CC SR 20220607 N - Neighborhood Beautification Awards
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 06/07/2022
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to award Neighborhood Beautification Grants.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Approve awarding five grant applications for the Neighborhood Beautification
Grant Program Cycle 20, totaling $18,270.50; and
(2) Deny five grant applications that did not meet the minimum standards of the
program.
FISCAL IMPACT: $25,000 for this program is included in the Fiscal Year 2021-22
adopted budget using the General Fund.
Amount Budgeted: $25,000
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): 101-400-3180-5202
(General Fund - Public Works/Street Landscape Maintenance)
ORIGINATED BY: McKenzie Bright, Administrative Analyst
Lauren Ramezani, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. December 7, 2021, staff report
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
The City’s Neighborhood Beautification Grant (NBG) Program began in 1989, conducting
19 cycles of awards until it was placed on hiatus in 2010 to address concerns with the
program related to optimal distribution of grant funds among the community, as well as
bringing the program into compliance with the City’s purchasing guidelines. In 2012, the
program was suspended.
On December 7, 2021, the City Council authorized the reintroduction of the NBG
Program, which attempted to remedy concerns raised with the p revious eligibility criteria
and iterations (see Attachment A).
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On December 13, 2021, Staff announced the upcoming NBG program and began
accepting applications on January 3, 2022. Eight applications were received by the April
15 deadline and two applications were received late. The two late applicants were not
scored due to missing the program application deadline.
Staff from the Public Works Department, Community Development Department, and City
Manager’s Office scored applicants based on the following rubric:
Neighborhood Beautification Grant Program Scoring Rubric
Criteria Detail Max Weight
Community
Benefit
• Provides a community benefit by improving the
neighborhood’s appearance (20 points)
• Project is visible by the general public: on, at the
intersection of, or in the general vicinity of arterials
or collector streets so that they provide
community-wide and general public benefit (25
points)
45 points
Applicant
Participation
• Demonstration of applicant’s commitment to long -
term and on-going maintenance plan (20 points)
• Shows evidence of broad support for project, as
appropriate for scale and scope (10 points)
• Addresses a need identified in the community and
provides a lasting impact/solution (5 points)
35 points
Design
Standards
• Architectural compatibility with surrounding area
(10 points)
• Proposed project considers color, height,
camouflage, effective drought tolerant
landscaping with a colorful palette when feasible
(10 points)
20 points
BONUS
POINTS
• First-time applicant (10 points)
• Creative or innovative solution to a need in the
community (5 points)
15 points
Scores were averaged across the three members of the panel. Staff recommends awards
be granted to the highest-scoring applicants, so long as they scored at least 60 points out
of a possible 100. Based on this, Staff recommends awarding grants to five of the eight
applications submitted. The approved budget for this program was $25,000 – the
applications received on time and met the program qualifications comprise a total request
of $18,270.50. The grant required a 50% match from the applicant. The recommended
award amount is 50% of the total project estimated cost.
The table on the following page illustrates the average score in each major category for
each of the applicants. Applicants below the red line did not meet the minimum required
points of the program.
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Neighborhood
Name
Community
Benefit
(45 points)
Applicant
Participation
(35 points)
Design
Standards
(20 points)
Total
(100
points)
Grant
Request
Recommended
Award
La Cresta HOA 45.0 35.0 20.0 100.0 $5,000 $5,000.00
Mira Catalina
HOA 41.7 29.0 19.3 90.0 $4,895 $4,895.00
Villa Capri
HOA 38.3 32.0 15.0 85.3 $2,636 $2,635.50
Blackhorse 38.3 21.7 20.0 80.0 $2,050 $2,050.00
Roan Rd 33.3 22.0 20.0 75.3 $4,080 $4,080.00
Lunada Pointe
HOA 25.0 22.0 10.0 57.0 $2,988 $0
PV Bay Club 6.3 30.7 20.0 57.0 $5,000 $0
Armaga
Springs HOA 13.0 23.7 13.3 50.0 $4,150 $0
Seamount
Estates LATE LATE LATE N/A $5,000 $0
Sunmist Drive LATE LATE LATE N/A $3,750 $0
Applicants will be notified of their award status by Staff on June 8. Awardees will be
authorized to proceed with acquiring services and obtaining any necessary permits for
their projects. Projects must be completed within one year of the award. Once projects
are completed, Staff inspects project completion and proof of purchase for all materials
and services. Reimbursements will be made for up to the authorized grant request
amount but not exceeding 50% of the total project costs.
