CLEARLAKE — The Clearlake City Council heard a presentation Thursday regarding a planning grant that could assist in securing other funds for improvements on Lakeshore Drive. The council authorized the mayor to sign a letter of support on behalf of the Area Planning Council”s grant application.
According to representative Terri Persons, the APC has until March 30 to submit its application for the Caltrans Community Based Transportation Planning Grant (CBTP). She said the maximum grant amount allowed is $300,000; it requires a 10 percent local match, which she said would be provided by the APC.
The purpose of the grant is to “fund coordinated transportation and land use planning that promotes public engagement, livable communities and a sustainable transportation system, which includes mobility, access and safety.” The program does not fund construction projects; however, Persons said the resulting plan or study would likely increase the competitive advantage for future funding for construction and infrastructure projects.
“The CBTP grant program provides an opportunity to gain grant funding to conduct a project within the City of Clearlake that meets the criteria of the CBTP grant program. The Lakeshore Drive Corridor, from Olympic Drive to Old Highway 53, has been identified in both the Clearlake Vision Task Force report and the Lake County 2030 Regional Blueprint Plan as an area which the community has expressed an interest in improving,” Persons said in her report to the council. “These two documents, along with the Lakeshore Drive Design Guidelines and the Countywide Safe Routes to School Plan, would provide guidance on the development of a grant application.”
The grant funds could be used to conduct studies or plans for context-sensitive streetscape or town center, streets, suburban community or urban commercial corridor retrofit, community revitalization, bike and pedestrian safety enhancement, traffic calming and safety enhancement and rural smart growth. The APC would be the primary applicant, provide the local match and conduct grant administration tasks. The city would be a partner agency in the application.
