In 2018, in the wake of the Tubbs Fire that burned in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake Counties, the Strategic Growth Council was able to extend technical assistance to the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County to look at the suite of California Climate Investments programs and provide assistance in pursuing funding to support wildfire recovery efforts.

A technical assistance (TA) team led by Enterprise Community Partners and Estolano Lesar Advisors participated in a kick-off meeting in Santa Rosa to gauge local recovery efforts and better understand community needs. From there, the TA team provided staff at both the city and county with a holistic overview of the California Climate Investments programs and worked on prioritizing programs based on community needs. The work culminated with an in-person stakeholder meeting in August focused on the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program and Urban Greening Program, where the TA team and state agency reps worked alongside county and city staff to brainstorm project components and create a plan for future applications.

Additionally, a representative from the McConnell Foundation in Redding was invited to give a profile on their efforts to build a more sustainable downtown Redding and offer best practices and a peer-to-peer exchange on how to participate successfully in California Climate Investments programs.

As a result of the meeting and peer-to-peer exchange, Redding and Santa Rosa staff have remained in close contact and have visited each other’s cities to learn more about fire recovery and to share resources. Following the meeting, the TA team has been in touch for the current Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program round to assist with the submission of an application for much-needed affordable housing in Santa Rosa.