Qualified Projects, Recommended for Award:
• La Cresta Homeowners Association (HOA): Repair and repaint tract wall and
fencing adjacent to Hawthorne Boulevard near Vallon Drive.
• Mira Catalina HOA: Cohesive landscaping and entrance plaques at Crest R oad
(East) and Palos Verdes Drive East HOA entrances.
• Villa Capri HOA: Entry landscaping at the corner of Hawthorne Boulevard and Via
Capri.
• Blackhorse Neighborhood: Replacement of HOA entryway sign on Hawthorne
Boulevard, near Blackhorse Road.
• Roan Road: Landscaping at the corner of Palos Verdes Drive East and Roan
Road.
Did Not Qualified: The following projects are not recommended for the award due to a
specified reason. To be eligible for funding, applications must have been received on
time, projects must be visible from an arterial/collector street, and projects must
demonstrate proof of community consensus (signatures from a minimum of three
households).
• Lunada Pointe HOA: Proposed replacing trees along Marguerite Dr ive, which is
minimally visible from Palos Verdes Drive West. Additionally, raters had significant
concerns that proposed replacement trees did not consider drought tolerance.
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Staff contacted the HOA and suggested alternative trees that aligned with the City
arborist’s recommendation, but HOA declined to make the modification, therefore,
the score stands.
• PV Bay Club: Proposed landscaping is not visible from any arterial/collector
streets.
• Armaga Springs HOA: Proposed new HOA entryway signage is minimally visible
from an arterial/collector street, and the applicant did not submit any proof of
community consensus.
• Seamount Estates: Application received after the deadline passed. Proposed
entryway sign and landscaping at Hawthorne/Seamount intersection.
• Sunmist Drive: Application received after the deadline passed. The resident
proposed replacing failed tract wall at the bottom of their private property on Crest
Road (West). Additionally, the applicant did not submit any proof of community
consensus.
Applicants who were not awarded may move forward with their project but will not receive
any City funding, or they may consider re-applying during the next cycle. It should be
noted that unless the program parameters change, the projects that were not funded due
to their distance from an arterial/collector street would remain ineligible.
NBG Program Assessment
The modifications made to the NBG program are intended to ensure projects have a
general public benefit and to encourage less organized neighborhoods to participate.
Staff anticipated greater participation from organizations that may not have participated
in previous rounds, but all applicants had applied to the program in the past. La Cresta
received awards in 14 of the 19 previous cycles; Mira Catalina received six; Villa Capri
received eight; Blackhorse received two; and Roan Road received two. However, of the
five awarded applicants, two do not have a formal HOA.
Additionally, Staff received a number of questions regarding some of the requirements in
the application packet that Staff will clarify in future cycles, should they be approved by
the City Council, such as the requirements for submitting three bids and clarifying the
ability of an individual resident to apply to repair their tract wall visible from an
arterial/collector street.
Staff will bring the 21st Cycle of the NBG program before the City Council for
implementation in December 2022 with minor modifications to the application packet and
timeline, based on what has been learned from this 20th round. A full discussion of the
new changes and the reasons for them will be included in the future staff report.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council award Neighborhood Beautification Grants to the five
qualified applicants and reject the applications from the three neighborhoods that did not
meet program requirements and the two neighborhoods that submitted late applications.
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ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Direct Staff to reconsider late applications and/or applications found not to meet
the program minimum point requirements.
2. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
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