process begins with the City’s Planning Department (PDD). PDD reviews the project scope and defines the project’s impact area and establishes a Neighborhood Advisory Council made up of nine representatives from the project’s impact area.

The aim of the Neighborhood Advisory Council is to represent the concerns of the impacted residents to the developer and city, while negotiating a Community Benefits Agreement that details how the developer will improve and contribute to the neighborhood. 2 These
representatives work directly with the developer to outline and agree upon policies and programs that create tangible benefits for community members. These agreed upon concessions are codified in the final development agreement approved by the Detroit City Council. The process takes several months and includes multiple community meetings depending on the project and community.

Detroit, Michigan
Approved by Detroit voters
in 2016, amended by City
Council in 2021
Partners
City of Detroit City Council
City’s Planning Department
(PDD)
Civil Rights and Inclusion
Office
Detroit People’s Platform
Equitable Detroit

COMMUNITY BENEFITS COMMUNITY BENEFITS

ORDINANCEORDINANCE
Legislation Requiring Developers to Proactively Engage with the Community

Source: City of Detroit, Herman Kiefer Development, LLC - Herman Kiefer 2020 Annual Update Meeting The ordinance provides a set structure for projects who receive public benefits to engage with communities to address the areas of investment that are most relevant. This flexibility allows residents to voice their preferences for benefits that would make the most impact, instead of having a limited number of options that might not apply. There is increased transparency on the public investment a project is receiving through the clear outlining of the financial threshold the CBO applies to. Additionally, the idea of communities receiving benefits tied to new developments that obtain public investment becomes normalized and encourages developers to invest more than the minimum requirements.

There are financial and physical benefits secured through the CBO progress, including:
• Pistons Practice
acility: $2.5 million to build 60 outdoor
basketball courts in city parks
• Herlan ie=er iŠed Use eveloplent: Restoration of an abandoned school field for sports and recreation use, including a skate park and free programming for Detroit youth
3 • WigleĹ idto‰n West iŠed-Use eveloplentĹ Affordable rental units for low-income residents4

WHAT MAKES IT WORK

Key Words
Community benefits
agreements
Community development
ordinance
Neighborhood advisory
committee/council
1 detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/design-and-development-innovation/community-benefits-ordinance 2 detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/design-and-development-innovation/community-benefits-ordinance 3 detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/design-and-development-innovation/community-benefits-ordinance/past-cbo- engagement/herman-kiefer
4 detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/design-and-development-innovation/community-benefits-ordinance/past-cbo- engagement/wigle-midtown-west
buildingmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Fighting-for-Equity-in-Development-The-Story-of-Detroits-Community-Benefits-Ordinance.pdf detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/2022-04/Ordinance%20No.%202021-4%20Community%20Benefits%20Ordinance.pdf planetdetroit.org/2021/09/detroits-community-benefits-ordinance-promised-residents-a-voice-in-redevelopment-projects-many-say-their-concerns- remain-unheard/
While CBO’s promise for community members to be heard in the process, they are ultimately subject to decision making of city elected officials. Despite some oversight from the city of Detroit’s Civil Rights and Inclusion Office, whose role is to mediate the CBO process, particularly regarding the community benefits agreements between the community and developer, advocates say this hasn’t prevented neighborhoods throughout the city from being negatively impacted by projects without seeing community benefits. These instances often include environmental burden from the development.

Without a clear enforcement or monitoring structure in place, negotiating with developers can often be frustrating or lead to a lack of follow through years down the line. Being able to adapt is necessary when developing and implementing a CBO as multiple roadblocks can arise in all stages of the process. Ultimately each city will need to tailor CBOs to the needs of differing constituencies.

CBOs hold a lot of potential to hold developers accountable for addressing the effects that new development could have on a community. An effective process would include engaging with residents to identify their most pressing concerns and ensure that the community will also benefit from the new developments.

However, the processes to implement can be tenuous, stalled, and take a lot of resources both from residents and organizations.

There are several different actors, each with a different number of resources, all trying to get their message to residents. Using existing movements to leverage and tie relevant circumstances to the benefits that would arise from CBOs, as well as collaborating with existing coalitions that are already working on adjacent projects can be a first step in creating a unified approach to achieve more bargaining power.

TAKEAWAYS

HOUSING HOUSTON’S HEROESHOUSING HOUSTON’S HEROES
A Successful “Housing First” Initiative to End Veteran
Homelessness
In 2015, the City of Houston Housing Authority declared a goal to end veterans homelessness by housing chronically homeless veterans. Their initial success with housing 148 homeless veterans in 100 days led to the Housing Houston’s Heroes initiative, which brought together local and county cross-sector and cross- jurisdictional organizations to collaborate to “prevent homelessness among its veteran population, shorten the duration of
homelessness when it does occur, and establish sustained housing security for those who were once homeless.”
1 In the next 100-day
period, they were able to house 357 homeless veterans.

Houston’s leadership across elections has been committed to ending homelessness across elections, allowing for continuity of success.
2 This commitment from city leadership has been coupled with a $200 million investment largely from COVID-19 relief funds.
3 The increase in federal funding was invested in alleviating homelessness through a collaborative strategy, the Community COVID Housing Program (CCHP), which includes attempts to provide permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and supportive services.
4 The coalition and funding has resulted in
14,339 people being housed.

Harris County, Texas
2012-2015
Partners
City of Houston and Houston
Housing Authority
Harris County Community
Services and Housing
Authority
MHMRA of Harris County
U.S. HUD
Department of Veterans
Affairs
U.S. Vets
Houston Coalition for the
Homeless
Source: Photo: Amy Kincheloe, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Houston has been employing the “Housing First” approach, which focuses on first getting people into permanent housing—different from relocation into shelters or interim/temporary housing—before providing wraparound services. HUD notes several other key elements of success: regional collaboration, use of fundraising to close gaps, collective goal-setting and measurement, and creating a single stop for various services for unhoused veterans. Nearly 70 agencies and organizations participated in the initiative, which minimized gaps in service delivery and established consistent metrics for measuring success across providers. In 2022, Vox reported that Houston had housed over 25,000 previously unhoused residents in the past 10 years using the Housing First model.
5 One of the strengths of Houston’s continued and committed approach to permanently housing its veterans is as more people are housed, more resources can be shifted toward this model because homelessness and its cost decreases significantly. However, providing housing units as an immediate first step means housing units must be available, which has been a challenge in supply- constrained housing markets. Houston was able to leverage funds to develop affordable housing units to accommodate veterans quickly. Funding investments, like the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), financed housing development for nearly 3,900 homeless veterans between 2012 and 2015 before the impact of skyrocketing costs of housing and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders acknowledged that preventing and addressing homelessness will require ongoing and sustained resources and investments from both the public and private sector.

Currently, the collaborative focuses on braiding funding sources that different groups or jurisdictions might have accessible. For example, different agencies and jurisdictions can draw on and pool local, state, and federal sources ŋ including Emergency Solutions Grants, Community Development Block Grants, and HOME Investment Partnerships Program Grantsŋ to ensure a comprehensive approach. Local leaders estimate that, after the federal pandemic funding ends at the end of 2024, they will need to identify a sustainable source of $30-50 million annually to maintain programs at current levels.

WHAT MAKES IT WORK
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs

T o ensure an element of stability and address root causes of homelessness, housing must be coupled with wraparound services and maintain existing social networks. The Housing First model creates a foundation for people to build from a place of stability.

Additionally, once someone has housing providers can better coordinate services, support progress, and work toward shared goals. Practitioners should look at coupling immediate emergency services with more permanent investments in housing to achieve equitable housing goals.

The Houston model also emphasizes the importance of working collaboratively across different levels of government to ensure continuity across leadership changes. Housing security will not be immediately solved under a single mayoral administration, so it is crucial that practitioners bring together multiple leaders and create a structure of accountability for progress to continue. Finally, cross- sector collaborations allow partners to tap into additional funds and more effectively use money.

TAKEAWAYS
Key Words
Housing First model
Continuum of Care
Regional cross-sector, cross-
jurisdictional collaboration
1 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research. “Houston Ends Veteran Homelessness.” PD&R Edge In Practice (blog), December 14, 2015. https:/ /www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-inpractice-121415.html. 2 Juan Pablo Garnham. “Why Homelessness Is Going down in Houston but up in Dallas.” The T exas Tribune, July 2, 2019. https:/ /www.texastribune. org/2019/07/02/why-homelessness-going-down-houston-dallas/. 3 Catherine Troisi. “The Way Home Continuum of Care 2023 Homeless Count and Survey Analysis,” March 2023. https:/ /irp.cdn-website. com/2d521d2c/files/uploaded/Homeless%20Count%202023_full.pdf. 4 “Community COVID Housing Program.” 2024. Coalition for the Homeless. April 2024. https:/ /www.homelesshouston.org/CCHP. 5 Henry Gass. “Houston, We Have a Solution: How the City Curbed Homelessness.” The Christian Science Monitor, November 18, 2019. https:/ /www. csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2019/1118/Houston-we-have-a-solution-How-the-city-curbed-homelessness.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs

11TH STREET BRIDGE PARK11TH STREET BRIDGE PARK
A Land Trust Response to Park Gentrification Grows into a Citywide Strategy to Preserve Affordable Housing
The 11th Street Bridge Park across the Anacostia River in Washington, DC will create a new greenspace atop old piers, bridging both the River and a main line of segregation between rapidly gentrifying DC west of the River and historically-Black communities east of the River. Ahead of the construction of the park, Building Bridges Across the River (Building Bridges), a nonprofit east of the river, led creation and coordination of an Equitable Development Plan. The Plan is a compilation of strategies, goals, and partnerships aimed at preventing displacement ahead of park construction.
1 Building Bridges convened hundreds of local
residents, faith leaders, nonprofits and city officials to provide feedback that informed this equitable development plan, with many longtime residents from Anacostia near the park concerned about being displaced as a result of increased property values from the park project. Vaughn Perry, Building Bridges Director of Equity, notes there is “a significant gap in wealth among the communities on the east and west sides of the Anacostia River, with home values on the east side an estimated $450,000 less.”
2 With the park’s
construction set to end in 2026, the plan emphasizes an almost decade-long strategy to preserve and increase affordable housing for local low-income residents, such as through a community land trust.

Washington, District of
Columbia
2015-Present
Partners
11th Street Bridge Park
Building Bridges Across the
River (BBAR)
Douglass Community Land
Trust
City First Homes (CFH)

MANNA DC
Philanthropic funders
DC’s Department of
Housing and Community
Development’s Development
and Finance Division (DFD)
through their Housing
Production Trust Fund (HPTF)

WHAT MAKES IT WORK
Source: “WalkWithaDoc 11th Street Bridge
33384” by tedeytan is licensed under CC BY-
SA 2.0.

Source: “03.GardenOfEden.BBAR.WDC.17Ju-
ly2021” by Elvert Barnes is licensed under CC
BY-SA 2.0.

A key strategy requested by the community was the formation of a Community Land Trust. In 2017, Building Bridges partnered with another local non-profit City First Homes (CFH) to engage concerned residents from east of the River to form an advisory committee that became the Douglass Community Land Trust (CLT), named after Frederick Douglass who was a resident of Anacostia. 3 The 11th Street Bridge Park team, along with CFH, helped the advisory committee secure $3 million in seed funding to launch as an operational land trust organization.
4 The Douglass CLT now has
properties in six of the eight wards in Washington, D.C, totaling 262 units so far.
5 T oday, the Douglass CLT operates citywide to further racial and economic equity beyond its origins east of the Anacostia River to ensure DC’s low-income Black and Brown residents are not displaced from their longtime homes. Now, there is a chapter model and tripartite board structure as a way to allow members to maintain neighborhood level community control while providing the land trust (now a stand alone nonprofit) with operational and financial sustainability. As members come from different financial and housing ownership or tenant situations, the land trust’s bylaws will ensure that power is balanced among all members and not just those who are higher income and property owners.
6 The creation and expansion of the Douglass CLT demonstrates how a park project can serve as a catalyst for affordable housing efforts.

Beyond its initial inception, the land trust shows the importance of a formalized structure with shared equitable community development goals, commitment to resident engagement, and monitoring through agreed upon metrics. Additionally, the Equitable Development Plan explicitly stated affordable housing goals, and partner organizations, in collaboration with public agencies and funders, created a sustainable entity to carry out the work. “Public and private sector relationships, a strong and activated resident membership, and hitting a goal of 750 units in its portfolio” has been critical to the CLT progressing toward organizational revenue that will ensure long term sustainability and a decreased need for philanthropic support.
7 This cross-sector partnership encourages leveraging philanthropic and public resources, such as Mayor Muriel Browser’s annual commitment of $100 million in the Housing Production Trust Fund, toward building new affordable housing nearby.
8 The Bridge Park’s

TAKEAWAYS
work with housing non-profits such as the DC-based MANNA, which leads a monthly Ward 8 Home Buyers Club, expands the collaborative’s impact in the housing industry in order to increase philanthropic funding that can go toward alternative affordable housing options.

Key to the success of Douglass CLT is also being able to partner on projects that have aspects of community control embedded from supporting residents pursuing DC’s T enant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) to mission-aligned developers committed to thorough community engagement throughout. For example in 2019, the CLT supported residents of 65-unit Savannah Apartments in the Congress Heights neighborhood in using TOPA to purchase their apartment complex.

The park’s Equitable Development Plan names specific, actionable items to further a commitment to both preserving and creating more affordable housing, including home ownership. Building on existing partnerships, the park project intends to leverage philanthropic funding for low-income residents to remain in Ward 8 by the park through programs such as MANNA’s “Homebuyers Club” which prepares low and moderate income households to become homeowners in D.C. and provides grants used as down payment assistance and to cover closing costs. The deliberate strategy of the park’s Equitable Development Plan to work with “government agencies, non-profits, grassroots organizations, affordable housing developers and affordable housing advocates” to preserve existing and expand affordable housing, points to how park projects can contribute toward holistic action that counteracts displacement by furthering responsive support to the housing needs of its nearby residents.

