Item Number: 21
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: November 4, 2025
Submitted By:
Alex Jauregui, City Planner
Subject:
Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program Recommendation:
That the Honorable City Council:
(1) Authorize the City Manager or his designee to finalize and complete the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program application as presented, including the adjustment, modification, and/or updating of materials necessary to prepare a competitive application; and
(2) Authorize the City Manager or his designee to apply for and execute all documents deemed necessary to apply for funding provided by the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. If the City is successful in securing grant funding, staff will bring a subsequent item before the City Council to formally request acceptance of the award and appropriate grant funds accordingly.
The Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program requires a local match equal to 11.47% of the total project cost, which includes both the grant award and the match itself. This means the awarded grant amount covers 88.53% of the total cost. The City is requesting $500,000 in grant funding. To determine the total project cost, the grant amount is divided by 0.8853 (i.e., 100% − 11.47%), resulting in an estimated total cost of approximately $564,780. Based on this calculation, the required local match is 11.47% of $564,780, which equals $64,780.
If the full grant amount is awarded, the City will be responsible for providing $64,780 in matching funds, which may be fulfilled through cash or in-kind contributions. The City proposes to meet the local match requirement using staff wages as the source of matching funds. Additionally, environmental review costs associated with projects are not 4 4
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eligible expenses under this grant. However, staff notes that more than $73,000 in collected General Plan Surcharge fees is available to fund any necessary environmental review associated with the General Plan update. If awarded, this project is expected to be initiated next fiscal year and related revenues and expenditures will be included in a proposed budget amendment for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2026/2027, as necessary.
Strategic Plan Goal:
The subject grant opportunity aligns with Goals A and E of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan as follows:
Goal A (Financial Stability) – The grant will provide reimbursement for necessary updates to the Circulation Element of the General Plan, which is required due to recent changes to State law.
Goal E (Invest in Infrastructure) – The grant provides a funding opportunity for local jurisdictions to support and implement the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (Connect SoCal), which emphasizes enhancing bikeway networks and improving the existing roadway system, as outlined in Goal E of the City’s Strategic Plan.
Background:
The Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program was created to support the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) Mission: Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment.
The State-funded Sustainable Communities grants provide $30 million to advance implementation of Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) Sustainable Communities Strategies, including SCAG’s Connect SoCal, and to support the State’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals of 40% and 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Additionally, the subject grants are intended to address the needs of under- resourced communities and assist in achieving the Caltrans Mission and Grant Program Objectives of:
Safety Preservation Innovation Health
Sustainability Accessibility Economy Social Equity
Of the $30 million dedicated to Sustainable Communities grants, approximately $17.5 million is available to local and regional jurisdictions in amounts up to $700,000 through a competitive grant process with funding provided on a reimbursement basis. The deadline to apply for the subject grant is November 21, 2025. If awarded, staff anticipates conducting grant activities for 18 months beginning in November 2026 and completing the project in the first half of 2028, prior to the grant’s requirement of completion by June 2029. All additional grant specifics are outlined in the Grant Application Guide (Attachment A).
Discussion:
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As outlined in the draft grant application (Attachment B), City staff requests authorization to seek $500,000 in funding through the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program to update the Circulation Element of the General Plan. This element has not undergone a major update since 2008. With the recent adoption of updated Housing, Land Use, and Safety Elements, the addition of a new Environmental Justice Element, and planned updates to the Resources Element, this grant opportunity would enable the City to revise one of the few remaining General Plan elements in need of reexamination and modernization. Additionally, various State Assembly and Senate Bills (Attachment C) have recently been adopted that amend State law and mandate revision to the subject Circulation Element of the General Plan. A synopsis of the applicable State laws is provided as follows:
Circulation Element Related
Senate Bill (SB) 932 – Effective January 1, 2025, SB 932 requires that upon a substantive revision of a city’s Circulation Element, cities must incorporate the principles of the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System Approach. The bill also requires the development of bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic-calming plans that align with the policies and goals outlined in the Circulation Element. These plans must include specific goals for initiating and completing all identified actions within 25 years of adopting the updated Circulation Element. Due to the related provisions of Assembly Bill 98, both bills must be addressed simultaneously during the update process.
Assembly Bill (AB) 98 – By January 1, 2028, cities are required to update their Circulation Element to identify and designate specific travel routes for the transport of goods, materials, and freight. These routes must be planned to safely accommodate increased truck traffic while avoiding residential areas and concentrations of sensitive receptors. Since this requirement involves a substantive update to the Circulation Element, the update must also concurrently address the applicable requirements under SB 932.
The City previously applied for this grant during the FY 2025/2026 cycle but was not selected for funding. Following that outcome, staff met with Caltrans grant program representatives during their office hours to gain technical assistance and better understand the areas for improvement. Based on their feedback, the City has revised its scope of work to focus exclusively on the Circulation Element update, removing prior references to the Resources Element to ensure alignment with program priorities. These refinements, along with a strengthened outreach strategy and clearer deliverables, are intended to enhance the competitiveness of this year’s application and directly respond to Caltrans’ guidance.
Included in the draft grant application (Attachment B) is a project narrative that details specific project components and addresses community and project indicators that will assist Caltrans in scoring the application. As previously noted, staff is seeking authorization to proceed with applying for this funding in order to complete the required updates to the Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan, which would necessitate the procurement of a consultant to prepare the draft documents as well as a robust public 4 4
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outreach campaign to ensure all members of the community are heard and their input incorporated into a final product. Additionally, as noted in the “Fiscal Impact” section of this report, a local match requirement can be fulfilled by staff wages and any fees associated with the environmental review process can be funded with collected General Plan Surcharge fees that have been collected specifically to update and implement the various aspects of the City’s General Plan.
At this time, the attached draft grant application represents a portion of the entire grant application that details the overall intent of the request; however, other application items such as a completed scope of work with individual line items and a total cost schedule are incomplete at this time while City staff awaits an additional technical assistance meeting with Caltrans staff to complete these steps. As proposed, should the City Council authorize the City Manager to proceed with application for this funding source, they would also authorize the completion of the noted items in an effort to provide a complete and competitive application.
Staff remains available for any questions or comments you may have.
Prepared By:
Daisy Kawasaki, Senior Planner
Attachments: A. Grant Application Guide
B. Draft Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Application
C. State Assembly and Senate Bills