In October 2023, the City of San Francisco’s Balboa Park Neighborhood held a ribbon cutting for 131 new affordable homes adjacent to the Balboa Park Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station, known as Kapuso at the Upper Yard. These homes were built thanks to
$29.9 million from SGC’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC), in its fifth round of funding. The AHSC program funds the construction of affordable housing near transit as a key strategy to reduce GHG emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled, and Kapuso at the Upper Yard is a key example of the need for this work.
Toward Resilient California Communities: Solar + Storage Potential at Schools and Community Centers
California Strategic Growth Council
With funding from the Climate Change Research Program, PSE Healthy Energy is working with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Communities for a Better Environment to identify opportunities to build solar+storage resilience hubs at schools and community centers across California.
Cesar Chavez Living Schoolyard in East Oakland Supports Health and Wellbeing
California Natural Resources Agency
The Cesar Chavez Living Schoolyard project transformed an unshaded asphalt-covered schoolyard into a vibrant, tree-covered, park-like setting in a critically an underserved neighborhood in East Oakland. The site hosts two elementary schools, and their more than 600 students now enjoy a real grass play field, an expanded learning garden featuring an outdoor classroom and fruit orchard, a dry creek, a nature-play zone, as well as pollinator-attracting landscape areas, expanded seating and gathering options, and 65 new trees
Zero-Emission Tractor Demonstration Projects in the Bay Area
California Air Resources Board
Thanks to funding from California Air Resources Board’s FARMER program, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is funding some of the first zero‑emission agricultural tractor demonstration projects in the state. BAAQMD and CARB recently awarded $1 million to manufacturers to produce seven zero‑emission tractors which are now in operation at The Mushroom Farm LLC, Old School Vineyards LP, Arroyo Lindo Vineyards, Crocker Estate, and Wente Vineyards.
Forest Health in San Mateo County – A Collaborative Approach
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
A $2.5 million grant from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program is supporting the San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD) and a network of regional partners in their efforts to improve forest resilience, increase carbon sequestration, and reduce wildfire risk to vulnerable communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Adapting to the Rising Tides
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
With support from Climate Resilience Program, the Adapting to Rising Tides project at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is providing research, guidance, tools, and staff support to help Bay Area agencies and organizations understand, communicate, and begin to resolve complex climate change issues.
Saving Quality Wood Products from Landfills with Habitat for Humanity
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) awarded $488,635 of California Climate Investment funds to Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, Inc. as part of the first cycle of the Reuse Grant Program. This project is diverting wood products from landfills to their ReStore retail stores for reuse by the community. Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, Inc. is a nonprofit, donation-based collection, and resale operation with three sites in Oakland, Concord, and San Jose, serving the San Francisco Bay Area.
Fuel Cell Electric Trucks Reduce Air Pollution Throughout the Central Valley
California Air Resources Board
Thanks to $12 million from the Advanced Technology Demonstration and Pilot Projects and $29 million in match funding from multiple project partners, the NorCAL Zero-Emission Regional and Drayage Operations with Fuel Cell Electric Trucks (NorCAL Zero) Project will support the largest commercial deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in the country. These zero-emission trucks will improve the air quality of communities between Oakland and Bakersfield by displacing diesel-fueled trucks that emit harmful air pollutants.
Supporting Farmers and Rancher’s Access to Grant Funding
Supported by $3.57 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Climate Smart Agriculture initiative provides technical assistance to help farmers find funding and implement projects that support their work while helping to achieve the State’s climate goals. These funds, which were leveraged by California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Strategic Growth Council, support 10 Community Education Specialists, a group of technical experts with the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Since 2019, these Community Education Specialists have assisted over 850 farmers and ranchers across the State with applications to programs under the Climate Smart Agriculture initiative.
Cleaner Passenger Trains through the Capitol Corridor Rail Project
In 2019, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, in partnership with California Department of Transportation’s Division of Mass Transit, was selected by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to receive $7.4 million from the Community Air Protection program to help replace two diesel-powered locomotives with two new Siemens Charger Tier 4 locomotives. These locomotives are now operating on the Capitol Corridor line from Auburn-Sacramento to Silicon Valley and run through disadvantaged and low-income communities in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and more. The new locomotives achieve a 90 percent reduction in particulate matter emissions and an 80 percent reduction in oxides of nitrogen emissions compared to the old, higher-polluting locomotives.