Key Words
Community Land Trusts (CLTs)
Preventing displacement
Affordable housing
preservation
Naturally Occurring Affordable
Housing
T enant Opportunity to
Purchase Act (TOPA)
Community Control of
Housing
1 “Building Bridges across the River - Achieving Equity through Inclusive Development.” 2023. Building Bridges across the River. November 21, 2023. https:/ /buildingbridgesdc.org/11th-street-bridge-park/equity/. 2 Green, Jared. “Washington, D.C.’s 11th Street Bridge Park Nears Final Design.” The Dirt: Uniting the Built and Natural Environments (blog), October 26, 2021. https:/ /dirt.asla.org/2021/10/26/washington-d-c-s-11th-street-bridge-park-nears-final-design/. 3 “About Us - Douglass Community Land Trust.” n.d. Douglass Community Land Trust. Accessed June 21, 2024. https:/ /douglassclt.org/aboutus/Ųorigins. 4 Ibid.
5 “219 Homes with Non-Stop Affordability - Douglass Community Land Trust.” n.d. Https:/ /Douglassclt.org/. Accessed June 21, 2024. https:/ /douglassclt. org/portfolio-items/219-homes-with-non-stop-affordability/. 6 “Our Board of Directors - Douglass Community Land Trust.” n.d. Douglass Community Land Trust. Accessed June 21, 2024. https:/ /douglassclt. org/ŲDirectors.
7 Childers, Linda. “First A Park, Then A Citywide Land Trust In D.C.” Shelterforce, July 13, 2021. https:/ /shelterforce.org/2021/07/13/first-a-park-then-a- citywide-land-trust-in-d-c/.
8 McAnaney, Patrick. “Understanding the District’s Housing Production Trust Fund.” GGWash, February 28, 2024. https:/ /ggwash.org/view/92711/ʼn

GUADALUPE RIVER PARK GUADALUPE RIVER PARK

REVITALIZATIONREVITALIZATION
Planning for and with Unhoused Users in Re-Envisioning
Public Green Space
When Guadalupe River Park opened in 2005, it was hailed as “groundbreaking in flood protection infrastructure and public space design” for its time.
1 T oday, it is next to some of the largest
has seen in more than a decade,
including Google’s proposed mixed-use campus. Given its size and location, the park is a significant investment, which calls for holistic planning, policy, and management initiatives “that ensure that all communities can access the revitalized park.” Amid ongoing development, rising costs-of-living, and a shortage of affordable housing, more than 4,000 residents are now homeless in San Jose.

As a result, there has been a growing population of unhoused residents living along the banks of the Guadalupe River.

In 2019, SPUR, a nonprofit public policy organization, received funding from the Knight Foundation to launch a long-term research and planning initiative to help guide enhancement of Guadalupe River Park through comprehensive assessment and community engagement.
2 As recognized by SPUR’s preliminary research,
homelessness in public spaces is a symptom of systemic issues that require intentional and collaborative approaches that center those who are most affected by barriers to permanent housing. As local leaders in the area around the park attempt to help homeless residents get housed, they have been trying new ways to clean up the city’s waterways that are cognizant of ongoing challenges faced by encampment residents in securing permanent housing.

The equitable planning approach supported by SPUR aims to be grounded in community engagement with narrative shifts from fear-based to value-based approaches, which are also reflected in some of Santa Clara Valley Water District’s recent approaches that involve encampment residents in efforts to keep river parks and ecological areas clean. SPUR partnered with the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, the City’s nonprofit partner responsible for operations and programs.

San José, California
2019
Partners
San Francisco Bay Area
Planning and Urban Research
Association (SPUR)
Sherwood Design Engineers
Gehl
James Lima Planning +
Development
Knight Foundation
Guadalupe River Park
Conservancy
Parks,
Recreation and Neighborhood
Services Department

From research and preliminary engagement around Guadalupe River Park, SPUR in partnership with urban design firm Gehl created the Coexistence T oolkit, public engagement exercises that city agencies, nonprofit organizations and other park stewards can use to inform public space projects and master planning efforts.

This work aims to provide a foundation for “a new way of thinking about park equity to facilitate new types of conversations about access, safety and design within shared public space. One goal of this effort is to shift a narrative from “the park will only be great if there are no homeless people in it” to “the park will only be great if we design for coexistence.”
3 Similar to other equitable development
projects, SPUR identifies catalyzing cultural and economic vitality and providing an inclusive gathering place for all as priority goals. 4 Across these elements, there must be sustained and ongoing conversations and dialogue about the park.
5 A key focus of their re-
envisioning research “was to identify new possibilities for how the residents, bridging
socioeconomic and racial divides through a shared public space.” 6 WHAT MAKES IT WORK
As the park steward, the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy played a pivotal role in convening and coordinating conversations with a variety of park users. The public along with local government agencies, social service organizations, environmental and homeless advocacy groups, and volunteers, including local unhoused residents, have engaged with each other through the county’s river clean-up efforts, reflecting on ecological coexistence, while considering the ongoing challenges of housing and social inequities that perpetuate homelessness.

TAKEAWAYS
In exploring how to best facilitate community dialogue about the key challenges of homelessness and safety that housed park users experience when visiting Guadalupe River Park, SPUR and Gehl identified the following as priority areas to consider to equitable development around a park project, which needs to be “co- designed to lead to true coexistence”:

Source: Guadalupe River Park Conservancy
Source: SPUR

• Spatial esign ş
nvironlent: Beyond one or two community
meetings, designers need to hold space and work closely with current and future users of the space to reflect back on their past experiences and history with that particular place through deep, meaningful engagement.
• Operations ş aintenanceĹ Sufficient operations and
maintenance funding is critical, as are effective partner agencies and nonprofit organizations to support these ongoing efforts while centering all park users including the unhoused and those who experience housing and employment precarity.
• Progral ş Activationķ and Rights: This is identified as one of the most important elements of public space. Parks can take a similar approach to libraries to reimagine how to better serve the community and create invitations for many types of users, including the unhoused, with the appropriate stakeholders to manage programs and activities.
• Rules ş AccountabilityĹ Co-designing rules allows for those co- existing in a park to have a safe, functional public space, which requires that rules are established and rights are communicated.

From this co-creation, “communities can begin to form systems for both passive accountabilityĻ and active accountability.” Throughout the process, it is important to “come to a collective understanding of the behaviors and conditions that make people feel uncomfortable in public space” and “examine the rules that need to be in place and the staffing necessary to ensure that they are being met,” while avoiding stereotyping by separating people from the behaviors that violate agreed upon rules and rights toward more equitable co-existence.

A key question considered throughout is: “How might we design and program spaces to not only accommodate a variety of users, but also provide necessary resources and services to support those living in public spaces?”
7 Source: Guadalupe River Park Conservancy
Source: SPUR
Key Words
Unhoused/Homelessness
Community Engagement
Planning Research
1 Huttenhoff, Michelle. 2020. “Leading With Public Space: The Case for Guadalupe River Park.” SPUR. https:/ /www.spur.org/news/2020-01-30/leading-public-space-case- guadalupe-river-park.
2 “Our Mission.” 2024. SPUR. https:/ /www.spur.org/about/our-mission-and-history. 3 Alvarado, T eresa, Michelle Huttenhoff, Jaclyn Tidwell, Alma Du Solier, Dana Floyd, Josh Abrams, and Vu-Bang Nguyen. 2019. “Re-Envisioning the Guadalupe River Park.” SPUR. https:/ /www.spur.org/publications/research/2019-04-18/re-envisioning-guadalupe-river-park. 4 Huttenhoff, Michelle. 2020. “Leading With Public Space: The Case for Guadalupe River Park.” SPUR. https:/ /www.spur.org/news/2020-01-30/leading-public-space-case- guadalupe-river-park.
5 “Re-Envisioning the Guadalupe River Park.” 2022. SPUR. https:/ /www.spur.org/featured-project/re-envisioning-guadalupe-river-park 6 Ibid.
7 Huttenhoff, Michelle. 2021. “Coexistence in Public Space.” SPUR and Gehl. https:/ /www.spur.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/spur_gehl_coexistence_in_public_space.pdf. “Gov. Newsom signs bill to expand Valley Water’s ability to assist unsheltered people.” 2023. Valley Water News. https:/ /valleywaternews.org/2023/10/13/gov-newsom-signs- bill-to-expand-valley-waters-ability-to-assist-unsheltered-people/.

Huttenhoff, Michelle. 2021. “Coexistence in Public Space.” SPUR and Gehl. https:/ /www.spur.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/spur_gehl_coexistence_in_public_space.pdf.

Kendall, Marisa. 2022. “Homelessness crisis: Santa Clara County houses 20% more people than last year.” Red Bluff Daily News. https:/ /www.redbluffdailynews. com/2022/08/09/homelessness-crisis-santa-clara-county-houses-20-more-people/ Spotlight. https:/ /sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-agencys- homeless-creek-cleanup-sparks-concern/.

THE BENTWAYTHE BENTWAY
A Park Under an Expressway Commits to Resources and
Partnerships that Support Unhoused Residents and Park
Users
The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway (referred to as the Gardiner), an elevated six-lane highway, stood in the mostly industrial Downtown T oronto area until a residential boom in the 2000s.

Now, more than 77,000 people live within walking distance, mostly in high-rise condominiums in the neighborhoods of CityPlace, Liberty Village, King West, and Harbourfront. With an increased need for public space access, a section of the Gardiner was reinvisioned into the “Bentway,” which would turn what has been a barrier to the nearby waterfront into walkable and usable public space. Named for the gigantic concrete columns referred to with the engineering term “bents,” which divide space underneath the five-story-high expressway into 26 sections, the Bentway’s Phase 1 site is a hybrid space that has been envisioned into a multi-use trail, outdoor performance space, and ice skating rink. Programming from skating lessons to music performances from its development have been integral to capturing people’s imaginations about the Bentway’s transformed use under expressway infrastructure.

Spanning a half-mile, The Bentway’s Phase 1 site opened in January 2018. Future expansion sites for The Bentway are being planned now, alongside a public realm plan to guide a long-term transformation of the entire four-mile stretch of land at street-level, including long sections of the Expressway where an arterial road runs directly under it.

According to University of T oronto researchers, “the Bentway’s significance is as part of a larger trend in creating new spaces that are appealing to the cultural preferences and urban lifestyles that come along with this process in T oronto and elsewhere.” 1 As
such, these projects must “acknowledge and debate how they are increasingly claiming and transforming spaces that may be used by marginalized people who may be forced to find even more peripheral spaces.” Seeing a public space as vacant, lost, underutilized, can “allow for the erasure of its association with homelessness to occur,” which obscures “the impacts of the larger processes of urban transformation of which infrastructural reuse Toronto, Canada
2018
Partners
The Bentway Conservancy
City of T oronto
SKETCH (local youth arts non-
profit organization)
Homes First
Fred Victor Centre
Parkdale Safe Injection site

In response to OCAP’s concerns about displacement of the unhoused from the Gardiner, the conservancy’s team reevaluated and scaled up its relationships with unhoused communities by instituting “de-escalation and harm reduction and naloxone administration training for public-facing staff and working with consulting organizations working on anti-poverty strategies such as Homes First, Fred Victor Centre, the Parkdale Safe Injection site, and SKETCH, a community arts enterprise who engages young people who experience homelessness or on the margins and navigate poverty.”
3 Funds have been designated through The
Bentway’s annual operating budget to develop programs, purchase and distribute small scale support items, and train personnel to support groups such as downtown T oronto’s homeless population. “Staff have personal relationships with park users, including users who are unhoused, and observed that daily use patterns at The Bentway closely align with the cleaning schedules at local respite centers.”
4 Bentway also launched the Safe in Public Space initiative which “aims to broaden the definition of public safety to address new public health challenges presented by COVID as well as systemic inequities and ensure that there is a shared social contract governing public spaces access and use.”
5 WHAT MAKES IT WORK
projects are a part.”2 This tension became very apparent shortly after the opening of the Phase 1 site when the City of T oronto removed an encampment of unhoused people, roughly a mile from The Bentway. Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)’s public action during a third-party event rental at The Bentway called attention to the ongoing displacement of unhoused residents along the Gardiner Expressway.

TAKEAWAYS
The Bentway’s developers recognized that future expansions of the park could further the displacement of people living outside and lead to the creation of exclusive or unsafe areas. They brought unhoused community members into the design and development process and identified funds that could be diverted and used to provide small-scale aid in partnership with local shelters. 6 Source: Jason Zhang, unaltered, com-
mons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_
Bentway_during_Nuit_Blanche_Toron-
to_2019.jpg

The Bentway has initiated partnerships with local social service providers to collectively support at-risk neighbors in alignment with its vision of being an “inclusive and accessible public space that is responsive to and reflective of the diverse communities it serves.” 7 Different steps to support unhoused residents taken by infrastructure and park redevelopment projects, such as The Bentway, are incremental efforts in progressing toward equitable outcomes around park projects. From these smaller actions, there is potential to collectively contribute to bigger efforts, such as addressing local housing market dynamics, which are covered by other case studies of affordable housing and workforce development focused policy and strategies. It is important to see homelessness as a symptom of one of many systemic issues connected to the lack of affordable housing, health and mental services, and economic opportunities.

Source: The Bentway
Key Words
Homeless support and social
services
Homeless resident advocacy
Park staff capacity to support
vulnerable populations
1 Hess, P., and C. Stevenson-Blythe. 2022. “Infrastructural reuse projects, lost spaces, and spaces of homelessness: a case study on the Bentway in T oronto.” Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, (November), 1ŋ20. 10.1080/17549175.2022.2138950. 2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 All-Season Support: Staff, Small Scale Infrastructures, and Intentional Partnerships.” n.d. High Line Network Community First T oolkit. https:/ /toolkit. highlinenetwork.org/case-studies/all-season-support-staff-small-scale-infrastructures-and-intentional-partnerships/. 7 “Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan Vision and Opportunities Report.” 2024. The Bentway Conservancy. https:/ /undergardinerprp.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2024/04/Under-Gardiner-PRP-Vision-and-Opportunities-Report_2024.pdf.

O’ahu, Hawai’i
2016-present
Partners
aio Foundation
The Institute for Human
Services (IHS)
City and County of Honolulu
State of Hawai’i

KAHAUIKI VILLAGE KAHAUIKI VILLAGE
Housing Formerly Homeless Families and Elders
Hawai’i has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the naka Maoli or Native Hawaiians comprising a
disproportionate share of the unhoused population. The majority of unhoused people reside on O’ahu, the most populated of the Hawaiian Islands and home to the state capital, Honolulu. In 2023, nearly a third (28%) of the homeless population in O’ahu self- identified as Native Hawaiian, disproportionately higher than their share in the island’s total population.
1 Families with children also
made up about a quarter (24%) of the island’s unhoused population.

