Local Government Commission

FOSTERING INNOVATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND SOCIAL EQUITY.

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES & COMMUNITY DESIGN:IN 2021, LGC'S COMMUNITY DESIGN TEAM PARTNERED WITH 23 JURISDICTIONS TO APPLY FOR FUNDING AND CONDUCT LOCAL VISIONING, PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTIONS FOR EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, DOWNTOWN AND NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION. ON BEHALF OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THE TEAM ASSISTED 11 DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES WITH VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS (ATTENDED BY OVER 150 PARTICIPANTS), SCOPING, AND APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT FOR FUNDING FROM THE STATE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM AND APPROXIMATELY 40 OTHER COMMUNITIES WITH PROJECT AND APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR FUNDING FROM THE STATE AIR RESOURCES BOARD CLEAN MOBILITY OPTIONS PILOT PROGRAM. LGC'S FUNDING NAVIGATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HELPED MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS, ASSESS PROJECT READINESS, INTERPRET GRANT GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS, AND PREPARE COMPETITIVE FUNDING PROPOSALS. THE PLATFORM SUPPORTED LOCAL LEADERS IN NAVIGATING THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, URBAN GREENING, AND WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT TO IDENTIFY VIABLE AND APPROPRIATE FUNDING SOURCES. LASTLY, THE TEAM PROVIDED BEST PRACTICES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR POLICIES TO SUPPORT LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES IN ACHIEVING HEALTH EQUITY AND RESILIENCE THROUGH COVID-19 RECOVERY. THIS INCLUDED DEVELOPMENT OF RESILIENT RECOVERY PRINCIPLES FOR STATE LEADERS AND A "PANDEMIC RECOVERY AND BEYOND" FACTSHEET SERIES TO INFORM FUTURE RESILIENCY STRATEGIES.

CLIMATE CHANGE:IN 2021, CIVICWELL'S CLIMATE TEAM SUPPORTED NUMEROUS LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORTS THROUGH THE ALLIANCE OF REGIONAL COLLABORATIVES FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION (ARCCA), THE CAPITAL REGION CLIMATE READINESS COLLABORATIVE (CRC), THE PARTNERS ADVANCING CLIMATE EQUITY (PACE) PILOT PROGRAM, AND THE CALIFORNIA ADAPTATION FORUM (CAF), ENGAGING WITH HUNDREDS OF JURISDICTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS CALIFORNIA. THESE PROGRAMS SUPPORTED A SERIES OF COORDINATION EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS AND CAPACITY-BUILDING TRAININGS, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES, ENGAGEMENT WITH KEY STATE AND REGIONAL AGENCIES, RESEARCH ON CLIMATE RISKS AND SOLUTIONS, AND TARGETED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. CIVICWELL ALSO PARTNERED WITH THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADAPTATION PLAN, WHICH WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE CITY'S UPDATED GENERAL PLAN, BY ORGANIZING VIRTUAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, ANALYZING EXISTING CITY POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF ALIGNMENT, AND DEVELOPING A COMPLIANCE TIMELINE FOR RELEVANT STATE LAWS RELATED TO LOCAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLANNING. FINALLY, CIVICWELL COMPLETED THE EMBEDDING EQUITY IN ADAPTATION INITIATIVE, FUNDED THROUGH THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE FUND, TO INTEGRATE EQUITY INTO THE FOUNDATION OF ARCCA.

ENERGY:IN 2021, AS PART OF THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE AND ENERGY COLLABORATIVE (CCEC), A SUCCESSOR PROGRAM TO THE STATEWIDE ENERGY EFFICIENCY COLLABORATIVE (SEEC) PROGRAM, CIVICWELL'S ENERGY TEAM PROVIDED RESOURCES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ACCELERATE CLIMATE ACTION. CIVICWELL ALSO HOSTED THE 12TH ANNUAL SEEC FORUM AS A VIRTUAL SERIES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT STAFF AND CLEAN ENERGY LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE. CIVICWELL STAFF ALSO WORKED WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COALITION (LGSEC) TO ADVOCATE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENERGY POLICY INTERESTS AT THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (PUC) AND OTHER STATE AGENCIES AND PROVIDED MEMBERS WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND NETWORKING RESOURCES. CIVICWELL ALSO PROVIDED LOCAL GOVERNMENT OUTREACH SUPPORT FOR THE EMPOWER PROCUREMENT PROGRAM, AN INITIATIVE FUNDED BY THE CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION TO STREAMLINE ADVANCED ENERGY PROCUREMENT PROCESSES FOR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS, AND FINALIZED A COMMUNITY ENERGY ACTION PLAN FOR LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY OF FRESNO.

