Affordable Housing Gets Aid in Coachella, Brawley

SACRAMENTO — The 56th Assembly District has received more than $27 million in state grants to create more sustainable communities with affordable housing and transportation synergy, Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia announced.

The 56th Assembly District is comprised of the cities and communities of Blythe, Brawley, Bermuda Dunes, Calexico, Calipatria, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Indio, Mecca, Oasis, North Shore, Salton Sea, Thermal, Thousand Palms, and Westmorland.

Projects in the cities of Coachella and Brawley were among 25 Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC) grant proposals the Strategic Growth Council approved on Friday, June 21, 2019.

“I am excited to announce that my district was awarded over $27 million from the greenhouse gas reduction fund to build green affordable housing with transit connectivity in Coachella and Brawley. The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program was designed to help meet California’s crucial housing needs sustainably and in sync with sidewalk, bikeway, and transit infrastructure. Pairing mutual goals to help create healthier neighborhoods,” Garcia said in a prepared statement.

“From the minute I arrived in Sacramento, I set out to make sure that our region received our fair share of the state’s climate investments. Now after years of consistent efforts, our policy shaping is resulting in significant wins and millions of dollars flowing into our communities over a diverse spectrum of overlapping benefits such as housing, transportation, public health, and economic development.”

The Downtown Coachella Net Zero Housing and Transportation Collaboration proposal envisioned by the City of Coachella, SunLine Transit Agency, and Calvans, will receive a total of $14,895,407 to create affordable housing along with a new centralized transportation hub in the heart of the city.

Brawley’s $12,779,179 award marks the first ever Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program grant for the County of Imperial area. This Ocotillo Springs project will develop net-zero energy affordable housing with sidewalks, bikeways, and vanpool connectivity.

Funding for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program is provided from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, an account established with Cap-and-Trade revenues preserved in Garcia’s AB 398 (2017). Garcia has played an integral role in moving policies that would ensure the equitable allocation of these investments by leveling the playing field for historically disadvantaged communities across our state.

The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program is administered by the Strategic Growth Council and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development for land-use, housing, transportation, and land preservation projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is the fourth round of its climate investment projects and the largest since the program’s launch.