The most frequently reported causes of homelessness included inability to pay rent and loss of employment.
2 Since the 1900s, Sand Island in the Honolulu Harbor has served as a refuge for unhoused individuals. Located between Sand Island and Ke’ehi Lagoon Park, Kahauiki Village provides 140 units of permanent supportive housing for formerly unhoused families and kupuna (elders).
3 As of April 2023, 129 households lived in Kahauiki
Village, including 295 children.4 At Kahauiki Village, rents are fixed at less than half of market rates. Although there is an income eligibility threshold, residents without a means of employment are connected with supportive services that can assist with job placement with local business and pre-vocational training programs.

Residents also have access to wrap-around services designed to remove common employment barriers for families: childcare and transportation. Kahauiki Village is located along a bus route that connects to urban Honolulu and Waikडkड and near a major transit center for West-bound routes.
5

WHAT MAKES IT WORK
Source: The Institute for Human Services
Kahauiki Village was created as a public-
private partnership between local business
owner Duane Kurisu, the City and County
of Honolulu, and the State of Hawai’i, which
leveraged incentives under a statewide
emergency declaration.
6 In 2015, the Governor
of Hawai’i issued a proclamation declaring
a state of emergency on homelessness,
which authorized modifications or waivers of
permit requirements specifically for housing
developments co-sponsored by city or county
government entities. Through his non-profit
aio Foundation, Kurisu, the main champion
and funder for Kahauiki Village, approached
the county mayor and secured their support as
a partner in the project.
7 The aio Foundation,
with the City and County of Honolulu as its
primary governmental partner, became eligible
for the emergency proclamation’s incentives and
received expedited approvals for construction.
8 In October 2016, the Governor signed Executive
Order No. 4513 to transfer a 11-acre property
from the State of Hawai’i to the City and County
of Honolulu, which then leased the land to the
aio Foundation at a nominal fee of $1 per year.
9 The City and County also completed $4 million
of water and sewer infrastructure upgrades.

Construction of the site was completed by in-
kind donations of materials and time. The units
of Kahauiki Village are repurposed prefabricated
buildings previously used in Japan following the
2011 tsunami.

In 2018, the first tenants of Kahauiki Village
moved in with The Institute for Human Services
(IHS) contracted to provide on-site supportive
services, such as employment assistance, case
management, and afterschool childcare. Parents
and Children T ogether, another local non-profit,
offers daycare services on-property for children
residing at Kahauiki Village at a subsidized rate.

In 2022, aio Foundation gave IHS full control
and management of Kahauiki Village.
10 Kahauiki Village highlights the growing use
of public lands for sustainable, innovative,

TAKEAWAYS
cost-effective affordable housing. High land costs can make development of permanent supportive housing less financially feasible, especially if the proposed site is located in amenity-rich places near job centers and targets those with the lowest incomes and who face the most severe housing cost burdens. Minimizing development costs is crucial for serving extremely-low income households as the lower rents affordable to these households may not cover ongoing operational costs and loan payments for construction. In this example, cross-sector collaboration significantly lowered development costs, as land was provided by the local government and businesses donated and shared resources to construct housing units.

Kahauiki Village underscores the importance of removing barriers to accessing shelter and support. Without coordinated connections to stable, secure, dignified housing, projects risk further marginalization of unhoused people through forced displacement.

While Kahauiki Village housed a large share of the homeless population, its development also displaced many others in the process. Prior to construction, an encampment of approximately one hundred unhoused individuals resided where Kahauiki Village would eventually stand.

None of the unhoused individuals who currently live on the site were eligible for the new housing units as Kahauiki Village exists to house formerly homeless families and elderly individuals.

Additionally, IHS required any prospective tenants of the permanent supportive development to complete its transitional housing program to be eligible for permanent housing. As a result, participation requirements acted as a barrier to entry, functionally excluding unhoused residents already residing on the property.

However, IHS did offer shelter and services at their other sites to those being displaced. T o prevent displacement, practitioners should recognize the rights of existing unhoused residents in the immediate vicinity of the site, and explore viable pathways for their return through the provision of permanent housing without preconditions in the communities in which they already live.

Remembering his upbringing in a sugar plantation town, Kurisu envisioned Kahauiki Village as a similar “plantation-style Key Words
Permanent supportive housing
Lease of public land
Family housing

Source: The Institute for Human Services
community” grounded in “community culture” in the plantation.11 The site is divided into sections, identified by the color of trim, with each unit designed to recall this romanticized past through homage to wood trusses and pitched, corrugated roofs. The units weave into one another via walking paths and a path along the perimeter lined with community gardens. The center of the Kahauiki Village is a large recreational pavilion that hosts community events and activities, parking for residents, a playground, laundry facilities, mailboxes, a small convenient store, and management office.

The use of plantation nostalgia architecture does provoke mention of the Hawaiļi Kingdom’s history of dispossession. For naka Maoli or Native Hawaiians, sugar plantations were
part of the legacy of colonization. Along with land dispossession, naka Maoli
saw as familial and inseparable from themselves and which they depended upon for sustenance.”
12 Streams were dewatered for
diversion to supply plantations, and in the process drained dry naka Maoli farmers relied
upon. Like all other developments in Hawaiļi, Kahauiki Village points to the need for meaningful engagement with Indigenous leadership in the design process to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are effectively addressed.
1 “Point in Time Count 2023 Comprehensive Report.” Partners In Care - Oļahu Continuum of Care, May 11, 2023. https:/ /npr.brightspotcdn.com/5e/93/ e4fd265848ad99eeca1fa1d4009c/final-pit-count-2023.pdf.
2 “Point in Time Count 2020 Comprehensive Report.” Partners In Care - Oļahu Continuum of Care, 2020. https:/ /www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/ohou/ PIC2020PITCountReportFinal.pdf.
3 Schuler, Timothy A. “The Promised Land of Kahauiki Village.” Flux The Current of Hawai’i, December 16, 2019. https:/ /fluxhawaii.com/promised-land- kahauiki-village/.
4 “Kahauiki Village.” 2022. The Institute for Human Services. April 8, 2022. https:/ /ihshawaii.org/kahauiki/. 5 “Kahauiki Village History.” 2022. The Institute for Human Services. May 6, 2022. https:/ /ihshawaii.org/kahauiki/history/. 6 Schuler, Timothy A. “It Takes a Village to Solve Homelessness, So This Hawaii Businessman Is Building One.” Next City, July 10, 2017. https:/ /nextcity. org/features/hawaii-duane-kurisu-homelessness-crisis-kahauiki-village. 7 Ige, David Y. “Second Supplementary Proclamation.” Office of the Governor State of Hawaii, December 24, 2015. https:/ /homelessness.hawaii.gov/wp- content/uploads/2019/04/second-sup-1512111.pdf.
8 “Projects Completed under the 2015-2016 Emergency Proclamation to Address Homelessness in the State of Hawaii.” State of Hawaii Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions, April 2019. https:/ /homelessness.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Status-and-Overview-of-Emergency- Proclamation-and-Projects.pdf.
9 Cheung, Barry. “Board of Land and Natural Resources Set Aside to City and County of Honolulu for Affordable Housing Project for Homeless Families Purposes; Issuance of Non-Exclusive Easement for Utility Purposes; Consent to Lease of Lands to Aio Foundation; Moanalua, Honolulu, Oahu, TMK (1) 1-1-003:003, 204 to 207, and 212; (1) 1-2-021:035 to 038.” State of Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, June 9, 2016. https:/ /dlnr.hawaii. gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/D-4.pdf.
10 Smith, Emily, and Robbie Dingeman. “The Nonprofit Institute for Human Services Takes on Ownership of Honolulu’s Kahauiki Village.” Honolulu Magazine, May 27, 2022. https:/ /www.honolulumagazine.com/the-nonprofit-institute-for-human-services-takes-on-ownership-of-honolulus-kahauiki- village/.
11 Kurisu, Duane. “The Honolulu Homeless Project That Could Only Have Worked In Hawaii.” Honolulu Civil Beat, June 12, 2018. https:/ /www.civilbeat. org/2018/06/the-honolulu-homeless-project-that-could-only-have-worked-in-hawaii/. 12 Lum, U’ilani Tanigawa, and Kaulu Lu’uwai. “Plantation Capitalism’s Legacy Produced The Maui Wildfires.” The Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project

INDIA BASIN WATERFRONT INDIA BASIN WATERFRONT
PARK’S CONSTRUCTION PARK’S CONSTRUCTION

TRAINING PROGRAMTRAINING PROGRAM
Supporting Community Economic Needs with Goal of
Hiring Locally
The future India Basin Waterfront Park will connect 64 acres of open space in Bayview-Hunters Point (BVHP), which is home to a historically Black community and remains one of the most diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. Within a mile of India Basin, 40 percent of residents are Black, 30 percent Hispanic, 18 percent Asian, 7 percent White and 3 percent Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. T o prevent the displacement of diverse residents living and working in BVHP, the India Basin Waterfront Park Project is guided by San Francisco’s first ever Equitable Development Plan (EDP). The EDP is intended to improve
economic opportunity and environmental health for residents, offer educational and leadership development opportunities for youth, ensure access and connectivity of the neighborhood to the park, prevent displacement, and preserve the arts, culture and identity of this historically underserved and environmentally burdened neighborhood. As a result of the EDP, the Community Innovation Lab launched in October 2023 as an expansion of the park’s T ech Hub (since 2021), continuing to provide free Wi-Fi access, laptop and tablet lending and technical support, while also making sports, cultural, and recreational programming accessible to residents through free equipment rentals and space for local organizations. An adjoining property to the park at 700 Innes will add 1,575 units of housing, with 25 percent priced below market rate.
1 The community member-led executive leadership team has also been planning “financial literacy training to inform people about resources to get a loan to purchase a new home, or to help them keep their current home, as part of the plan to make the development’s benefits more equitable.”
2 San Francisco, California
2018-Ongoing
Partners
San Francisco Recreation and
Parks
Trust for Public Land
San Francisco Parks Alliance
The A. Philip Randolph
Institute

Source: India Basin Waterfront Park
Source: India Basin Waterfront Park

WHAT MAKES IT WORK
Throughout the equitable development plan’s engagement and input process, local residents have expressed wanting job and economic opportunities. The India Basin Specialty Construction Training program developed from the waterfront park’s equitable development plan’s goals to build and sustain local job creation with an emphasis on the Black community. Its purpose is to provide training and professional development opportunities through the construction and operations of the park.

San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and its CityBuild Academy partner on this program to deliver training by union professionals with other benefits such as tool and union initiation assistance, employment sponsorship as a union apprentice, and more.
3 As of 2023, 18 have graduated from
these specialty construction cohort training programs.4 Renovation of nearby Hilltop Park, a few blocks from India Basin, is a small success story of how a workforce development strategy in an park equitable community development plan can benefit employment for local residents. With nearby Hilltop Park, “10 to 12 people went through a jobs training program with the contractor, and two to three people were hired on to build the park.” 5 This
success is grounded in long-term, meaningful engagement of the community, which actively participated in more than 150 community meetings over the course of several years. Such engagement underscores deep commitments both within the community and by the city to follow through on the plan’s promises.

General Manager Phil Ginsburg, San Francisco Recreation and Parks (source) said, “We’re actually hiring people from this community to be part of the planning of this park project at an executive level...

We’re not just asking them to show up at a community meeting.

The idea is to do something special for this neighborhood, and have it be a space where the community that lives there now feels welcome—like this was built by and for them.”
6

TAKEAWAYS
Source: San Francisco Recreation and Parks
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research. “Houston Ends Veteran Homelessness.” PD&R Edge In Practice (blog), December 14, 2015. https:/ /www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-inpractice-121415.html.

Catherine Troisi. “The Way Home Continuum of Care 2023 Homeless Count and Survey Analysis,” March 2023. https:/ /irp.cdn-website. com/2d521d2c/files/uploaded/Homeless%20Count%202023_full.pdf. “Community COVID Housing Program.” 2024. Coalition for the Homeless. April 2024. https:/ /www.homelesshouston.org/CCHP. 1 Simons, E. (2020,
September 8). A Park Bond for the Bayview Promises Green and Change. Bay Nature. https:/ /baynature.org/2020/09/08/is-this-the-bayviews-big-park- moment/
2 Ibid.
3 16 Graduate from India Basin Workforce Development Program. (2023, May 24). San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. https:/ /sfrecpark.org/ CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1521.
4 Ibid.
5 Lyons, B. J. (2016, December 3). Bayview’s Hilltop Park reopens for kids after years of disrepair. SFGATE. https:/ /www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/After- years-of-disrepair-Bayview-s-Hilltop-10689639.phpŲphoto-11927934 6 Vyse, G. (2019, August 19). Parks for All. Governing. https:/ /www.governing.com/archive/gov-parks-equity.html 7 Simons, E. (2020, September 8). A Park Bond for the Bayview Promises Green and Change. Bay Nature. https:/ /baynature.org/2020/09/08/is-this-the- bayviews-big-park-moment/
8 Ibid.

What started with the Hilltop Park has scaled up to the larger India Basin Waterfront Park project’s potential to employ more community members in its construction. Alejandra Chiesa, from project partner Trust for Public Land, noted that key to the success of this project meeting its equitable community development’s goals is “[Phil] Ginsburg’s commitment to working through other departments within the city can get things done in a way that supports the community.”
7 Implementation of an
equitable development plan requires a commitment to sustained interdepartmental collaboration. Breaking down silos between multiple city agencies may involve changes to internal processes that hinder collaboration, such as improving communication channels or restructuring roles and responsibilities. Leaders play a crucial role in championing collaboration from the top. 8 Key Words
Workforce Development
Specialty Trade Training
Equitable Development Plan
(EDP)

Understanding the connection of local policy players for street vendors is crucial to creating inclusive public spaces for diverse communities to gather. Los Angeles has an established culture of street vending; across the City, there are numerous vending communities where vendors sell affordable and culturally significant food, household items, and beverages. These vending communities bring life, activity, and social infrastructure to the streets and open spaces, and, for many residents who have recently arrived in the United States, vending is the sole way to make a livelihood.

The size, structure, and formality of vending varies depending on location and neighborhood within Los Angeles, ranging from hundreds of vendors around MacArthur Park to twenty, more formalized stalls in historic Olvera Street.

