City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2024-00728 3/26/2024 Consent Item 5.
Letter of Commitment for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District’s Application for an EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Implementation Grant EPA-R-OAR- CPRGI-23-07
File ID: 2024-00728
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution directing the City Manager, or City Manager’s designee to submit a Letter of Commitment to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) for up to $21.5 million in total project funding for an application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program.
Contact: Vic Randall, Senior Planner, Community Development Department, [email protected], 916-808-5530; Greg Taylor, AIA, Supervising Architect, 916-808- 5268, [email protected].
Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Letter of Commitment to SMAQMD
Additional Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The City’s Community Development Department (CDD), in partnership with the Department of Utilities (DOU), and the Department of Public Works (DPW), is seeking approval to join with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District as a sub-applicant, along with dozens of other regional agency sub-applicants, to submit a proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program to fund projects that will support regional GHG reductions while providing other community benefits. The full regional proposal will support approximately $90 million in GHG reducing projects in the seven-county Sacramento region. Up to three projects within the City of Sacramento, totaling up to $21.5 million, will be included within the project list submitted for possible EPA funding. The City has been an active partner throughout the development of the region’s Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), known as
File ID: 2024-00728 3/26/2024 Consent Item 5.
the Capital Region Climate Priorities Plan, and stands ready to support the implementation efforts described in the Sacramento Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) application for EPA CPRG funding.
The SMAQMD application, entitled “Going Beyond Green: Cultivating Community, Connections, and Crops”, will submit projects within three categories: 1) ZEV Adoption and Charging Infrastructure and Public Transit Improvements under “Smart Mobility Hub Development Program”; 2) Land Use Improvements that facilitate Urban Infill projects under “Green Means Go”; and 3) rural area carbon sequestration projects under “Carbon Farming.” The City of Sacramento is committing to three distinct projects within the first two project categories.
The Smart Mobility Hub Development Program project: SMAQMD is including this City project that supports the infrastructure needs of the Sacramento Valley Station with an off-site regional bus layover and charging facility which has partial funding from a 2022 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant for this facility. The facility location is identified in the Central City Specific Plan, between 6
th and 8th Street and on the north side of X Street on a parcel owned by Caltrans for which the City holds a long-term lease. The SMAQMD application includes $10 million for this facility.
The Green Means Go projects: The Del Paso Boulevard Plan Area Infill Housing Supportive Water and Drainage Infrastructure project will enable infill residential development of vacant lots in the Del Paso neighborhood, a designated Green Zone that is served by Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) light rail that provides connectivity to the Central City and Sacramento Valley Station. In addition, the San Joaquin Rail Commission is planning for a new train station, near the American River Parkway and a SacRT light rail station and bus stops, that will provide rail connectivity to San Jose, Merced, and Chico, realizing a new vision for the Del Paso area that will accelerate GHG reductions while providing significant economic opportunity and public health improvements that empower and invigorate the neighborhood. Completion of the water and drainage infrastructure included in this project is essential to enabling the residential development that will be a critical element of achieving this vision.
The Stone Beetland Drainage-Affordable Housing Acceleration Project will upgrade drainage infrastructure that will enable the development of the Stone Beetland Transit Priority Project, which will include 1,159 housing units in total. This will include 232 affordable housing units located near the Morrison Creek Light Rail Station, which SacRT opened in August 2021 as part of the $270 million Sacramento Regional Transit Blue Line extension to south Sacramento. Two-thirds of the project Is located within one-half mile of the Morrison Creek Light Rail station; residents will have the ability to walk or bike to light rail, then arrive Downtown within 20 minutes of leaving home.
Policy Considerations: City Council approval is required to apply for, receive, or establish operating grant projects of more than $250,000. Applying for, and implementing projects funded by GPRG is consistent with the 2040 General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, which were adopted on
File ID: 2024-00728 3/26/2024 Consent Item 5.
February 27, 2024, and will be effective on March 28, 2024, and is consistent with and supports, the following goals and policies of the 2035 General Plan.
GOAL Land Use (LU) 1.1 Growth and Change. Support sustainable growth and change through orderly and well-planned development that provides for the needs of existing and future residents and businesses, ensures the effective and equitable provision of public services, and makes efficient use of land and infrastructure.
LU 1.1.4 Leading Infill Growth. The City shall facilitate infill development through active leadership and the strategic provision of infrastructure and services and supporting land uses.
LU 1.1.5 Infill Development. The City shall promote and provide incentives (e.g., focused infill planning, zoning/rezoning, revised regulations, provision of infrastructure) for infill development, reuse, and growth in existing urbanized areas to enhance community character, optimize City investments in infrastructure and community facilities, support increased transit use, promote pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly neighborhoods, increase housing diversity, ensure integrity of historic districts, and enhance retail viability.
