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Community DesignThe Community Design Funding Program is intended to provide financial assistance to local government agencies that seek to implement physical development that is consistent with SACOG's Blueprint Principles. Approximately every two years, SACOG accepts applications for projects from cities, counties, transit districts and air districts from Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba Counties. (Please note that Placer and El Dorado Counties have their own programs that are independent of the Community Design Program). The Blueprint Principles are:
More information about these principles and the Blueprint project can be found at http://www.sacregionblueprint.org/ On June 16, 2011, the SACOG Board of Directors approved releasing the program and application guidelines for Round 5 (2011-13) of the funding program; the guidelines may be downloaded in the box below. The Board approved that a minimum of $8 million will be awarded during this funding cycle. For further information, read the Frequently Asked Questions section below, and download the application guidelines and descriptions and/or grant applications of past awarded projects in the box below. For more information, contact the SACOG Community Design Program Manager Greg Chew at gchew@sacog.org or at (916) 340-6227.
Frequently Asked Questions(Updated June 17, 2011) This document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), provides the basic information about the Community Design Program for potential applicants. If applying, the applicant is expected to fully review the program and application guidelines that will be released upon approval by the board. If there are any clarifications or information on the guidelines after June 17, 2011, then this FAQ will be updated on the SACOG website at http://www.sacog.org/regionalfunding/communitydesign.cfm What is the Community Design Funding Program?The Community Design Program was established in 2003 by the SACOG Board of Directors to provide financial assistance to implement the principles of the Blueprint Project: mixed land uses, transportation options, housing choice, compact development, use existing assets, quality design, and natural resource protection. The program offers funding for projects by local jurisdictions that implement these principles, but only in Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba Counties. El Dorado and Placer Counties have their own programs. How much funding will be awarded in this round?The SACOG Board approved a minimum of $8 million for Round 5 of the program. In the prior cycle, Round 4, the Board approved a minimum of $12 million, and used $5.5 million in "recycled" funds (unused and/or defaulted project funding from prior rounds.) The reason for the decrease in Round 5 is that SACOG staff anticipates a decrease in federal and state transportation funding revenues to SACOG. The staff may request that the Board provide more funding to Round 5 depending on the selection process and the recommendations made by the two review committees and the release of the federal and state funding estimates. What kinds of projects are eligible?Generally speaking, this program provides support funding for improvements to public right-of-ways that promote smart growth and sponsored by an eligible public agency. Because federal transportation funds are used for this program, awarded projects must be "federal aid eligible". This means that projects must have a significant element involving transportation - the construction of infrastructure, environmental review, design or right-of-way purchase are general tasks that are eligible for these funds. The most common prototype project is one where the grant funds street improvements along a corridor that has infill development with private capital committed. However, the program cannot fund elements of projects that already conditionally required of projects. In other words, the eligible activities that this project will fund must be "over and above" the requirements that the governing local jurisdiction would place on the project. Planning activities by themselves are generally not eligible, with the possible exception of the Category 3 projects described later. The main reason is the sources of funds in this round do not allow for pure planning projects in most cases. Because the issue of eligibility is so critical to the program, each project is reviewed on a case-by-case basis for eligibility. Applicants must submit a pre-submittal letter to SACOG; and, in return, SACOG and Caltrans staff will reply with a letter stating whether the project is eligible and any foreseeable concerns the project is raising. Potential applicants are required to work with their public works staff or equivalent who are trained in managing federal aid requirements, and with SACOG staff throughout the application, selection and funding stages of the program. It is strongly recommended that the applicant contact the SACOG Program Manager before sending in the pre-submittal letter regarding the project eligibility. Who can apply? What jurisdictions are eligible?Local jurisdictions in Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba Counties that have a master agreement with Caltrans to receive federal transportation funding are eligible to apply for Community Design Program funds. This may include cities, counties, air districts, and transit districts. Potential applicants unaware of their eligibility are advised to check with SACOG or Caltrans staff. Jurisdictions in El Dorado and Placer Counties have a separate Memorandum of Understanding with SACOG and receive their share of federal aid through a different process. Are applicants required to provide a local match?Yes. The recipient must provide a minimum of 11.47% match in non-federal funds, as is required in all federal aid funding projects. This means for every $100,000 of federal funds requested from the program, the applicant is required to match a minimum of $12,957. Or, put another way, for every $100,000 of total project costs (grant and match combined), the program will pay up to $88,530 for every $11,470 of match provided by the project sponsor. Applications in all three program funding categories must meet this minimum match regardless of which funding source the awardee receives. In past funding rounds, the Selection Committee has also generally construed higher local match amounts as stronger, more committed applications. What are the critical dates?The most important date is the applications are due at 4 p.m., Wednesday, August 17, 2011. The applications guidelines were released by SACOG on Friday, June 17th. A pre-submittal letter is required before an applicant is permitted to submit an application; the last day that SACOG will accept pre-submittal letters is Wednesday, August 3. There will be two identical, optional Program Overview/Grantwriting 101 Workshops on Thursday, June 30 (10:30 a.m. to noon) and