However, while vendors are a significant thread in the social fabric of neighborhoods and part of the city identity, street vending has been historically illegal and heavily criminalized in the state of California as recently as 2018. Those who did business in the public right of way were subject to crushing fines, harassment from law enforcement, and violence in many cases.
1 T oday, after thirteen
years of grassroots vendor advocacy and hardship, the tide is changing, and laws are slowly shifting to better support and protect vendors across California and the rest of the country.

Los Angeles, California
2018-Ongoing
Partners
East Los Angeles Community
Corporation
Inclusive Action for the City
Community Power Collective

PLANNING AND SUPPORTING PLANNING AND SUPPORTING

VENDORSVENDORS
Food Access and Economic Opportunity

Source: Mercado La Paloma
Community organizations formed a coalition and together launched the Los Angeles Street Vending Campaign to support and protect vendors through direct services and policy advocacy. Each organization in the coalition contributed to different areas of the campaign. Community Power Collective (CPC) directly organizes vendors in nearly thirty neighborhoods by building organizational structures and mobilizing vendor leaders to drive campaign priorities. Inclusive Action for the City conducts policy research and advocates for changes to the citywide and statewide legal framework to protect vendor rights.
2 East Los Angeles Community
Corporation provides a number of direct technical services to vendors, including help with filing taxes, educational programs to navigate the permitting system in Los Angeles County, and support in acquiring code-complaint equipment. After a decade of the coalition’s organizing and advocacy, Los Angeles decriminalized street vending on city sidewalks.

Despite this win, vendors still face obstacles in navigating legal vending regulations. The Los Angeles Street Vending Campaign continues to advocate for equitable implementation of legal vending programs, with particular attention to food and park vending. Ongoing work seeks to ease the permitting and enforcement processes to ensure more vendors can safely sell without fear of citations or fines.
3 For projects looking to
expand public access and amenities in park spaces, vendor decriminalization and formalized infrastructure are key investments.

Infrastructure for formalization can take multiple forms from building physical amenities for shelter or sanitation to building negotiating power through political organization. CPC’s ongoing efforts with Echo Park vendors offers a potential model to reshape parks to be more inclusive of vending communities. In Los Angeles, vending rules in parks are more prohibitive than those governing sidewalks. In response, CPC organized Echo Park vendors to advocate for less restrictive park vending rules. Through the process of creating community agreements on vending locations, CPC created a structure to negotiate as a united front for a permanent vending community in the park.

Formalization should also involve context-specific practices and consider the variety of vendors and different pathways to vendor formalization. Food vendors, in particular, face additional challenges related to public health requirements. Depending on the neighborhood, food vending looks different across Los

WHAT MAKES IT WORK

Key Words
Workforce Development
Street vending policy
Public space access
1 Janette Villafana and Jack Ross. “ļWe Did ItĴ’ Street Vendors Across L.A. County Celebrate a Hard-Fought Victory.” Center for Health Journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, November 23, 2022. https:/ /centerforhealthjournalism.org/our-work/reporting/we-did-it- street-vendors-across-la-county-celebrate-hard-fought-victory. 2 “Programs – Community Power Collective. ” n.d. Community Power Collective. Accessed May 27 , 2024. https:/ /cpcollective.org/our-work/ programs/.
3 Janette Villafana. “ A New Era of ‘Legal’ Street Vending Awaits L.A. ’ s Sidewalk Vendors, But Will They Finally Stop Getting Fined?” LA Taco, November 23, 2022. https:/ /lataco.com/street-vendor-legal-los-angeles-policing.

Bill Esparza. “This Outdoor Guatemalan Market Is LA ’ s Undiscovered Street Food Star. ” Eater Los Angeles, July 6, 2017 . https:/ /la.eater. com/2017 /7 /6/15930544/guatemalan-street-market-bonnie-brae-westlake-los-angeles. “Mission & Values. ” n.d. Mercado La Paloma. Accessed May 27 , 2024. https:/ /www.mercadolapaloma.com/missionvalues. “SPARCC Policy Platform. ” Strong, Prosperous, And Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARC)C, February 2021. https:/ /www.sparcchub.org/wp- content/uploads/2021/02/Pathways-Parks.pdf.

Garrett Snyder. “ A Guide to the Best Street Food Vendors in Los Angeles. ” Los Angeles Magazine. July 15, 2019. lamag.com/featured/best-street- food-los-angeles
There are many ways in which park design, programming, and operations can better support vendors. Physical design and amenities such as access to power, running water, storage, trash, recycling, lighting, flat surfaces for rolling, portable restrooms, and shade are a few of the characteristics that can be added to public space to make vending easier. These assets should be co- located in high-foot traffic areas rather than pushing vendors to parts of the neighborhood or park that do not see much business.

Small-scale programs such as coordinated power washing and increased trash pick-up in vendor heavy areas can help make vending easier and safer for all, especially in public spaces such as parks. Efforts to remove infrastructural barriers should be paired with complementary efforts to lower regulatory, functional, and financial barriers faced by vendors. Formalization should be treated as an ongoing process where rules are revisited and adapted.

TAKEAWAYS
Angeles. Some vendors are more mobile with carts or stands while others operate at fixed stalls. In areas such as MacArthur Park and Westlake, vendors fill streets with stands and colorful umbrellas. In the Figueroa Corridor of South Los Angeles, an area that historically suffered from disinvestment with the lack of quality jobs and business opportunities, quality gathering spaces, quality food, and art and cultural opportunities, Mercado La Paloma is a designated, indoor space for food vendors. Esperanza Community Housing Corporation (Esperanza), in collaboration with longtime residents, acquired a former garment factory and then converted the building to a multi-use space for vendors, community leaders, and community events. Established in 1999, Mercado La Paloma responded to suggestions from residents in Esperanza’s housing developments for a local version of the bustling markets that they had left behind in their home countries. Mercado La Paloma allows people who otherwise might not have had the opportunity to invest in a retail space to have a business.

Appendix B. T able of Housing Policies and Programs
TENANT

PROTECTIONS
Policies and programs
created specifically for
renters

RESIDENT ASSISTANCE
Policies and programs to
support low-income renters
and homeowners

HOMEOWNER SUPPORT
Policies and programs for
homeowners to update their
residences

PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS

HOMELESSNESS -
Policies and programs created to
support unhoused individuals
and prevent housed residents
from entering homelessness
Bell
Homeless Services Liaison to help
within the community. The Homeless
Liaison will partner up with other city
departments and divisions as well as
service providers, nonprofit agencies
and local businesses to connect
individuals to services.

Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

Bell
Gardens
Rent Stabilization
(Ordinance 925) is meant to
protect tenants from
excessive rent increases and
promote long-term stability
for tenants. The ordinance
does so by blocking
landlords from being able to
raise rent by more than 50%
of the change in CPI
(consumer price index) or
4% annually, whichever is
lower.

T enant Eviction Protections
(Ordinance 925) is paired
with the rent increase
restrictions to protect
tenants from being evicted
as a means for landlords to
raise rents. Landlords
cannot terminate a lease
after a tenant has been in a
unit legally for 12 months
unless there is just cause.

First Time Home Buyers
Program intended to assist
first-time home buyers with
down payments. These loans
range from $10,000 to
$100,000.

Rental Assistance: $1,500 of
rental relief for residents in Bell
Gardens who have past due
balances from August or
September 2023
Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation
Program was created to help
property owners with funds to
rehabilitate their homes. These
loans range from $10,000 to
$125, 000.

CalHome Owner Occupied
Rehabilitation Program: program
to assist homeowners with
rehabilitating or converting their
garages into an ADU. The
CalHome Owner Occupied
Rehabilitation Program provides
low-interest loans of up to
$75,000 to eligible homeowners
who wish to improve or convert
their existing ADU.

City funded beds in shelters: city
purchased beds at the Salvation Army
Shelter located in the City of Bell to
ensure their residents have access to
shelter when requested.

Non-profit partnerships: People
Assisting The Homeless (PATH)
partners with city staff for outreach
and shelter support
Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

Carson
HOME Program: grant awarded
from the Department of
Housing and Community
Development (HCD). The funds
are available primarily to low
and moderate income families
to sustain affordable housing.

Foreclosure prevention
awareness initiative: campaign
created to raise awareness of
existing options for those at risk
of foreclosure, but also highlights
tips and smart decisions that may
help prevent foreclosure in the
future.

The Neighborhood Pride
Program (NPP) is designed to
assist low-and moderate-income
owners of single -family detached
dwellings and mobile homes with
the preservation of decent, safe
and sanitary housing.

Resources: Webpage with Housing,
Meals and Groceries, and healthcare
for unhoused individuals
1

Commerce
Rent Stabilization: A
landlord cannot increase a
tenant’s rent by more than
5% plus the CPI, or 10%,
whichever is lower, within a
12 month period.

Just Cause: is paired with
the rent increase
restrictions to protect
tenants from being evicted
as a means for landlords to
raise rents. Landlords
cannot terminate a lease
after a tenant has been in a
unit legally for 12 months
unless there is just cause.

A First-time home buyer
program is a partnership with a
local housing development
called Rosewood Village. In this
program, 9 participants could
get up to $150,000 in assistance
for a downpayment and closing
cost on unity in the
development. T o qualify,
participants need to be
first-time home buyers who
have lived in Commerce for at
least 5 years. Participants were
chosen through a lottery
process.

Home Preservation Grant:
program that provides
income-qualified residents with
up to $25,000 in grant funding
for essential home improvements
such as roof repairs and electrical
upgrades. These grants are just
for single-family homes that are
the owner’s primary residence.

Compton
Housing Choice Voucher
Program: Participants of the
HCV Program typically pay
between 30% - 40% of their
adjusted income for rent
while the housing authority
via federal dollars from the
Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD)
cover the difference
between the approved
contract rent and the
tenant’s rent payment.

Homelessness T ask Force:Conducts
the homelessness count and
collaborates with organizations to
produce a service plan.

Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

Cudahy
Rent Stabilization
(Ordinance 736): Created
to protect tenants from
excessive rent increases and
promote long-term stability
for tenants. The ordinance
does so by blocking
landlords from being able to
raise rent by more than the
change in CPI (consumer
price index) or 3% annually,
whichever is lower.

T enant Protections
(Ordinance 737): is paired
with the rent increase
restrictions to protect
tenants from being evicted
as a means for landlords to
raise rents. Landlords
cannot terminate a lease
after a tenant has been in a
unit legally for 12 months
unless there is just cause.

Inclusionary Housing
Program: City requires
housing developers with
units of 4+ to assign 15% of
total housing units as
inclusionary
housing/affordable housing.

First-Time Homebuyers
Assistance Program: run by the
LA County Development
Authority to provide 0%
interest with deferred payment
loans for first-time homebuyers
for up to $85,000 or 20% of the
purchase price (whichever is
less).

Staff dedicated to homeless services:

Supportive Services Coordinator and
Homeless Services Liaison to help
within the community. They will
partner up with other city
departments and divisions to address
any issues and/or concerns within the
city.

City funded beds in shelters: city
purchased beds at the Salvation Army
Shelter located in the City of Bell to
ensure their residents have access to
shelter when requested.

Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

Downey
Downey Resource Guide: Homeless
services and resources guide with
information on youth services, food
banks, and veteran services.

Downey Homelessness Plan: 2018
Plan to prevent and combat
homelessness
2

Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

East
Rancho
Dominguez
First-Time Homebuyers
Assistance Program: run by the
LA County Development
Authority to provide 0%
interest with deferred payment
loans for first-time homebuyers
for up to $85,000 or 20% of the
purchase price (whichever is
less).

Grants for Minor Home Repairs:
up to $5,000 in grant funding to
help preserve existing homes
with minor repairs. These funds
are available to specific groups
including seniors, permanently
disabled, or large families (+5).

Grants for Senior Homeowners:
up to $15,000 to assist the
mobility and habitability repairs
to homes for seniors who own
their homes in unincorporated
Los Angeles County
The Homeless Initiative is the central
coordinating body for Los Angeles
County’s ongoing effort to expand and
enhance services for people
experiencing homelessness or at risk
of losing their homes. Primarily funded
through Measure H, a 1/4-cent sales
tax. The homelessness Initiative works
on: Homeless Prevention, Street
Outreach, Interim Housing,
Permanent Housing, Affordable
Housing production and preservation,
as well as the protection of tenants,
and Supportive Services such as case
management; connections to health
care, mental health care, and
substance use disorder treatment.

Huntington
Park
The Emergency Rental
Assistance Program: is
three months of rental
assistance available to
income-eligible residents
who live in Huntington Park.

Funds are distributed on a
first come first serve basis.

First Time Home Buyer
Program: which provides
assistance to low-income
households on a down payment
and closing costs for a home. T o
qualify for this assistance,
buyers need to be residents of
Huntington Park for at least 1
year
Home Repair Program: which
provides up to $25,000 in grant
funding to income-qualified
homeowners in single-family
homes to make repairs to their
residences. This funding is
offered on a first come first
served basis.

Consolidated Planning of the
Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) and Home Investment
Partnership Act (HOME) programs to
provide food services, homeless
services, and hotel/motel vouchers.

Long Beach
City Resource Line: The LB
Resource Line is a hotline
that supports anyone in
Long Beach who needs help
finding local, City and
community resources
First-Time Homebuyer
Assistance Program: designed
to assist low- and
moderate-income families
traditionally underrepresented
in homeownership with
purchasing their first home and
building multi-generational
wealth. Approximately 100
households will receive up to
$20,000 in down payment and
closing cost assistance.

Neighborhood Grant Program:

The City of Long Beach is
providing up to $1,500 in
funding to established Long
Beach neighborhood
associations to host
neighborhood events and/or
neighborhood improvement
projects. The goal of the
program is to support events
and projects that improve
neighborhood spirit,
collaboration, and revitalization
efforts.

Home Buyer Resource Page:

Connects residents to a wealth
of County, State, and Nonprofit
homebuyer educational
resources and funding programs
in addition to the city's funded
program.

Home Improvement Roof Grant
Program: provides eligible
owner-occupied, single-family
residence property owners with
up to $20,000 in grant funding
for the rehabilitation or
replacement of their home roof.

Multi-Service Center: the place to go
to get connected with services such as:
case management, housing services,
medical services through a clinic,
obtaining identification, employment
assistance, mental health support, safe
parking program, and more.
3

Lynwood
Utility Assistance Program:
which offers financial assistance
to low-income households on
electricity, gas, trash, and water
bills. Recipients must be making
80% or less of the area median
income in order to qualify for
support.

Home Investment Partnership
Grant Program: which provides
funds for building, buying, and or
rehabilitating affordable housing.