GOAL LU 1.2 Sustainable Sacramento Strategy. Support statewide and regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fund transportation improvements, and meet housing needs.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: The activity to apply for grant funds and execute all agreements and documents of compliance related to the grant is not a project pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines 15378(b)(4). The activity is the creation of a government funding mechanism which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment and is not subject to CEQA.
Sustainability: The intent of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program is to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs), contributing to the regional GHG reduction target and supporting the City’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.
Commission/Committee Action: Not Applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: This grant funding will positively impact the City’s ability to encourage infill development by paying for key infrastructure improvements that are delaying or
File ID: 2024-00728 3/26/2024 Consent Item 5.
preventing residential development and improve regional mobility by increasing opportunities for transit to migrate to electric vehicles and support electric vehicle mobility. Each of these activities will contribute to the City’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.
Financial Considerations: If awarded, these three projects will be supported by existing grants or other funds intended for these projects. There is no match requirement for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-XXXX
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
March 26, 2024
2024 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program: Implementation Grants General Competition, City of Sacramento Joint Application with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
BACKGROUND
A. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Climate Pollution Reductions Grant (CPRG) program in September, 2023. The CPRG program will fund $4.6 billion in competitive grants nationwide, to implement GHG reduction programs, policies, projects, and measures identified in a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) developed under a CPRG grant.
B. The City has actively participated in the development of the Capital Region Climate Priorities Plan, which integrates climate action priorities from throughout the seven-county region into a regional Priority Climate Action Plan. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, which led the plan process in coordination with local and regional public agencies across the seven-county region, published the Capitol Region Climate Priorities Plan on March 1, 2024.
C. Projects from throughout the region that implement GHG reduction measures identified in the Capitol Region Climate Priorities Plan have been identified in three primary categories for a CPRG funding proposal: a “Smart Mobility Hub Development Program” that supports ZEV infrastructure and public transit improvements; a “Green Means Go” program that supports transit-accessible urban infill projects; and a “Carbon Farming” program that supports carbon sequestration projects in rural communities within the region.
D. These projects will be submitted for EPA CPRG funding as the Going Beyond Green: Cultivating Community, Connections, and Crops proposal.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District will be the lead agency in submitting the proposal to the EPA for CPRG funding.
E. Applications for the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program:
Implementation Grants General Competition are due April 1, 2024.
F. Three projects within the City of Sacramento have been selected by the multi- agency Working Groups that have prioritized the set of projects that will be submitted with the Going Beyond Green: Cultivating Community Connections, and Crops proposal: 1. a regional bus layover and charging facility that supports the infrastructure needs of the Sacramento Valley Station; 2. the Del Paso Boulevard Plan Area Infill Housing Supportive Water and Drainage Infrastructure projects; and, 3. the Stone Beetland Drainage—Affordable Housing Acceleration Project
G. The City portion of the joint agency grant application will not exceed $21.5 million for three projects.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee, is directed to submit a Letter of Commitment to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District for up to $21.5 million in total project funding for an application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program.
Ryan Moore
Assistant City Manager
City Hall
915 I Street, Fifth Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814-2604
916-808-5704
March 26, 2024
Dr. Alberto Ayala
Air Pollution Control Officer
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District 777 12th Street, Suite 300
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: LETTER OF COMMITMENT FOR THE SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT’S APPLICATION FOR A CPRG
IMPLEMENTATION GRANT EPA-R-OAR-CPRGI-23-07
Dear Dr. Ayala:
I am writing to express the City of Sacramento’s continued support for Going Beyond Green: Cultivating Community, Connections, and Crops, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District’s (Sac Metro Air District) grant application to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) notice of funding opportunity. The City of Sacramento has been an active partner throughout the development of the region’s Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), known as the Capital Region Climate Priorities Plan, and stands ready to support the implementation efforts described in the Sac Metro Air District’s application.
The City of Sacramento was the first jurisdiction in California to earn the State’s coveted Prohousing Designation, in February 2022, recognizing the City’s leadership in eliminating barriers to building affordable, transit-accessible housing. On February 27, 2024, the City adopted its 2040 General Plan and a Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, adopting a broad range of policies that will further encourage housing construction near transit and in existing neighborhoods, focusing substantial development in the central city and along transit corridors. The plans prioritize active transportation, transit, and ZEV infrastructure, and identify a range of policies and actions to support the decarbonization of the city’s transportation and built environment, charting a course to carbon neutrality in 2045. The City of Sacramento has fostered collaborative relationships with neighboring and regional agencies as an integral element of our pathway to decarbonize the Sacramento economy and is pleased to partner with agencies throughout the seven-county region on the Going Beyond Green project.