WATER:LGC'S WATER TEAM MANAGED IMPLEMENTATION OF THREE RAIN GARDENS AS PART OF THE GREAT URBAN PARKS CAMPAIGN, HELPED THREE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES APPLY FOR MULTI-BENEFIT WATER SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS, REVIEWED AND COMMENTED ON 60 GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY PLANS, CONVENED OR PARTICIPATED IN SIX DIFFERENT COALITIONS WITH NEARLY 200 COMBINED PARTICIPANTS, AND PRESENTED AT OVER 33 WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS. LGC CONTINUED SERVING AS FACILITATOR OF THE NGO GROUNDWATER COLLABORATIVE, A NETWORK OF OVER 30 LOCAL CBOS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND NGO REPRESENTATIVES WORKING TO ENSURE EQUITABLE AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT (SGMA). IN OCTOBER, LGC LED THE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2021 NGO GROUNDWATER COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL CONVENING, AN INVITATION-ONLY EVENT ABOUT SGMA IMPLEMENTATION THAT WAS ATTENDED BY 56 PARTICIPANTS. LGC CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE BORREGO SPRINGS COMMUNITY WITH INCORPORATION OF THE BORREGO VALLEY STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SHARED COMMUNITY VISION TO INFORM UPCOMING REVISIONS TO THE COUNTY GENERAL PLAN AND OTHER RELEVANT AREA PLANS. WE WORKED TO ENSURE BROAD REPRESENTATION OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY MEMBERS. LASTLY, LGC'S WATER TEAM DEVELOPED 8 RESOURCES TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES IN ADVANCING THEIR WATER RESILIENCE EFFORTS, INCLUDING FACTSHEETS, GUIDES AND VIDEOS.NATIONAL SERVICE:IN 2021, AS PART OF THE 2020-21 SERVICE YEAR, 79 CIVICSPARK FELLOWS PROVIDED OVER 139,000 HOURS OF SERVICE TO CALIFORNIA'S COMMUNITIES. ADDITIONALLY, 44 CLIMATE ACTION CORPS FELLOWS PROVIDED OVER 54,000 HOURS OF SERVICE ON URBAN GREENING, FOOD WASTE RECOVERY, AND WILDFIRE MITIGATION PROJECTS. THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 151 CIVICSPARK 20+ CLIMATE ACTION CORPS PROJECTS, FELLOWS SUPPORTED OVER 1,000 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, ENGAGED OVER 19,000 COMMUNITY MEMBERS, CONTRIBUTED TO NEARLY 400 PLANS, INVENTORIES, ASSESSMENTS, MODEL POLICIES, ORDINANCES, GUIDELINES AND PROGRAMS, AND ENGAGED NEARLY 1,500 COMMUNITY GROUPS. ADDITIONALLY, CIVICSPARK APPLIED FOR AND WAS AWARDED A PLANNING GRANT TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM INTO COLORADO.LOCAL POLICYMAKER ENGAGEMENT:IN 2021, THE LGC CONNECTED OVER 2500 LEADERS THROUGH OUR EVENTS (IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL) INCLUDING THE 12TH ANNUAL STATEWIDE ENERGY EFFICIENCY FORUM, THE 2021 CALIFORNIA ADAPTATION FORUM, EVENTS CONNECTED TO OUR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE, MULTIPLE WEBINARS ON A RANGES OF ISSUES ACROSS PROGRAM AREAS, AND QUARTERLY MEETINGS FOR BOTH THE ALLIANCE OF REGIONAL COLLABORATIVES FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COALITION.LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATORY ENGAGEMENT:LGC'S COALITION, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COALITION (LGSEC), PROVIDED ENERGY-RELATED TECHNICAL AND POLICY INFORMATION TO ITS 36 MEMBERS VIA TWO WEBINARS, MONTHLY REGULATORY ENGAGEMENT CALLS, BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS, AND TWO FORUMS ON THE TOPICS OF ENERGY RESILIENCE AND CROSS-SECTOR COORDINATION. THE LGSEC REPRESENTED ITS COALITION MEMBERS ON SEVEN CPUC PROCEEDINGS AND ISSUES, INCLUDING GRID MODERNIZATION, NET ENERGY METERING, MICROGRIDS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION, AND CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING. A TOTAL OF FIVE COMMENTS WERE SUBMITTED AND 150 HOURS WERE SPENT IN CPUC PROCEEDINGS.