Eligibility Requirements

• Applicants: local or regional public agencies, transit agencies, or federally recognized tribal governments.
• Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to partner with eligible applicants as sub-applicants.
• Project Types: includes but is not limited to, either or both of the following:
• Community litter abatement & beautification projects
• Community litter abatement events and/or educational programs
• Project Area: determined by the applicant – accessibility thru the multimodal transportation network is encouraged; priority will be given to projects that provide benefits to underserved communities

Eligible vs. Ineligible activities & expenses

Eligible

•  Enhanced paving to address the needs of the space, using permeable pavements where possible
•  Decreasing pavement
•  Inert material
•  Shade Structures
•  Shade trees or drought-tolerant planting
•  Irrigation
•  Bio retention, swales, and other green street elements
•  Architectural fencing
•  Art installations, including community identification elements
•  Human-scale, energy-conserving lighting installed w/i project area
•  Walking and/or biking facilities throughout the space
•  Wayfinding signage
•  Amenities (signs, bins, etc.) related to proper waste collection or waste prevention
•  Seating & play equipment
•  Installation of public bathrooms & water fountains

Ineligible - If an application has any of the following elements, it will be disqualified

•  Displacing people experiencing homelessness
•  Acquisition of right-of-way or land with the funds awarded by Caltrans [land acquisition can count towards to local match]
•  Work performed prior to the execution of the grant agreement
•  Acquisition of vehicles or shuttle programs
•  Other items unrelated to the project

Program Budget & Local Match Requirement

• Budget: ~$296 million from the General Fund
• Each grant award shall not exceed $5 million; there is no minimum award amount
• Payment Process: for an item to be eligible for payment, the primary use or function of that item must meet the goals of the program and be consistent with the approved grant scope. Payments can be made either by reimbursement or advanced payment   
• The local match component will range from 0% to 50% of the total project costs and will be based on the capacity of the community of leverage local capital.
• Applicants will be held responsible for any local commitments at or above their minimum requirement as part of the grant agreement with Caltrans.
• Depending on the applicant’s severity of disadvantage, a grant may not require a local match.

  To determine the required match amount, the applicant must identify its severity of disadvantage using the thresholds provided in Table 2. 

Local match sources can be all cash, all third-party-in-kind contributions, or a combination of the two.

Underserved Communities

No less than 50% of Clean CA Local Grant Program funds are to fund projects that benefit underserved communities. To qualify the community served by the project must meet @ least one of the following criteria:

• Area Median Income: is less than 80% of the statewide median based on the most current Census Tract level data from the 2019 Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (<$60,188).
• CalEnviroScreen: an area identified as among the most disadvantaged 25% in the state according to the CalEPA and based on the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool 3.0 scores (score must be greater or equal to 39.34)
• National School Lunch Program: at least 75% of public-school students in the project area are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program. Applicants using this measure must demonstrate how the project benefits the school students in the project area. Project must be located within two miles of the school(s) represented by this criterion.
• Healthy Places Index: includes a composite score for each census tract in the state, with a higher score indicating healthier community conditions. The scores are then converted to a percentile to compare it to other tracts in the State. A census tract must be in the 25th percentile or less to qualify as a disadvantaged community.
• Native American Tribal Lands: the project is located within or partially within Federally Recognized Tribal Lands, lands owned by or held in trust for an Indian tribe, allotted lands, and/or sensitive tribal areas.