The program offers up to
$45,000 to homeowners through
a $35,000 deferred payment loan
and/or $10,000 grant to
income-eligible households.

Homelessness Plan: Homeless Plan
under development to better inform
the city’s strategy, strengthen
partnerships, coordinate resources,
and open the city to wider funding
Maywood
Urgency Ordinance
23-01-U Rent Control: a
rent cap that keeps
landlords from increasing
the rent for residents who
have lived in their since
before February 6 2023
from increases to their rent.

Housing Department: provide
direct service support to its
residents for rental assistance,
wrongful evictions, code
enforcement violations, and
shelter referral
First-Time Homebuyers
Assistance Program: run by the
LA County Development
Authority to provide 0%
interest with deferred payment
loans for first-time homebuyers
for up to $85,000 or 20% of the
purchase price (whichever is
less).

Homelessness Plan: Five-year
Homelessness Plan passed in 2021 to
to shape the strategy for providing
safe healthy housing for overcrowded
households, city services for
households in need, keep at-risk
families with school-aged children
connected to schools, and provide
adequate housing to those who are
unsheltered.

Paramount
Home Improvement Program:

The City of Paramount is offering
grants to remodel the exterior of
owner-occupied detached
single-family homes or
mobile/manufactured homes.

Qualified households may receive
partial funding for exterior
improvements such as doors and
windows and roof repair
Home Security Rebate Program:

The City of Paramount is offering
rebates of up to $200 exclusively
for Paramount residents who
purchase a new home security
camera system or alarm service.

ADU Resources: webpage to help
residents, contractors, architects,
developers, and anyone else
interested in understanding how
to build an accessory dwelling
unit (ADU) or a junior accessory
dwelling unit (JADU)
Plan to Prevent and Combat
Homelessness: working with the City
of Bellflower and the non-profit
organization PATH, Paramount has
developed a plan that outlines
priorities in addressing these issues in
both cities.

Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

Rancho
Dominguez
First-Time Homebuyers
Assistance Program: run by the
LA County Development
Authority to provide 0%
interest with deferred payment
loans for first-time homebuyers
for up to $85,000 or 20% of the
purchase price (whichever is
less).

Grants for Minor Home Repairs:
up to $5,000 in grant funding to
help preserve existing homes
with minor repairs. These funds
are available to specific groups
including seniors, permanently
disabled, or large families (+5).

Grants for Senior Homeowners:
up to $15,000 to assist the
mobility and habitability repairs
to homes for seniors who own
their homes in unincorporated
Los Angeles County
The Homeless Initiative is the central
coordinating body for Los Angeles
County’s ongoing effort to expand and
enhance services for people
experiencing homelessness or at risk
of losing their homes. Primarily funded
through Measure H, a 1/4-cent sales
tax. The homelessness Initiative works
on: Homeless Prevention, Street
Outreach, Interim Housing,
Permanent Housing, Affordable
Housing production and preservation,
as well as the protection of tenants,
and Supportive Services such as case
management; connections to health
care, mental health care, and
substance use disorder treatment.
4

South Gate
Inclusionary Housing
Program: which requires
developments with ten units
or more to make 10 - 14% of
rental and owner-occupied
units affordable.

ADU Resources: permit-ready
plans for new accessory dwelling
unit (ADU) construction and
standard plans for garage
conversions into ADUs
South Gate Homeless Outreach
Program: which works with the South
Gate Police Department and the
Salvation Army Bell Shelter to provide
care management and other services
to help individuals access shelter and
housing
Homeless Prevention Program: City
of South Gate plans, coordinates and
organizes strategies to assist the city's
homeless population in collaboration
with other public and private
organizations.

Homeless Outreach Program: provide
outreach services to individuals
experiencing homelessness. Focus on
moving people into permanent
housing.

Vernon
5

Appendix C. T able of Workforce Development Policies and Programs

PRESERVATION OF

EXISTING

BUSINESSES

JOB TRAINING

AND CAREER

PREPARATION

BUSINESS INCENTIVES RESIDENT

SUPPORT
Bell
Commercial Façade
Improvement Program:

Provides financial assistance
to business and property
owners along specific target
areas.

Opportunity Zones: Created through the 2017 T ax
Cuts and Jobs Act, Opportunity Zones allow
investors to defer capital gain taxes and
permanently exclude taxable income of capital gains
in exchange for an investment in an opportunity
zones fund. However, benefits depend on the
amount of time that gains are held in opportunity
funds. The intent of the program is to incentivize
investment in specific geographic areas to lead to
job creation and economic development.

Residential Rehabilitation Program: Provides grant
funding to low and moderate income homeowners
for home beautifications, including remodels,
exterior paint, and reroofs. Grants range from $18k
for a single family grant or $11k for a mobile home
grant.

Bell
Gardens
Community Family
Service Center
partnership with Job
Corps: Provides job
training to youth ages
16-24. The Job Corps job
training programs run
through the recreation
and community services
department.

Opportunity Zones: Created through the 2017 T ax
Cuts and Jobs Act, Opportunity Zones allow
investors to defer capital gain taxes and
permanently exclude taxable income of capital gains
in exchange for an investment in an opportunity
zones fund. However, benefits depend on the
amount of time that gains are held in opportunity
funds. The intent of the program is to incentivize
investment in specific geographic areas to lead to
job creation and economic development. There is a
139 acre area between Clara Street, Eastern
Avenue, Garfield Avenue.

Affordable Connectivity
Program: Provides
discounts for home
internet and a one time
discount for laptop. It is
federally funded.

Carson
Small Business Grant
Program: Includes a
$5-$25k grant for
businesses that have been
negatively impacted by
COVID-19.

Commercial Façade
Improvement Program:

Provides financial assistance
to eligible property owners
for the renovation of
commercial buildings and
structures within the City of
Carson Commercial Areas /
T arget Areas. Funds can be
used to correct certain code
violations for commercial
buildings and improve
storefront aesthetics. The
funds are a range of a
reimbursement grant of
$2,500 to $25,000. The
intent of the program is to
Carson One Stop Career
Center: Provides
assistance to both
employers and
employees. Services
include: employer
recruitment, assistance
with candidate screening
and selection, job
placement and training
established under
Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act.

The City of Carson has a partnership with the
regional Small Business Development Center to
provide services, financing, marketing, and
accounting support to small businesses.

Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD):

Carson is in the process of forming an EIFD with the
help of LA County to raise funds for needed
investments in infrastructure, affordable housing,
and environmental mitigation. Funds will come from
new incremental increases in property taxes within
the EIFD area (roughly 14% of the City's total area).

City policies provide financial relief. There is a low
utility tax and no local property tax.
1

revitalize the City's
commercial building stock.

Commerce
The Commerce Industrial Council, which is the
City's formal Chamber of Commerce, supports local
businesses and creates economic opportunities in
the City.

Compton
Small Business COVID-19
Relief Grant Program: is a
state-level program that
provides $5-25k per
business but has since been
phased out. The City of
Compton promoted the
program to residents.

The Rancho Dominguez
AJCC (America's Job
Centers of California) is
run by Managed Career
Solutions and serves the
Rancho Dominguez
region of LA County but
is based in Compton.

Cudahy
From the 2040 plan, Cudahy is supporting a
Chamber of Commerce, a Business Improvement
District (BID), flexible land use designs and overlays,
and a riverfront overlay.

Downey
The City of Downey is launching a Community
Benefit District downtown with the intention of
raising funds for local businesses. It is projected to
raise at least $253,589 annually. The Community
Benefit District is a property assessment district,
where business owners pay more to fund
improvements and services like special events,
security, maintenance and beautification, and the
creation of a property owner-controlled non-profit
corporation to manage funds.

East
Rancho
Dominguez
2

Huntington
Park
CA Enterprise Zone T ax Credit: The City is included
under the Los Angeles Mid-Alameda Corridor
Enterprise Zone. It includes a hiring credit, sales and use tax credit, a business expense deduction, net
operating loss carryover, and a net interest
deduction for lenders.

The City provides funds for commercial
rehabilitation and industrial development bonds.

Long Beach
Commercial Corridor
Façade Improvement
Program (CCFIP): Provides
financial assistance to
eligible property owners for
the renovation of
commercial buildings up to
$25,000 per tenant to a
maximum of $175,000 for
multi-tenant buildings. The
intent of the program is to
revitalize the City's
commercial building stock in
specific communities.

SBDC Small Business
Development Center at
Long Beach City
College: Provides
one-on-one consulting
and low cost training for
businesses.

Pacific Gateway
Workforce Innovation
Network: Supports
economic development
in the harbor
communities. It is one of
seven local workforce
development boards
(LWDB) that make up
the Los Angeles Basin
Regional Planning Unit
and support economic
development planning
and goals.

The City has incentives for adding jobs, supporting
manufacturing, relocating or expanding a small
business, renovations and construction. These
incentives are paid as a credit against the business
license tax bill.

Long Beach also has a Digital Inclusion Resources
Hotline.

There is also a CalRecycle Recycling Market
Development Zone (RDMZ), where in Long Beach,
there are opportunities for technical assistance,
expedited permit processing, and low-interest loans
for facility construction, expansion, rehabilitation,
and equipment purchase. There is also a micro-loan
program for businesses.

Long Beach launched a
guaranteed income pilot in
selected zip codes for
households at or below
100 percent of federal
poverty level where people
receive $500 a month for
12 months.

Lynwood
The City's Community Block Development Grant
Advisory Board provides guidance and oversight on
the use of Community Block Development Grant
(CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership
(HOME) Grant Programs. These federal funds are
meant to serve low and moderate income residents.

The five-person board is appointed by City Council
and receives a $50 stipend per meeting.

Maywood
City of Maywood Youth
Workforce Program in
partnership with
HubCities career center.
3

Paramount
In partnership with the
Chamber of Commerce, the
City of Paramount launched
the “Explore Paramount”
campaign to bring
customers and visitors to
small businesses in
Paramount.

Paramount Education
Partnership (PEP): City
owned program at
community center that
provides homework
help, English language
learning support, adult
basic skills learning,
workshops, etc.

While not an explicit program, the City of
Paramount has benefits that support small
businesses, such as: low licensing and permit fees, a
streamlined permit process, fast tracked permit
approvals, and next day site inspections.

Rancho
Dominguez
South Gate
Hub Cities Consortium
(HCC): is a center,
physically located in
South Gate, providing
services and support to
job seekers and
employers across the
cities of Bell, Bell
Gardens, Cudahy,
Huntington Park,
Lynwood, Maywood,
South Gate, Vernon. Hub
Cities Consortium
operates the Southeast
LA AJCC (America's Job
Centers of California)
serving SELA
communities.

In 2020, the City used federal CDBG to launch the
Small Business Job Retention and Creation Grant,a
one-time $10,000 grant to help twenty small
businesses retain staff and continue providing
services.

In 2018, South Gate
released a Comprehensive
Economic Development
Strategy that identified
opportunities to support
residents and strengthen
the workforce. Some
opportunities included
partnering with training
programs, promoting
financial incentives from
the state, encouraging the
production of affordable
housing, and seeking
community benefits
agreements.

Vernon
The City of Vernon has a Public Utilities Department
(VPU) that includes a Natural Gas Rebate Program,
Commercial Electric Forklift Incentive, Commercial
EEV Charger Incentive.
4

State of California - Natural Resources Agency

San Gabriel & Lower Los Angeles
Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
Consolidated Grant Program Guidelines
July 2023 – Revised March 2025

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 Table of Contents

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Purpose of Guidelines ............................................................................................................................. 2

1.2 Background .............................................................................................................................................. 2

1.3 Priorities for Funding/Guiding Principles ................................................................................................. 2

2. General Eligibility ............................................................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Eligible Applicants.................................................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Eligible Projects ....................................................................................................................................... 4

2.3 Project Examples ..................................................................................................................................... 6

2.4 Ineligible Project Types and Costs ........................................................................................................... 7

3. Grant Funding Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 8

3.1 Non-Bond Priority Grant Program ........................................................................................................... 8

3.2 Bond Grant Programs .............................................................................................................................. 9

4. Application Submission and Selection ........................................................................................................... 11

4.1 Application Process ............................................................................................................................... 11

4.2 Project Budget ....................................................................................................................................... 11

4.3 What to Submit ..................................................................................................................................... 12

4.4 Application Evaluation Criteria .............................................................................................................. 14

5. Grant Awards and Agreements ...................................................................................................................... 15

5.1 Payments of Grant Funds ...................................................................................................................... 16

5.2 Advance Payment Policy ....................................................................................................................... 17

5.3 Reporting and Monitoring ..................................................................................................................... 17

5.4 Records Retention and Audit ................................................................................................................ 18

5.5 Changes to Project Scope, Budget, and/or Timeline ............................................................................. 18

5.6 Project Withdrawal ................................................................................................................................ 19

5.7 Loss of Funding ..................................................................................................................................... 19

6. Other Considerations ..................................................................................................................................... 20

6.1 Contract Policies with Disadvantaged Businesses and Individuals ........................................................ 21

6.2 Conflict of Interest ................................................................................................................................. 21

6.3 Compliance with Laws .......................................................................................................................... 22

6.4 Signage and Other Acknowledgement ................................................................................................. 22 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................................. 22 Appendix A: Concept Proposal Application ................................................................................................................ 23 Appendix B: Useful Web Links ............................................................................................................................ 20 Appendix C: Definitions ........................................................................................................................................ 21

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of Guidelines
The purpose of these guidelines is to establish the process, procedures, and general requirements through which the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) will administer its allocated funds. These guidelines are intended to streamline and establish a process for project applications across all RMC Grant Programs to advance the State of California’s goals of Cutting Green Tape , Restoring Forest Health for Wildfire and Climate Resilience, and Building Capacity within the RMC’s jurisdiction. As such, one uniform application process will be utilized by all applicants to access millions of general and bond funded program dollars— dollars that are meant to be invested into communities for all Californians to enjoy open green space in their neighborhoods, facilitate public access improvement and habitat conservation projects, and support green workforce development.

I
ndiv
idual program or fund source requirements and additional application requirements (project benefits, metrics tracking, data management, maps, etc.) may be required as part of a Full Application (see Section 5).

A
ny changes to these guidelines and/or the application submission process will be posted in a timely manner on the RMC’s website.

