2019 Notice of Funding Availability: Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grants Programs

2019 Notice of Funding Availability

 

By John Quiring

 

Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grants Program

 

Many jurisdictions have applied for and received assistance under the SB2 Planning Grants program. In a continuation of the State’s efforts to expand housing production, a group of programs were passed under the Local Government Planning Support program passed in the last budget. A key feature of this package of programs is the LEAP grants program described below.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development is pleased to announce the release of this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $119,040,000 as part of the Local Early Action Planning Grants Program (LEAP or Program). The Program provides funding to jurisdictions for the preparation and adoption of planning documents, process improvements that accelerate housing production, and facilitate compliance in implementing the sixth cycle of the RHNA.

Program Timeline Grants will be available to eligible applicants on a noncompetitive, Over-the Counter (OTC) basis. Applications will be accepted from the date of the release of this NOFA until July 1, 2020.

NOFA Application Webinar: February 14, 2020
NOFA Application Workshops: February and March 2020
Final Due Date for OTC Applications: July 1, 2020

The maximum amount that a jurisdiction may receive shall be as follows:

Jurisdiction Size (in pop)        Maximum Award Amount
750,000 or greater                              $1,500,000
300,000 to 749,999                             $750,000
100,000 to 299,999                             $500,000
60,000 to 99,999                                 $300,000
20,000 to 59,999                                 $150,000
Less than 20,000                                 $65,000

The list of eligible activities is lengthier than those allowed under SB2 Planning grants. Actual activities can be found on pages 5-6 of the NOFA found at the NOFA web link below. Full application package is now available at the website below.

LEAP Resource Page: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/active-funding/leap.shtml

LEAP NOFA Page: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/active-funding/leap/docs/LEAP_Final_Clean.pdf

For further information, please contact John Quiring, QK’s Director of Community Development and Infrastructure Funding, at (559) 449-2400 or John.Quiring@qkinc.com.

 

QK Wins ACEC California Engineering Excellence Commendation Award

QK Wins ACEC California Engineering Excellence Commendation Award

 

By QK

 
 

American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) CA

 

Visalia, CA – Quad Knopf, Inc. (dba QK) is happy to announce our selection for an American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) California Engineering Excellence Commendation Award.

The profession of land surveying has experienced a technological sea-change. The latest new technology to emerge in the mapping world is UAV/UAS. UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone), referring to the aircraft itself, while UAS stands for Unmanned Aerial Systems.

QK is harnessing this technology to advance the civil engineering and land surveying professions, as well as reduce our clients’ bottom line, and we currently employ nine (9) FAA Licensed Part 107 Commercial UAV Pilots.

We used this UAS in the area of Rexland Acres, a disadvantaged community located just south of Bakersfield in Kern County, California which needed a topographic map, hydrology and hydraulic reports, and preliminary design for the future Rexland Acres Community Sidewalk Improvement Project.

There were several underlying components to the project that resulted in the decision to use UAS in addition to traditional surveying methods: the size of the area encompasses more than 400-acres, and the overall project has a limited budget, and every dollar saved in the initial survey could be diverted to construction of the much-needed infrastructure improvements. By incorporating UAS technology, and using modified drones to obtain enhanced aerial imagery, QK was able to drastically reduce the number of man hours required in the field, thereby saving money, and increasing the safety of our field crews.

 
 

One additional project for which this technology was incorporated was the Sequoia Springs Water slides addition to Visalia Adventure Park in Visalia, CA. For this project, QK used more than just standard UAV technology available to everyone. QK surveyors attached a Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning unit to our drone. At the time, in April 2018, manufacturers weren’t making drones with capability of achieving the level of accuracy we felt was necessary for the project. As a result, our surveyors innovated and improvised by purchasing a 3rd party RTK unit so that we could obtain extremely accurate geotags.

UAS technology provides a significant impact to the engineering and construction fields for years to come. With better and more accurate data, the design, plans, specifications, and estimates on the deliverables end of a project, are much more accurate. The traditional deliverables to the client can be supplemented with highly detailed imagery, and we can also provide new deliverables, like 3D models of a site, GIS-based products, and dense point clouds if needed. All the while having drastically reduced client costs during survey with minimal crew time spent in the field.

The team at QK is proud to be recognized by ACEC California for our work in developing these innovative advancements and we look forward to continuing to serve our communities with this technology in the future.

For more information on QK’s UAV/UAS Services see below.

  • Do I really need a Land Surveyor’s license for that?
  • More information on Advanced UAS