Collecting Air Quality Data to Improve Community Health in Eastern San Francisco
Brightline Defense, an environmental justice nonprofit organization, was awarded $300,000 from the Community Air Grants program to support the Brightline Air Quality Monitoring Program. This community-driven program that will install, collect, and analyze data from 15 stationary air quality sensors in heavily populated, low-income communities throughout Eastern San Francisco. The data these sensors collect are publicly available and can be used to help shape programs and policies to create cleaner air in these communities.
Supporting Families with Affordable Housing
Supported in part by nearly $23 million award from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, Resources for Community Development (RCD) will provide 87 affordable rental homes in the city of Berkeley through the Maudelle Miller Shirek Community project. In addition to large, family-sized apartments and permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless residents, the ground floor of the building will become the headquarters of Healthy Black Families, Inc., a South Berkeley-based nonprofit dedicated to the health of Black families in the community. This project will help Black families and formerly homeless individuals live healthier lives and receive health services through on-site programs and services offered by Healthy Black Families, Inc.,, RCD’s resident services, and the City of Berkeley Mental Health department and third-party service providers.
Promoting Transit Accessibility through the Solano Regional Transit Initiative
Thanks in part to over $4 million in funds from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, the Solano Transportation Authority has linked underserved parts of the cities of Vallejo and Fairfield to regional public transit services. This funding is supporting the $10.8 million Solano Regional Transit Initiative (SRTI), which is providing residents in Solano county with increased access to faster, more efficient transit options that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while connecting them to employment, health, educational, and other facilities that can improve their quality of life.
Coyote Valley Prime Farmland Preserved in Perpetuity
Thanks to a $780,000 grant provided by the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) program, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (the Authority), in partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Santa Clara County Planning Department, were able to purchase a 60-acre farm located in the Coyote Valley of Santa Clara County. This purchase adds to Coyote Valley’s growing network of protected lands and helps combat climate change by protecting prime farmland from being converted to more carbon-intensive land uses. This purchase also furthers the implementation of the comprehensive Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan finalized in January 2018, which Andrea Mackenzie, General Manager of the Authority defined as “a roadmap to protecting the multiple benefits that our region’s remaining farmlands and working lands provide.” This plan was also made possible by an award from the SALC program.
Water Energy Grants Provide Direct Benefits to Low-Income Households in Rural Counties
The Association of California Community and Energy Services partner agencies replaced 1,090 washing machines and 855 dishwashers with water- and energy-efficient machines . These energy and water savings will continuously provide cost savings across various communities in Kern, Madera, Contra Costa, Kings, San Francisco, and Merced counties and other low-income homes in San Mateo, Shasta, and Tehama counties.
Greening the Yellow Brick Road Project Transforms Street into a Symbol of Activity and Hope
With $4.1 million from California Natural Resources Agency’s Urban Greening program, this project is helping bring the community’s vision to fruition and will benefit thousands of community residents. The project will create a safe and green public space where neighbors can come together and a designated route for residents to bike and walk in a safe environment.
Bringing Electrification and Energy Efficiency to Low-income San Francisco Communities
The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (TNDC) commitment to help San Francisco’s low‑income communities thrive by building affordable housing was energized by an electrification project at its SOMA Studio and Family Apartments (SOMA Apartments) in 2020. The effort is supported by a $633,000 award from California Climate Investments through the Department of Community Services and Development’s Low Income Weatherization Program’s (LIWP) Multi‑Family component. With that money and contributions from other local energy efficiency programs, TNDC kept utility bills low for residents while electrifying major central building systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Built in 2003, the SOMA Apartments include 162 homes with more than 60 percent of its households classified as extremely low‑income (earning less than 30 percent of the area median income).
High-Speed Rail Project Prioritizes Co-Benefits and Sustainable Construction Practices
High-Speed Rail Grade Separation in San Mateo Helps to to Alleviate Congestion
The California High-Speed Rail Authority, the city of San Mateo, and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board are creating a grade separation project at East 25th Avenue, which will raise the Caltrain tracks and slightly lower East 25th Avenue in San Mateo, reducing idling traffic and air pollution, and improving safety.