1.2 Background
The San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) is one of ten conservancies within the Natural Resources Agency established in 1999. 1 Our mission is to preserve open space and habitat
in order to provide for low-impact recreation and educational uses, wildlife habitat restoration and protection, and watershed improvements within our jurisdiction. This work supports the public’s enjoyment and enhancement of recreational and educational experiences on public lands in a manner consistent with the protection of lands and resources in those watersheds.

R
MC’s jurisdiction includes eastern Los Angeles County and western Orange County, comprised of the San Gabriel River Watershed and its tributaries, the Lower Los Angeles River Watershed and its tributaries, Upper Santa Clara River and its tributaries, northern slope of the Angeles National Forest, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, Puente Hills, and the San Jose Hills. Effective January 1, 2023, RMC’s jurisdiction expanded by 208 square miles.2 The expanded area includes the Dominguez Channel Watershed (bounded by Manchester Boulevard in the City of Inglewood to the north, and the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors to the south) and Santa Catalina Island. A full list of cities and more information about the physical geography of the greater Los Angeles area can be found at http://rmc.ca.gov/about/.

1.3 Priorities for Funding/Guiding Principles
The RMC awards grants and interagency agreements with the aim toward creating open space, habitat restoration, expanding green space in disadvantaged communities, and protecting the watersheds of the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers, Dominguez Channel, and Catalina Island . The overall policy guidelines for the RMC are found in two primary references: the statute which created the RMC, Public Resources Code Section 32600, and Common Ground, from the Mountains to the Sea, the watershed and open space plan for the Los Angeles and San Gabriel River watersheds which was adopted by the RMC and further identifies the policies of the agency. These and other relevant plans can be found at http://rmc.ca.gov/resources/. 1 (Chapters 788 and 789, Statutes of 1999). A copy of its general provisions, powers and duties, and other guidelines can be found in Division 22.8 of the Public Resources Code §§ 32600-32622.
2 An increase of approximately 14% as the result of Governor Newsom signing Senate Bill 1122 (SB-1122, Allen)

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

RMC’s area of jurisdiction includes a variety of natural resource and recreation areas, including the coast, wetlands, and forests. RMC’s jurisdiction also includes heavily urbanized areas south of the San Gabriel Mountains to the California coast. Thus, RMC encourages collaboration across jurisdictions and organizational partners to produce multi-benefit projects that address multiple regional needs, such as increasing access to open space, green workforce development, water quality improvements, flood control, and wildfire resilience.

The RMC further promotes project development that includes robust community engagement throughout the life of the project and has developed the Community Engagement Toolkit in an effort to support potential grantees in developing community based, multi-benefit climate resilient projects. The RMC further encourages projects that leverage multiple funding sources to strengthen project goals.

In addition to increasing access to natural areas, the RMC works to ensure residents have access to open space within their own communities, as evidenced by the large number of grants the RMC has awarded since 1999 for the purpose of planning, constructing, and improving parks and trails within communities and, particularly, within underserved communities that currently lack equitable access to open space.

The RMC addresses environmental injustices and park inequities in its jurisdiction through its Environmental Justice Policy, which incorporated into the grant making process. It is the policy of the RMC that the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures and income shall be fully considered during the planning, decision- making, development and implementation of all RMC programs, policies, and activities. The intent of this policy is to ensure that the public within the RMC catchment area including minority and low-income populations are not discriminated against; treated unfairly or caused to experience disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects from environmental and land -use decisions, and that kids and families have access to safe open space and healthy neighborhoods.

On Jul
y 24, 2017, the RMC Governing Board approved a Tribal Consultation Policy consistent with t he approved policy adopted by the California Natural Resources Agency. Pursuant to Executive Order B-10-11 and California Natural Resources Agency Tribal Consultation Policy. The RMC promotes earl y, often, and meaningful consultations with California Native American tribes with the goal of collaborative partnership and meaningful inclusion of tribal governments’ priorities and interests in projects. The RMC supports institutionalizing tribal consultation practices into project planning, development, and implementation decisions.

As a S
tate conservancy, RMC is committed to the provision of equitable park access. Access for All is integral to RMC’s environmental justice work. These efforts seek to undo deeply ingrained inequities, and preserve the cherished natural, cultural, and tribal resources as the fight against climate change intensifies. The Outdoors for All initiative further advances two other state priorities, Nature-Based Solutions and 30x30, by investing in California’s public lands and natural resources.

The
RMC is committed to funding projects that address climate change . Climate change will continue to aggravate the greatest challenges faced across the Los Angeles Basin: ensuring water security, clean water, clean air, community wellbeing, thriving ecosystems, as well as managing floods, fires, and sea level rise . The State’s 30x30 strategy offers nature-based solutions that would help to address climate change impacts faced by communities today and into the future. RMC has been working on this effort since the adoption of Common Ground to grow a greener Southern California.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

2. General Eligibility

2.1 Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants for projects located within the boundaries of the RMC are:

• State agencies
• Federal agencies
• Tribal entities recognized on the current US Federal Register or the Native American Heritage Commission as a California Native American tribe
• Local public agencies, including:
○ City or county
○ Water districts
○ School districts
• Certified local conservation corps
• Non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation • Joint Powers Authority (JPA) if at least one of the parties to the joint powers agreement qualifies as an eligible applicant

Individuals and corporations are not eligible for this grant program; however, RMC encourages multiple partners or joint projects . As long as the lead agency is one of the above listed eligible applicants, applications will be accepted from joint projects with non-eligible agencies.

2.2 Eligible Projects
Projects must be consistent with RMC’s enabling legislation (PRC §§ 32600-32622), Common Ground, its Environmental Justice, and Tribal Consultation Policies, and existing and adopted river and flood control projects/plans. Projects should create, expand, and/or improve public open space throughout the region by improving access, habitat quality, water security, and wildfire resilience, as well as promote stewardship of the landscape via stakeholder involvement and long -term maintenance that will encourage environmental, social, and economic benefits. The RMC has supported grants for planning, implementing, and acquiring open space for parks and trails improvements . An interactive map of RMC projects can be found on the RMC website: http://rmc.ca.gov/.

A. Planning

Planning projects include feasibility studies, technical studies, concept designs, construction drawings, permitting, environmental compliance, and public engagement. To the extent known, projects should have both quantitative and qualitative project outcomes. These projects are necessary activities that will lead to a specific future on-the- ground implementation project that is likely to qualify for future implementation funding. If the application seeks funding for permitting, a complete description of the permits needed and a timeline for obtaining them must be included in the application. Note some of RMC’s funding sources are limited in the amount of dollars granted for pure planning projects.

B. Implementation

Implementation projects include construction costs for restoration, enhancement, natural resource protection and/or projects that will enhance public access, increase open space, or promote climate resilience and improve watershed health. RMC funds are intended to support “shovel ready” projects that have advanced to the stage where planning, land tenure, and design plans (~90% level or higher) have been completed. Facilities development projects must be accessible to the public and demonstrate a strong relationship and value to natural resource stewardship or environmental education.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 Implementation projects may include up to twenty percent (20%) of the grant funds on non -construction costs including direct project management and administration. These costs may include planning, consultant fees, plan documentation, bid preparation, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA ) compliance, and development of final design plans and permitting.

C. Acquisition

Acquisition projects for open space protection include due diligence, acquisition costs, and land management planning (e.g., restoration, passive recreation). Appraisals, land, improvements, relocation costs, title reports, surveying, and escrow are eligible project costs . Demonstration that there is a willing seller is required for acquisition projects to be considered for funding. The purchase price of the property cannot exceed the fair market value determined in an appraisal completed within a year of the acquisition date and approved by the Department of General Services (DGS). State funds may not be used in part or whole to acquire property above fair market value. A completed appraisal approved by DGS’s Real Estate Services Department is not required at the time of application submission.

The total of all due diligence, planning/preliminary costs including plan documentation, design, appraisals and negotiations, permit costs, consultant costs, and other similar costs cannot exceed ten percent (10%) of the grant amount. Indirect/overhead is limited to 10% of the due diligence budget line, if any, not the grant amount.

D. Technical Assistance Program (TAP)

The RMC Technical Assistance Program (TAP) supports local communities with direct application assistance with the goal of facilitating access to the Conservancy’s funding programs . TAP creates a more equitable playing field by helping under-resourced applicants access Conservancy funds. TAP is available year-round and will include outreach and programs to provide application assistance to eligible applicants. Information, tools, resources, and strategies may be provided to help applicants through the stages of project conceptualization, grant initiation, grantmaking, and project completion. In addition to RMC staff, these resources include:

• peer-to-peer mentoring
• access to best practices
• identifying technical resources
• providing professional grant writing and facilitation services

Applicants may apply for RMC support to develop competitive parks and open space projects, increase staff capacity for project and grants management during planning and construction phases, assistance in grant writing, and organize outreach and engagement to community members, stakeholders, and tribal groups.

The RMC may fund each phase of a project – Acquisition, Planning, and Implementation. But typically , we would fund each phase as a separate grant with a separate application. We cannot fund the Implementation phase of a project until environmental review pursuant to the CEQA is complete. For this reason, RMC cannot fund both the preliminary Planning and Implementation phase of a project under one gra nt, unless the entire project falls within a CEQA exemption.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

2.3 Project Examples
The following non-exhaustive list are uses eligible for reimbursement from RMC grant funds:
• Multi-benefit projects that promote sustainability and community engagement while addressing climate and societal challenges and simultaneously providing community wellbeing and biodiversity benefits
• Urban greening, introduction of native vegetation in cities and communities, like trees and shrubs at parks
• Expand urban forest to increase shade and decrease ambient temperatures around buildings and alleys (reducing the urban heat island effect)
• Projects to create or improve open-space corridors and trail linkages • Water conservation, stormwater capture, and infiltration improvements, such as permeable surfaces and nature-based water capture features
• Create or enhance existing wetlands or riparian zones • Expanding floodplains, restoration of wetlands, riparian, and complementary habitats • Coordination with California Native tribes to have access to natural cultural resources and cultural landscapes
• Projects that result in Tribal co-management and conservation of land • Converting abandoned land and brownfields into open space or community spaces to enhance social cohesion and regenerate disadvantaged communities • Acquisition of vacant/undeveloped land for parks creation and/or habitat conservation • Creation or improvement of exterior public landscapes, gardens, and outdoor spaces • Installation of interpretive features that enhance understanding of natural, cultural, or historic elements in public parks, trails, and eligible public venues • Construction of ADA upgrades, parking areas, restrooms, drinking fountains, and other visitor amenities
• Projects to improve forest health, reduce wildfire danger, or mitigate the effects of wildfires such as fuels reduction projects
• Increase resilience of the region to wildfire and climate change impacts through priority planning • Work with job training groups to grow the region’s workforce capacity

Applicants are encouraged to submit projects that involve more than one use to be considered competitive.

Please see 4.4 Application Evaluation Criteria for additional information.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

2.4 Ineligible Project Types and Costs
The following non-exhaustive list are uses and expenses not eligible for reimbursement from RMC grant funds:

• Cost
s incurred before the grant agreement is signed and preconditions met or after the grant completion date
• Projects mandated to address a violation of, or an order to comply with, a law or regulation • Projects that fund acquisitions of land by eminent domain • Operations and Maintenance related costs
• Projects that are located on school properties designed solely for school students and not open to the general public, unless part of a multi-use project which allows for access from the general public
• Non-nature playground equipment and/or infrastructure such as swing sets and skate parks • Facilities that do not have an environmental education focus or theme, such as basketball courts and soccer fields (multi-use projects may include these elements, but RMC will not fund planning or development of such facilities)
• Projects that cause erosion or contribute to flooding • Non-fixed equipment (can be eligible in certain situations or funding source) • Costs associated with fundraising, lobbying, or entertainment • Food and beverages for meetings or events, including ceremony or publicity (can be eligible in certain situations or funding source; extensive justification is necessary if requesting funding for this expense)
• Travel costs not specifically identified in the grant budget • Project-related travel expenses and related expenses that exceed current State mileage reimbursement and per diem rates
• Out-of-state travel, unless identified in the full application and budget and approved in advance • Out of the country travel
• BMP (Best Management Practices) directed projects that lack an improved habitat, low impact public recreation access, or environmental education components • Removal of trees, invasive plants, or other landscaping on private property • Projects that exclusively fulfill other mitigation requirements • Purchase of capital equipment without first demonstrating how the equipment will be utilized • Purchase of supplies or equipment with a useful life of less than two (2) years, such as general office supplies
• Contributions and donations, including cash, property, and services to other organizations, speaker/presentation stipends, or subgrants, regardless of the recipient • Research, education, outreach, or event-related projects (although these types of activities may be included as a small part of the overall implementation of a project eligible for RMC grant funds) • Fines, penalties, damages, late fees, and other settlements resulting from violations or non- compliance
• Grant writing expenses outside of the TAP program
• Employee services without documentation (i.e., timesheets) of actual time spent on the project • Other expenses that lack source documents or backup documentation (i.e., no evidence of invoices, payment receipts)

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

3. Grant Funding Sources
The RMC invests State funds through a variety of ongoing funding opportunities, including non-bond priorities grant programs and Proposition funds . Applicants do not need to identify a specific fund source when preparing an application . A full listing of funding sources and amounts is published on the Local Assistance and Support Budget report on the RMC Board Meetings page of the website, updated each meeting. Once an application is submitted, RMC staff will determine the most appropriate funding source(s) based on project’s alignment with funding sources and duration of the project . Future grant opportunities for RMC Grants may be funded through similar legislative actions or other funding sources provided below.

3.1 Non-Bond Priority Grant Program
In certain years, the annual state budget has allocated General Funds directly to the RMC. These funds have been incorporated into the Non -Bond Priority Grant Program . The major funding priorities are described below.

a. Wildfire Prevention

Wildfires are part of California’s natural landscape; however, drought and climate change conditions have increased wildfire frequency, size, and severity in recent years, extending California’s Wildfire season .

