Title
Authorizing the City to support an application from the Rondo Community Land Trust to the Environmental Protection Agency Community Change Grant program.
Body
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Climate Action and Resilience Plan (“Plan”) set a goal of reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 and down to zero by 2050, and emphasizes the need to ensure that vulnerable and disadvantaged communities benefit from the City’s work to reduce climate pollution; and
WHEREAS, the Plan also highlights the need to reduce energy cost burden on lower income households as a key strategy aligned with equitable climate action; and
WHEREAS as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has created the Community Change Grant program, which aims to support environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenge; and
WHEREAS the Rondo Community Land Trust (“CLT”) intends to submit an application to the EPA under this grant program for a project to make the CLT’s homes and properties climate resilient while also lowering energy bills for residents; and
WHEREAS the EPA Community Change Grant program eligibility requires that a Community-Based Organization (“CBO”) be an applicant, and that a local unit of government can partner with the CBO to further the goals of the application; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is supportive of a partnership between the City and the CLT for the purposes of pursuing this grant opportunity; and
WHEREAS, the City would play a support role in the partnership, helping to coordinate the project activities and to further the goals of the project by offering guidance and advice to the CLT in the managing of federal grants; and
WHEREAS, the EPA Community Change Grant program has no local match requireme...
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