on Tuesday, July 12 (3:00 to 4:30 pm). Jurisdictions that are represented at either workshop are offered the incentive of SACOG staff reviewing drafts of applications for general-level comments). Project applicants in Category 1 and 2 that receive a recommendation for funding by the Selection Committee will be interviewed by the SACOG/Caltrans Review Team in mid to late September (date to be determined). The SACOG Board of Directors will be asked to approve the recommended projects on December 15, 2011. If awarded, when will the program funds be available?Projects receiving grant funding in Round 5 will have been evaluated by how quickly the project can be delivered, generally considered within three years of funding. However, because of the availability of funding sources has been limited in prior funding rounds, it is reasonably possible that a project will not receive its awarded funding until programming years farther into the future, possibly four or five years out. This is inconvenient for all parties involved, but has become a reality with the program. These guidelines place an emphasis on deliverable, "real" projects, but some awarded projects may not receive funding for a few years. As such, SACOG will work with each funding recipient and accommodate funding needs as best the situation calls for, but applicants will need to understand the programming capacity may not be available for four or more years. In some cases, requests for advancement of funds earlier than the assigned program year may be allowed by the federal and/or state agencies that manage the funds. If programming capacity is available for an awarded project, then the program requires the project be completed within three years of receipt, unless obstacles created by SACOG or Caltrans cause a delay. The SACOG/Caltrans Review Team determines the appropriateness of whether a deadline can be extended, with the SACOG Board serving as the final appealable body for a project's timeline to expend program funding. What are the major key elements of the Program that a potential applicant needs to know about?Some of the key features of the proposed guidelines for Round 5 are:
What are the major proposed changes since the last round of Community Design Funding?Generally, the program and application requirements, processes and guidelines remain the mostly the same as the prior cycle, Round 4. SACOG staff contacted each applicant in Round 4 for feedback on the program and major changes were recommended; only relatively minor adjustments were suggested. The only major proposed is the minimum amount of program funding the SACOG Board is recommended to approve has decreased. SACOG staff anticipates that the agency's federal and state transportation funding revenues will decrease in the upcoming biennial cycle. As such, the Board approved a minimum funding amount of $8 million for the Round 5, compared with the Round 4 minimum amount of $12 million. Correspondingly, the maximum request amount will go down from $7 million for Category 1 or 2 applications down to $4 million. Also, for Category 1 and 2 projects, SACOG staff is strongly suggesting - but not requiring - that projects have a minimum request of $500,000 to make it worthwhile for a project to be federalized. There are three funding categories — what are they, and what do I need to know?There are three categories of project applications, as defined by the amount of funding requested. First, the most common category, referred to as Category #1 (also called "Conventional"), is for federal aid projects that seek funding between $100,000 to $4 million. The types of projects in this category can be varied so long as they are federal aid eligible. Most projects (except the planning ones, which are not eligible) awarded in past rounds fall into this category. Category #2 projects are federal aid eligible "Complete Streets" projects seeking $1 million to $4 million. These projects seek improvements within transportation corridors into more pedestrian and transit friendly environments with associated land use changes. Category #3 projects seek $100,000 or less and are non-competitive. This is the only category in which projects may be awarded non-federal funding sources. Only cities and counties may apply for funding in this category, and they are not allowed to submit applications in any other category. The submittal requirements are less than applications in the other two categories, although the program would prefer projects that are federal aid eligible. Some planning projects could be eligible on a case-by-case basis. Applicants may only submit one application and the SACOG/Caltrans Review Team will work with the applicant to develop a scope of work that meets the program's objectives. Projects in this category are compared only with others in this category. What's involved in the application process?All applicants are expected to review and follow the program and application guidelines. They must submit a pre-application letter before an application may be submitted. Applicants must also submit the application in accordance to the guidelines and with SACOG's letter of reply to the pre-submittal letter. How will the projects be selected for funding?There will be two different bodies reviewing the applications. First, the internal SACOG/Caltrans Review Team comprised of staff, Caltrans, and others, will review the pre-submittal letter and provide written comments regarding eligibility and delivery that it would like to see addressed in the application. Then, the Community Design Review Committee, comprised of staff and professionals in related fields from around the region, will review the applications and make funding recommendations based on merit as per the program guidelines. The SACOG/Caltrans Review Team will then interview and negotiate with each recommended recipient on the scope, timeline and deliverables. The team will also factor in an applicant's past performance on delivering Community Design Projects. If the project is considered eligible and deliverable by the team, and the applicant has a solid history of delivering past Community Design Projects, the project will be forwarded to the SACOG Board for funding approval. What responsibilities do jurisdictions have once SACOG has programmed the awarded funds?As per prior funding rounds, all recipients must accept the full responsibility of managing federal aid funds. This is a significant responsibility that can require a lot of reporting and coordination with Caltrans and federal agencies. SACOG will only allow a trained professional in managing federal aid funding for the project. Also, jurisdictions that receive Community Design Funds are required to deliver their projects according to their applications and subsequent negotiated scopes of work, timelines and deliverables. If I have questions, who do I contact?Please contact SACOG Community Design Program Manager, Greg Chew. He can be reached at (916) 340-6227 or at gchew@sacog.org. |
