By Lookout Staff

April 1, 2021 -- Two Santa Monica proposals to promote sustainable housing development will receive a slice of $4.8 million in State funding from The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the agency announced Thursday.

Santa Monica's proposals were among 26 projects to get the green light Thursday from SCAG’s Regional Council as part of its 2020/2021 Sustainable Communities Program (SCP).

“Sustainable housing and development strategies are critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and, ultimately, building healthier and more equitable communities,” said SCAG President Rex Richardson, Vice Mayor of Long Beach.

Santa Monica's proposals were chosen in two of the three categories -- "advancing implementation of Accessory Dwelling Units" and "establishing objective development standards for streamlined housing, Prohousing Designation Programs and parking innovations."

The only other city to have multiple proposals picked was Los Angeles for three separate proposals for the Hollywood area, the LAC/USC Health Village and the One San Pedro.

The were chosen in the category for creating Housing Sustainability Districts, Workforce Housing Opportunity Zones and housing-supporting Tax-Increment Financing Districts.

The 26 proposals "are designed to promote diverse housing types in communities served by multiple transportation options and create dynamic, built environments that support multimodal mobility and reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles," SCAG officials said.

Thursday’s action clears the way for SCAG staff to "work closely with the 26 programs to further define the scopes of work and develop a project initiation schedule and budgets," officials said.

Approximately $4.8 million in State planning funds are expected to cover the anticipated expenses for the projects, which must be completed by June 2023.

Schedules to initiate the projects should be determined by June, agency officials said.

SCAG, which represents six Southern California counties, is "responsible for developing a sustainable communities strategy to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets."

The counties represented, which include 191 cities, are Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.

No applications were received from Ventura or Imperial counties.

The 26 projects support the goals and objectives of Connect SoCal, SCAG’s 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, said SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise.

“Ultimately, programs such as this are about safer, healthier communities and preserving the quality of life we treasure in Southern California,” Ajise said.

“At the same time, we’re addressing the housing crisis with innovative solutions and positioning ourselves to be even more competitive for critically needed funding.”