Historical fire perimeters within RMC’s territory show that many sections of the San Gabriel Mountains and foothills have burned repeatedly with in the last few decades, with some sections having burned multiple times. To increase the region’s resiliency to wildfire, funded projects should advance the California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan: A Comprehensive Strategy, with a focus on h azardous fuels clearance, post-fire restoration, work force development, and environmental education to increase the region’s resiliency to wildfire.

b. Lowe
r LA River Revitalization
The Lower Los Angeles River program area encompasses 1.5 miles on each side of the river’s lower nineteen (19) miles, from the City of Vernon to the City of Long Beach. The Lower Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan (LLARRP) describes opportunities for im proving the environment of the Lower Los Angeles River. The plan was developed through a watershed-based, equitable, community-driven process and it identified 155 potential multi-benefit projects that would improve community economics, health, and equity; the public realm; and water and the environment along and in the vicinity of the river. The Plan has been incorporated into the Los Angeles River Master Plan Update . Funding will be support projects in line with the LLARRP, immediate drought response, and long-term water resilience.

c. Clim
ate Resilience
Investments will support multi-benefit and nature- based solutions, which includes funding to support activities that mitigate climate-driven impacts on fish and wildlife, restore habitat, accelerate climate smart management of California’s natural and working lands, and help meet the State’s 2030 GHG reduction goals.

Multi-benefit projects and nature -based solutions focused on resilient urban/non -urban forests and landscapes will be prioritized, as will projects that implement strategies found in Pathways to 30x30:

Accelerating Conservation of California’s Nature . As part of Executive Order N- 82-20, t his initiative sets California on the path to conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. Funding will be available for projects that support or promote climate resilience, wildfire prevention, community access, and natural resource protection.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 d. Nature Based Solutions

“Nature-based solutions” describe actions that work with and enhance nature to help address societal challenges. It called for restoring nature and landscape health to deliver on climate change goals and other critical priorities, including improving public health and safety, securing food and water supplies, and achieving greater equity across California . Funding will be available to projects that promote healthy landscapes by reducing or limit future greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate on -the-ground projects, prioritizes environmental justice in disadvantaged communities, and reduce hazards brought on by climate change such as wildfire and flooding . Projects that result in a variety of benefits to the environment, communities, and overall human well-being will be prioritized.

3.2 Bond Grant Programs
In certain years, voters approve state general obligations bonds to support Natural Resources Management.

Due to the diverse landscape across the RMC’s jurisdiction, projects funded through bond funding fall into three main Program Areas to allow for equitable distribution of funds across the region. These program areas are Urban Areas, Rivers and Tributaries, and Mountains, Hills, and Foothills.

Urban Lands are lands within the developed, urban core of the RMC’s region that does not fall directly within the other two categories of River/Tributary Parkways and Mountains, Hills, and Foothills. The primary intent of this program are to create new accessible urban passive open space and nature- based solutions in and near communities.

River/Tributary Parkways are lands falling within a quarter mile on either side of the centerline of a river or tributary within the RMC’s region, but not within a Mountains, Hills, and Foothills or Urban Land area. The primary intent of this program is to provide for a revitalized accessible river parkway along the main stems of the Dominguez Channel, San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers, and their tributaries; improve water resources, increase riparian corridors, extend floodplains, and provide enhanced recreational opportunities.

The Lower Los Angeles River Program is a sub -area of focus under the River/Tributary Parkways Program Area. To further advance the Lower Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan, targeted funding has been allocated to support projects along the Lower Los Angeles River on land falling within 1.5 miles on either side of the centerline of the river. Projects along the Lower Los Angeles River will increase access to open space for some of the highest need areas in the RMC’s territory.

Mountains, Hills, and Foothills are lands lying within the area of a named system of mountains, hills, and foothills. More specifically, land lying within the geographic area of the San Gabriel Mountains, the San Jose, San Rafael, Montebello, Puente, Chino, Coyote, or Signal Hills, the San Gabriel foothills, a portion of the Palos Verdes Hills, Rolling Hills, Catalina Island, and within the RMC’s region not within the Urban Lands or River/Tributary Parkways area. The primary intent of this program is watershed, habitat, and wildlife corridor protection, trails, and public access as appropriate to the site.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 RMC’s available proposition funds are listed below.

Proposition 1 (AB 1471, Rendon)

In 2014, voters approved the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act (Proposition 1).

Proposition 1 provided $7.545 billion in bonds to fund programs and projects for clean, safe, and reliable drinking water; protecting rivers, lakes, streams, coastal waters, and watersheds; groundwater sustainability; statewide water system operational improvement and drought preparedness; water recycling; flood management; and regional water security, climate, and drought preparedness.

Of Prop 1 funding, $30 million was allocated to RMC for activities and projects related to multi-benefit ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration. An additional $50 million was made available for projects that protect and enhance the Lower Los Angeles River, its watershed, and tributaries.

Proposition 68 (SB 5, De León)

In 2018, voters approved the Parks, Environment, and Water Bond (Proposition 68). Proposition 68 authorized $4 billion in general obligation bonds for state and local parks, environmental protection projects, water infrastructure projects, and flood protection projects. The measure required that between 15 and 20 percent of the bond funds, depending on the type of project, be dedicated to projects in communities with median household incomes less than 60 percent of the statewide average; that 60 percent threshold amounted to about $39,980 in 2016 . The largest amount of bond revenue— $725 million—was earmarked for neighborhood parks in park-poor neighborhoods in accordance with the Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Act of 2008's competitive grant program. The measure also reallocated $100 million in unissued bonds that voters approved via Proposition 1 (2014), Proposition 84 (2006), and Proposition 40 (2002).

Of Prop 68 funding, $30 million was allocated to RMC for activities and projects that support the RMC’s mission including creating or improving open space, protecting watersheds that fall within its territory, and projects grants that serve disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged communities. An additional $37.5 million was allocated for grants supporting river parkways and urban streams, pursuant to the California River Parkways Act of 2004 and the Urban Streams Restoration Program pursuant to Section 7048 of the Water Code.

Proposition 4 (SB 867, Allen)

In 2024, voters approved the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, and Protecting Communities and Natural Lands from Climate Risks Bond (Proposition 4). Proposition 4 authorized $10 billion in general obligation bonds for natural resources and climate activities including increasing the amount and quality of water available for people to use, reduce the risk of floods, improve forest health and reduce the risk of severe and destructive wildfires, and expand recreational opportunities at parks or reduce the impacts of climate change on parks. Proposition 4 allocated $33 million to the RMC for watershed improvement, wildfire resilience, forest restoration, and workforce development opportunities in disadvantaged communities.

Of Prop 4 funding, $121.5 million was allocated to RMC. This funding will continue it s efforts in improving watershed health and increase wildfire and climate resiliency. It would be able to expand its collaboration and efforts with other governmental and non- governmental organizations to successfully fulfill the statutory mandates under Proposition 4. An additional $40 million will be made available for projects that improve climate resiliency or the protection of the Los Angeles River Watershed or are consistent with the Lower Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

4. Application Submission and Selection

4.1 Application Process
Applications will be submitted in two phases: a Concept Proposal and a Full Application. Applicants will first submit a Concept Proposal that will be reviewed by RMC staff for consistency with RMC goals, any specific program priorities, and the strength of the proposed project . In addition, RMC staff will look at all Concept Proposals for location, need, project type, readiness, threats, cost, and cost share. RMC staff will offer applicants feedback regarding alignment with priorities, overall merit, and any ineligible costs. RMC staff will select Concept Proposals to move forward and will invite selected applicants to submit Full Applications.

Applicants will be provided the Full Application upon RMC invitation . RMC staff are available to work with Applicants during the preparation of the Full Application, as needed. RMC may request Applicants to revise and resubmit Full Applications, as necessary.

It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants contact RMC staff for a consultation prior to submitting a Concept Proposal.

Unless otherwise stated on the RMC website, RMC accepts applications on a rolling basis and will be accepted and evaluated when they are received.

4.2 Project Budget
Budget tasks should be consistent with the work plan tasks and sufficiently detailed to describe project costs. Justification must also be provided for costs to ensure they are cost-effective and appropriate to the work proposed.

A. RMC typically awards grant funds with a budget range between $300,000 - $2,000,000. RMC may award small grants ranging from $50,000 - $300,000. Awards outside of these ranges are considered on a case-by- case basis.

B. Matching Funds

Matching funds or cost share is the portion of the project cost not funded by the awarding agency (RMC) and is provided by the applicant and/or other sources (i.e., private donations, private companies, nonprofit organizations, public agencies). Matching funds are not required for projects but will increase the competitiveness of the project application and may be beneficial in particular to complete a larger project.

Matching funds may include in-kind staff services, operations and maintenance, volunteer support, and ongoing monitoring and assessment. Contributions may be in the form of money, property, or services and must be verifiable . If RMC previously provided grants for the same overall project, these grants are not considered matching dollars. In addition, a list of all matching fund sources must be detailed in the proposed budget. Applications must be specific to the source and dollar amount of all contributions of cash or in-kind services. They also must be identified as secured or proposed. Secured matching dollars are funds the applicant has an executed grant agreement or letter of intent to fund from the organization providing matching dollars. Cost share must be:

• Used to support the proposed project;
• Spent between the submission of the Full Application and the end of the grant term; and, • Secured prior to application submission in order to be considered during proposal scoring

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 C. Indirect Costs

Indirect costs are also known as incidental costs, administrative costs, overhead, or administrative overhead.

They are costs that cannot be readily assigned to a specific activity or program.

Indirect and Overhead expenses are limited to a maximum rate of fifteen percent (15%) of the total RMC grant request/award, minus equipment costs.

Methodology of indirect costs calculation and types of expenses (i.e., administrative support, rent, utilities, phone, copying, office supplies) must be retained by the grantee for audit purposes, and may be requested by State at any time. A typical method for documentation of administrative overhead expense is a Cost Allocation Plan or a governing board -approved rate . It is the responsibility of the grantee to keep documentation used to determine the rate and provide detailed calculations in support of the indirect cost rate. For all indirect costs claimed, grantees must keep backup documents in audit-ready files. Typical backup documents include, but are not limited to timesheets, utility, and rent bills. If a grantee seeks to recover indirect costs from any grant, this item should be included as a line item in the approved project budget. Any cost that is billed as a direct cost cannot be included in indirect cost rates.

Certain types of indirect costs may NOT be charged to RMC, including food and beverage, fundraising, lobbying, and entertainment . Indirect costs for the whole project should be shown as one budget and tasklist item, rather than applied to each task. Projects requesting low or no overhead from the RMC grant request will be deemed more competitive.

If RMC is granting funds to a California Native American tribe that has an approved Federal Indirect Cost Rate, RMC will pay that rate to the tribe. If RMC is passing through federal grant funds to a grantee that has an approved Federal Indirect Cost Rate, RMC will pay that rate with the federal funds. Grantees shall provide a copy of the approved Federal Indirect Cost Rate.

4.3 What to Submit
The application is a two -step process. Applicants will first submit a Concept Proposal Application. If the Concept Proposal meets the RMC’s eligibility criteria and there is available RMC funding for the project, applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application. All applicants will follow this process. Here are the steps in the application process:

1. Develop and submit a Concept Proposal
• Fully complete the Concept Proposal Application form in Appendix A and attach applicable project photos and maps. The application can also be found on the RMC Grants webpage at https://rmc.ca.gov/grants/.
• Email the completed form with all applicable attachments as a single, unprotected PDF document to [email protected]
• If needed, request a technical assistance consultation with the Project Manager covering your project area to discuss project eligibility. It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants contact RMC staff at [email protected] for a consultation prior to submitting a Concept Proposal Application.
• Within thirty (30) days, your pro posal will be evaluated, and you will receive notification whether you are being asked to submit a Full Application or if your project is not eligible for RMC funding.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 • If your project is denied, RMC staff will contact you with the reasons for denial (i.e., doesn’t align with RMC mission, timeline too far in the future). Whenever feasible, RMC staff will provide technical assistance to the applicant to remedy denial reasons and encourage them to submit a revised Concept Proposal Application.
• If your project is selected for a Full Application, go to Step 2 below.

2. Develop and submit a competitive full application
• RMC staff will advise which of its available funding programs will support the project (i.e., Non-bond priorities, Wildfire Prevention, Proposition 1) and they will provide a detailed guideline of “What to Submit.” Such documents may include a comprehensive project description, detailed budget, task list and timeline, board resolutions authorizing the submission of the application, three (3) support letters, long-term maintenance and monitoring plan, specific project metrics (e.g. numbers of trees planted, acres treated), conservation corps consultation, and required State forms. Specific supporting documentation may vary from one funding source to the other, and those requirements will be communicated with the applicant.
• We recommend applicants to review the Consolidated Grant Program Guidelines and the recommended funding program’s guidelines to understand the requirements in more detail. • RMC staff are available to work with applicants during the preparation of the full application, as needed.
• Please return the full application within sixty (60) days of proposal acceptance notification to [email protected]

3. Conservancy review of application
• Typically within two (2) weeks, RMC staff will evaluate applications based on the project evaluation criteria
• You may be asked to correct or complete documents after the full application is submitted • You may be invited to participate in an interview and/or site visit to provide additional information to RMC staff during the application review process
• You will receive an email indicating whether or not your application will be recommended to the RMC Governing Board for a grant award. You may request feedback from RMC staff on strengths and weaknesses of your application.

Projects must be fully vetted through the two-step application process and approved by the RMC Governing Board prior to the release of funds. All information that you submit is a public record subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

4.4 Application Evaluation Criteria
All eligible and complete Full Applications will be evaluated and scored by technical reviewers, which will include representatives from RMC and others as appropriate . Full Proposal evaluation may also include a site visit. Each funding source will have its own evaluation criteria to be shared when applicants are invited to submit a full application. Grant applications that receive an average score of seventy percent (70%) or better will be considered the most competitive for a funding recommendation. RMC staff will subsequently recommend competitive applications to the RMC Governing Board for grant award. The selection panel may recommend modifications, including recommending partial funding, in order to meet program priorities, funding targets and available funding limitations, and will direct staff to conduct due diligence on the applications to assure the project can move forward.

The below presents a suite of broad categories that are meant to be representative of the types of criteria upon which applications will be evaluated.

• Multi-benefit and multi-jurisdictional
• Environmental Justice
• Project Readiness
• Urban Land Use
• Recreation
• Stakeholders/Partners
• Educational/Interpretive
• Climate Sustainability
• Access, Trails, and/or Bikeways
• Water Resources and Quality
• Habitat Protection/Restoration
• Cultural or Historic Resource
• Stewardship and Management Plan
• Workforce Development
• Consistent with and implementation of Regional, State, and Federal plans • Proposed budget is appropriate to the work proposed, cost effective, and sufficiently detailed and are consistent with the tasks shown in the project narrative and schedule

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

5. Grant Awards and Agreements
Once all due diligence is complete, RMC staff will notify the applicant and work with them to prepare any associated materials in preparation for presentation at least three (3) weeks in advance of a public RMC Board meeting. The RMC Governing Board has sole and absolute discretion to approve a project for funding.

