Removing Barriers to LID Prop 84 Stormwater Grant

Mr. Daniel Apt in collaboration with Dr. Darla Inglis developed a successful Prop 84 grant application for CASQA. Serving as CASQA’s grant project manager, Mr. Apt provided LID technical assistance to 25 municipalities and managed all tasks and the grant project team that included Dr. Darla Inglis and Wayne Carlson of AHBL. The project was a joint effort between CASQA, the Central Coast LID Initiative, and the Local Government Commission. The LID technical assistance included developing and providing several LID trainings to each municipality as well as the development industry in municipalities, update of municipal codes to remove barriers to LID, assistance to integrate LID requirements within the municipal regulatory structure, updated code adoption support, and developing and providing LID technical resources covering the design, construction, and maintenance of LID. Other tasks of the grant included developing CASQA standard LID design plans and specifications, education and outreach to local government leaders, development of green street concept designs including alternative compliance concepts; identification of the CalGreen Code modifications to remove LID barriers, evaluation of financial barriers to LID and stormwater programs and innovative funding approaches, development of a webinar regarding the LID support provided, and dissemination and publication of case studies and technical resources on the California LID Portal californialid.org.

The primary challenges associated the project included the logistics of providing assistance to 25 municipalities throughout California, that there were barriers in municipal codes that prevented implementation of LID, that many municipal staff had limited knowledge of LID, that elected officials and municipal government leaders were not convinced of the benefits of LID, that there was not a set of standard set of LID details and specifications that could be used throughout California, and there are significant financial barriers to implementation of LID projects.

The logistics project challenge of providing assistance to 25 municipalities in California was overcome with effective organization and communication both among the grant project team and municipal staff regarding the timing of training and meetings as well as grouping of meetings throughout the state into week time periods to reduce travel for the grant project team. The barriers in the municipal codes were addressed through training and efficient meetings with public works, planning, and fire department staff where a municipal code gaps analysis, draft updated code language, and final code language could be discussed and agreed upon by these different departments in the municipality. The lack of municipal staff knowledge of LID was addressed through comprehensive and interactive LID training covering everything from the basics of LID to specific issues with proper implementation and maintenance.

The challenge of elected officials and municipal government leaders not being convinced of the benefits of LID was addressed through hosting informal dinner forums that educated elected officials and leaders about LID in a more relaxed social environment. To address the challenge of lack of standard LID details and specifications the project developed standard bioretention and porous pavement details and specifications and placed them on the California LID Portal along with the other technical resources developed by the project. Addressing the financial barriers to LID implementation was more challenging, however the project developed two white papers that focused on providing alternatives to fund LID projects and stormwater manegment programs including performing a triple bottom line sustainability analysis which will help identify other sources of funding.