By Miriam Raftery
March 27, 2020 (Lemon Grove) – Amid a wave of fiscal bad news for Lemon Grove, from its sales tax measure failing to the Covid-19 crisis dropping sales tax revenues even further due to business shutdowns, one slice of good news has emerged.
The California Natural Resources Agency has announced that the city of Lemon Grove will receive a $1.47 million Green Infrastructure Grant for phase 3 of its Connect Main Street project.
The state’s Green Infrastructure Grants target disadvantaged communities, with funds provided under Proposition 68 in 2018.
Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot says, “These awards will support disadvantaged communities in reducing their carbon footprint and enhancing natural spaces throughout the State. It’s projects like these that help set California on the path to achieving more sustainable, climate resilient communities.”
The Green Infrastructure grant program endeavors to maximize opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through project design and implementation, while also providing benefits such as cleaner air and water, urban heat island mitigation, increased adaptability to climate change, wildlife habitat improvement, and improved community health.
Project component examples include urban tree canopy expansion; groundwater recharge basin installation; park development; greening public schoolyards; and constructing non-motorized trails that provide safe routes of travel.
Lemon Grove’s Connect Main Street is Connect Main Street is a planning and design project exploring opportunities to transform an approximately two-mile long stretch of Main Street. The vision is to create a community corridor that supports active lifestyles and transportation choices by providing a safe, beautiful and sustainable linear parkway that connects people, places and activities for generations to come.
In 2016, the City Council adopted a General Plan Update and accepted the completed conceptual plans and preliminary drawings. The next steps, funded through grants, include completing design and constructing the project
Improving Lemon Grove’s Main Street corridor downtown could also help attract new businesses in the future, helping to revitalize the small and diverse community – sweet news to city leaders amid the currently uncertain economic times.