The regular RMC Board meeting schedule convenes on the third Monday of January, March, May, June, July, September, and November (schedule is subject to change).

1. Following approval by the RMC Governing Board, RMC staff develops an individual grant agreement with detailed provisions and requirements specific to that project. The agreement will be routed electronically via DocuSign.

2. The Grantee must sign the agreement within forty -five (45) days of receipt. If you have a material change from the application (i.e., budget and/or timeline change, loss of matching funds, scope change), or if you do not return the signed agreement within 45 days, RMC reserves the right to rescind the grant award.

3. After a signed Grant Agreement is retu rned and signed by two (1) State signatories , the applicant becomes a Grantee.

4. Grantee will be assigned a Conservancy Project Analyst to work with.

Before you can start spending your grant, please ensure you have received the fully executed grant agreement and the following conditions precedent:
• Board Resolution: Your organization must pass a formal resolution, signed by your appropriate authorities, that a) agrees to accept RMC grant funds, and b) identifies the positions in your organization who are allowed to negotiate and execute agreements related to the RMC grant. This resolution can be passed before your grant has been awarded OR after your grant has been awarded.

It is your decision whether you pass this resolution before or after we award your grant. Choose what works for your Board’s schedule and needs; however, you cannot start using the grant until RMC has received your organization’s formal and signed board resolution. • Insurance Documentation: Your grant agreement specifies types and levels of insurance your organization must carry while spending your RMC grant. To ensure these requirements are being met, we require copies of your organization’s insurance policy certificate that a) show the required types and levels of insurance,
b) lists State of California as an “Additional Insured,” and c) references your RMC grant agreement number. Your insurance agent should be able to provide these certificates to you.

In addition to these universal conditions, your grant agreement may require additional conditions based on project type, funding source, or specific circumstances of your project.

Please be aware that if an entity is awarded a grant from the RMC, the provisions listed below will apply.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

5.1 Payments of Grant Funds
Funds cannot be disbursed until there is an executed grant agreement between RMC and the agreement has been live for at least forty-five days.

Grant agreements are generally structured and defaulted to provide for payment in arrears of work being performed. At the time of grant agreement, the grantee must select the payment terms for the life of the grant: Reimbursement or Advance Payment. Under no circumstances may the payment terms change during the grant’s performance period therefore it is imperative the grantee evaluates their financial situation prior to selecting a payment term. If the grantee does not formally advise RMC on their payment term selection, their grant will be on a reimbursement-basis only. For more information on advance payments, please see the next Section 5.2.

A complete payment request (also known as “invoice ,” “reimbursement,” or “advance request” ) must be prepared into a single PDF file including the following forms, all of which are available at our website and instructions at http://rmc.ca.gov/payment-requests/:

• Exhibit J – Payment Request Form with signature and date. • Exhibit J-A – Advance Release Form for Previously Advanced Funds (if applicable) • Exhibit K – Project Costs Summary Form
• Exhibit L – Labor Costs Summary Form (labor/staff time) • Exhibit M – Equipment Costs Summary Form (equipment purchases and/or rentals) • Exhibit N – Services and Materials Costs Summary Form (services, consultants, or purchases) • Exhibit O – Report of Alternative Funding Expenditures Form (for grants using matching funds) • Exhibit P – Progress Report
• Exhibit Q – Expenditure Projection Report

All forms must be combined into one file in the above order. Email the invoice PDF to [email protected] and cc your Conservancy Project Analyst.

The
grant agreement and the forms will have detailed instructions of backup documentation requirements, how to complete a reimbursement request, and how to submit your invoice package. If your approved grant budget includes project-related travel costs, please visit the State’s Travel Reimbursements for specific rules and rates for billing those expenses. There is no minimum or maximum amount, including up to the full grant amount, for a reimbursement payment request.

Pleas
e note that an invoice billing period must be within the same RMC fiscal year, which runs from July 1 st to June 30 th of the following year. Grantees should submit invoices covering work up to June 30. A new reimbursement package will be required for work performed on or after July 1.

Be aware we will withhold ten percent (10%) of each billing. It will be released at the end of the project when you have completed all of the grant close- out steps. This 10% is referred to as the “Withholding” or “Retention.” Advance payment requests are not subject to withholding.

Requests for reimbursement are preferred on a quarterly basis but may be made as frequently as monthly.

Requests must include documentation that demonstrates that costs have been incurred and an itemized description of all work done for which reimbursement is requested. Payment requests should clearly identify the specific elements of the work plan to which they pertain.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 Grantees should allow up to forty -five (45) days to receive payment after submitting a complete payment request package. Payment will be mailed from the State Controller’s Office in Sacramento, CA. Payment requests with issues (i.e., unsupported expenses, missing timesheets) will delay payment. Any request that is submitted without supporting documents will not be approved for payment.

5.2 Advance Payment Policy
In accordance to AB 590, the State, at its so le discretion, may honor advance payment requests, if warranted by a documented compelling and immediate need. For example, funding necessary to open an escrow for acquisition may be eligible for an advanced payment of funds . Another example is advance payment for work that has been completed and approved by the grantee, but not actually paid.

For nonprofit organizations that qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, Fe deral/State tribes, and/or joint powers authority agencies, the advance payment cannot exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the total grant amount. An itemized budget for eligible costs and supporting documentation such as invoices, estimates, and payroll records must be submitted with the advance payment request. Upon approval of the RMC, advances may not be subject to retention withholding. Advanced funds mu st be reconciled within ninety (90) days of disbursement (date of the check). Advances must be fully reconciled before any additional advance or reimbursement requests may be processed. Any advanced funds remaining after 90 days must be returned to the State with any accrued interest with the Exhibit J-A. Under all circumstances, any outstanding advances must be reconciled within thirty (30) days of the grant performance period’s end date along with grant closeout documents.

If the grantee does not meet the terms of the agreement, the RMC will place the grantee on a reimbursement payment basis.

Other local governments and entities are ineligible for advance paymen ts and therefore issued grants are on a reimbursement-basis only.

5.3 Reporting and Monitoring
Performance measures should be used to track progress toward project goals and desired outcomes. These indicators provide a means of reliably measuring and reporting the outcomes and effectiveness of a project, and how the project contributes to RMC and the State achieving its program goals. Grantees should provide quantitative performance measures including, but not limited to: number of trees planted, number of trail miles created or restored, number of people reached during community and outreach efforts, the number and type of jobs created, amount of GHG reductions.

Grantee ensures that the agreement requirements are met and communicated to the RMC through completion of quarterly monitoring report, which is composed of two documents ( Exhibit P – Project Progress Report and Exhibit Q – Expenditure Projection Report) submitted to the State in accordance with the Work Plan and through regular communication with the State. The State reserves the right to require reports more frequently, if necessary, including monthly . Exhibits P and Q may be found at http://rmc.ca.gov/grants/.

All grantees will be required to provide a final report with their close -out documents. Additional specifications concerning performance measures and monitoring requirements and reporting desired by RMC or required by law will be described in each grant agreement. Acquisitions project closeout requires grantees to provide all recorded documents, a final policy of title insurance, and final escrow settlement statements.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025 After completion of the project or the grant agreement performance period end date, whichever is earlier, the Grantee agrees to submit an Annual Post-Grant Monitoring Report for a minimum of ten calendar years (for partially or fully bond-funded grants, for the life of the bond or 30 years, whichever is later).

5.4 Records Retention and Audit
It is the responsibility of the grantee to be sure that the project budget as well as all project monitoring reports are justified and documented appropriately. All projects funded by the RMC are subject to audit by the State of California annually and for three (3) years following the final payment of grant funds. If the project is selected for audit, advance notice will be given. The audit shall include all books, papers, accounts, documents, or other records of the grantee, as they relate to the project for which the funds were granted.

All project expenditure documentation should be available for an audit whether paid with grant funds or other funds.

The grantee must have the project records, including the source documents and evidence of payment, readily available, and provide an employee with knowledge of the project to assist the auditor. The grantee must provide a copy of any document, paper, record, etc., requested by the auditor.

Additionally, grantees must include planning, monitoring, and reporting necessary to ensure successful implementation of the project objectives and have documentation available for State review upon request and through annual monitoring reports. After the end of a grant, the grantee will submit annual monitoring reports for a minimum of ten years (for partially or fully bond-funded grants, for the life of the bond or 30 years, whichever is later).

The grantee agrees to use generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and therefore must maintain an accounting system that:

• Accurately reflects fiscal transactions, with the necessary controls and safeguards • Provides a good audit trail, including original source documents such as purchase orders, receipts, progress payments, invoices, employee paystubs and timecards, evidence of payment, etc.
• Provides accounting data so the total cost of each individual project can be readily determined

Records must be retained for a period of three (3) years after final payment is made by the State . Grantee must retain all project records for at least one (1) year following an audit or final disputed audit findings, whichever is later. All RMC grants can be audited by the State’s Department of Finance, either during or after the completion of the grant-funded project.

5.5 Changes to Project Scope, Budget, and/or Timeline
A Grantee wishing to change the scope of an approved project shall submit the proposed change in writing with all documentation clearly supporting the change, including an updated Budget, Timeline, and Task list.

The changes must be provided to the RMC and no later than sixty (60) days prior to the performance end date. Any change must be consistent with this grant program and guidelines, including Common Ground.

Addi
tionally, the project may need to be re- scored and/or returned to the RMC Governing Board for approval. Major changes to the project scope, budget, timeline, or any other project element may deem the project ineligible for funding . The Grantee is expected to complete the project according to the time identified in their project timeline.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

5.6 Project Withdrawal
If a Grantee wishes to withdraw a Project, Grantee shall notify RMC in writing. In the event an approved project cannot be completed, for example, if the CEQA/NEPA work is done after the grant has been awarded, and the determination is an impediment to completing the project, RMC will reimburse the applicant for costs expended up to twenty percent (20%) of the total grant as outlined above.

Grantee will immediately notify the RMC of its inability to complete a project according to the Grant Agreement. RMC reserves the right to terminate a grant if a Grantee cannot complete the project, is not submitting the required progress reports, advance reconciliations, or other grant documentation on a timely basis, does not have the organizational capacity to carry out the deliverables of the grant, change in scope of the project is significantly different from original project description, has financial hardships (i.e.; bankruptcy, fiscal insolvency or mismanagement), legal matters, and/ or cannot complete the grant as agreed upon, and/or bond funds are at risk of reverting.

5.7 Loss of Funding

Work performed under the grant agreement is subject to availability of funds through the State's budget process. If funding for the grant agreement is reduced, eliminated, or delayed by the Budget Act or through other budget control actions, RMC shall have the option to cancel the grant agreement, offer to the grantee a grant agreement amendment reflecting the reduced amount, or suspend work. In the event of cancellation of the grant agreement or suspension of work, RMC shall provide written notice to the grantee and be liable only for payment for any work completed pursuant to the grant agreement up to the date of the written notice.

RMC shall have no liability for payment for work carried out or undertaken after the date of written notice of cancellation or suspension. In the event of a suspension of work, RMC may remove the suspension of work by written notice to the grantee. RMC shall be liable for payment for work completed from the date of written notice of the removal of the suspension of work, consistent with other terms of the grant agreement. In no event shall RMC be liable to the grantee for any costs or damages associated wi th any period of suspension, nor shall RMC be liable for any costs in the event that, after a suspension, no funds are available and the grant agreement is then cancelled based on budget actions.

Actions of the grantee that may lead to suspension or cancellation of the grant agreement include, but are not limited to:
₋ Withdrawing from the grant;
₋ Real property cannot be acquired at approved fair market value; ₋ Losing willing seller of real property;
₋ Failing to submit required documentation within the time periods specified in the grant agreement;
₋ Changing project scope, schedule, or budget without prior approval from RMC; ₋ Including fraudulent or knowingly incorrect information in an application; ₋ Failing to complete the project;
₋ Failing to demonstrate sufficient progress; or
₋ Failing to comply with applicable laws or grant requirements.

RMC Consolidated Grant Program guidelines – Revised March 2025

6. Other Considerations
Consistency with these policies is an essential element of the grant agreement required for execution by all successful project applicants. All project applicants will be required to submit a Project Development Plan which contains information on how the project will conform to these policies for approval by the RMC prior to commencement of the project . Applicants should also consider the following when applying and if approved, during implementation of the project:

• Project is consistent with the purposes and requirements of the funding source and program • Project is consistent with RMC’s enabling legislation (Public Resources Code, Division 22.8), Common Ground, its Environmental Justice and Tribal Consultation Policies (see Section 4), and existing and adopted river and flood control projects/plans • Grants shall be paid on a reimbursement basis
• The Grantee shall provide for public access and low -impact recreation, unless it is specifically prohibited or not ecologically or biologically feasible • To identify an important community need, RMC recommends that applicants directly engage local residents and community-based groups
• The applicant has the ability to administer the funds conduct to the project in a manner that will meet the State’s requirements and will protect the grantee from potential financial or legal risk. If the applicant does not have the capacity, they have partnered with a fiscal sponsor that will provide them the needed administrative support.
• The applicant has or will have the legal right to carry out the project on the land on which the project is proposed
• The applicant has a plan for long-term management, maintenance, and monitoring of the project.

A Monitoring and Assessment Plan will be required as part of the application process . The scope of the Plan will vary depending on the nature of the project. • Unless an exemption applies to the project or to the work being funded, such as the exemption for feasibility or planning studies, the required CEQA documentation must be complete prior to grant approval. If RMC funds will be used for the CEQA process and the Grantee has made a full- faith effort to complete CEQA but is unable to complete CEQA or otherwise proceed with the Project due to issues related to the CEQA process, costs incurred by the Grantee that are directly related to the CEQA process can be applied up to the limit of 20 percent of the total original grant. • Grantee shall comply with all applicable laws and policies. • All information contained in the grant applications is confidential until the grant awards are announced. After that time, all applications will become public information. • Grantees must sign an agreement with RMC before funds can be disbursed. • Grantee shall post signs acknowledging the source of funds pursuant to guidelines established for this grant Program.
• If this project is funded in whole or in part with funds from the “Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006” (“Proposition 84”), Section 75075 of the Public Resources Code applies, which imposes on a body awarding any contract for a public works project financed in any part with Proposition 84 funds responsibility for adoption and enforcement of a “labor compliance program” under Labor Code Section 1771.5(b).