CDBG funds could benefit backcountry

The projects selected for 2019-20 Community Develop­ment Block Grant funding in­clude costs for eight revitaliza­tion committees throughout the county including Alpine and the East County back­country, and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors also seeks to fund San Diego County Regional Fire Authori­ty projects which are currently on the alternative list.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote April 9 approved the plan and authorized the acceptance of the funds expected to be awarded. An additional rec­ommendation directed the county’s Chief Administra­tive Officer to review the list of alternative projects to see if funding might be available from the CDBG program or from other sources. The allo­cations include $10,714 for the revitalization committees.

Community Development Block Grant projects are in­tended to revitalize lower-income communities. The proposals were selected based on criteria which include ben­efit to lower income residents, health and safety consider­ations, the ability to leverage block grant funds into addi­tional revenue, and availability of alternate funding sources. The allocations are based on 2019-20 entitlement figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop­ment (HUD), which provides funding for the programs The supervisors allocated $681,680 for a Fallbrook park, a sidewalk project in Lincoln Acres, and disabled access improvements for Ramona Town Hall. An additional $2,333,640 was earmarked for eight region­al projects including housing projects and the revitalization committees throughout the county. The CDBG allocations also include $667,000 for plan­ning and administration. The county also administers the CDBG program for six incor­porated cities as well as for the unincorporated area and for re­gional projects.

Although the projects will likely be exempt from Cali­fornia Environmental Quality Act review, the federal funding makes them subject to National Environmental Protection Act review which could include a finding of no significant impact.

In February 1996 the Board of Supervisors activated a commu­nity revitalization program for several unincorporated commu­nities in San Diego County. The committees include regular meetings, coordination of com­munity resources, and direct connection to county staff and resources. After the commit­tee establishes goals commit­tee members work with county staff to achieve those goals based on available resources.

Community revitalization committees are currently active in Alpine, the East County backcountry, Lakeside, Ramona, and Spring Valley. A March 12 Board of Supervisors vote directed the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to establish and acti­vate revitalization committees for Fallbrook, Valley Center, and Borrego Springs.

The $10,714 CDBG allocation for the revitalization commit­tees includes $714 for environmental review.

“These will bring county resources to the community,” said Supervisor Jim Desmond. “These communities don’t have locally-elected officials, so we want to make sure their voice is being heard.”

The alternative list consists of 13 projects with a total esti­mated cost of $4,133,976. The alternative projects consist of three regional projects, three San Diego County Regional Fire Authority projects total­ing $195,000, three Fallbrook sidewalk projects, a Ramona sidewalk, an asphalt overlay for the Ramona Senior Center, a Lakeside sidewalk, and a Spring Valley sidewalk. Although the official motion was to direct the Chief Administrative Officer to review the entire list to deter­mine if funding was available, the Board of Supervisors discus­sion focused on the San Diego County Regional Fire Author­ity projects.

One of those SDCRFA proj­ects would purchase security boxes to allow fire and emer­gency response vehicles to enter residential and business gates with security boxes. The $125,000 estimated cost would provide such security boxes for the Boulevard, Campo, Jacum­ba, Pine Valley, Potrero, DeLuz, Shelter Valley, Sunshine Sum­mit, and Warner Springs sta­tions.

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