The Going Beyond Green project will enable the City of Sacramento to pursue three key projects that will enable significant GHG reduction, furthering land use improvements and ZEV adoption and charging infrastructure measures outlined in the Capital Region Climate Priorities Plan:
The Sacramento Valley Station Regional Bus Charging and Layover Facility at X Street is a ZEV Mobility Hub project which will provide regional electric bus charging that is critical for regional integration of zero-carbon transit improvements at the Sacramento Valley Station. The project will support the 2018 State Rail Plan for Sacramento as a Hub & Spoke station for regional commuter bus connections to inter-city passenger rail, accommodating up to 45 buses. All regional transit agency partners will be accommodated at the facility, distributing the project’s benefits throughout the region.
The City of Sacramento will complete drainage and water infrastructure projects that are necessary to prepare two infill opportunity areas for new development, completing existing plans to bring transit accessible housing to two Sacramento neighborhoods:
The Del Paso Boulevard Plan Area Infill Housing Supportive Water and Drainage Infrastructure Project will enable infill residential development of vacant lots in heavily disinvested areas of the Del Paso neighborhood, a designated Green Zone that is served by Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) light rail that provides connectivity to the Central City and Sacramento Valley Station. In addition, the San Joaquin Rail Commission is planning for a new train station, near the American River Parkway and a SacRT light rail station and bus stops, that will provide rail connectivity to San Jose, Merced, and Chico, realizing a new vision for the Del Paso area that will accelerate GHG reductions while providing significant economic opportunity and public health improvements that empower and invigorate this historically disinvested neighborhood.
The Stone Beetland Drainage—Affordable Housing Acceleration Project will upgrade drainage infrastructure that will enable the development of the Stone Beetland Transit Priority Project, which will include 1,159 housing units in total. This will include 232 100% affordable housing units located near the Morrison Creek Light Rail Station, which SacRT opened in August 2021 as part of the $270 million Sacramento Regional Transit Blue Line extension to south Sacramento. Two-thirds of the project is located within one-half mile of the Morrison Creek Light Rail station; residents will have the ability to walk or bike to light rail, then arrive Downtown within 20 minutes of leaving home.
Well-connected parks, open spaces and green belts will encourage residents and employees to walk, bike, or scooter rather than drive. The mixed income transit village will build a new model for outer ring neighborhoods that
integrates active transportation and transit connectivity to enable healthy, low carbon neighborhoods that are regionally integrated.
The Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area continues to be a leader in climate adaptation and mitigation. Going Beyond Green continues that commitment and will support and build on the City of Sacramento‘s recent work to update its General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, and a range of planning efforts in process that will facilitate Missing Middle Housing development, building electrification, active transportation infrastructure, urban forest expansion, and a range of other supportive projects that will integrate GHG reductions with housing production and economic development.
● This application is ambitious. It leverages the Sacramento region's long history of urban-rural collaboration by implementing greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures that are projected to reduce GHGs by more than 50,000 tons per year by 2030 and across a 7,380 mile2 area (30 miles2 larger than the State of New Jersey).
● This application centers equity. Based on partner-building activities and surveys conducted during the development of the PCAP, Going Beyond Green identifies and centers community benefits from implementation strategies in low- income and disadvantaged communities.
● This application leverages funds from every level of government. With an unimpeachable record of carrying out federal and state grants, Sac Metro Air District is requesting funding to implement activities that are nearly impossible to fund elsewhere.
● This application produces scalable innovation. With a land area larger than some states and situated across multiple climate zones and topography, Going Beyond Green produces scalable innovation within California and throughout the nation for urban, suburban, rural, and agricultural communities.
The City of Sacramento will continue to work with Sac Metro Air District and project partners to implement the measures outlined in the grant proposal. The City of Sacramento commits to attending partnership project meetings, working collaboratively with regional partners to plan and seek funding to decarbonize the Sacramento region’s economy, and with the CPRG funding, implement the mobility hub project and two infill- supportive infrastructure projects detailed on the prior page.
The City of Sacramento appreciates EPA’s consideration of Sac Metro Air District’s Going Beyond Green grant application. We ask that EPA fund these important projects through the CPRG program this year to assist the Sacramento region in achieving its climate targets. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact Neal Joyce, Supervising Engineer at [email protected] or at 916-808-5530 for information on City Infill projects, and for the City EV Bus Charging/Layover project please contact Greg Taylor, Supervising Architect, at [email protected] or at 916-808-5268.
Sincerely,
Ryan Moore
Assistant City Manager