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Tulare County staff honored for leveraging SB2 planning funds to update housing and hazard plans
Summary
Tulare County Resource Management Agency staff received an American Planning Association–California award for using SB2 planning funds to complete housing and hazard planning work, including a county housing element and a FEMA‑approved multijurisdictional hazard mitigation plan.
Tulare County Resource Management Agency staff received an award from the American Planning Association, California chapter, on May 14 for using State of California SB2 planning funds to complete and accelerate housing and hazard planning work.
Assistant Director Aaron Bak told the Planning Commission the county used SB2 funds as a pass‑through vehicle and partner grants to help cities including Lindsay, Visalia and Farmersville complete housing element updates and related planning work. “It is truly an honor to stand before you today as we celebrate the impact of SB2 planning funds in Tulare County,” Bak said.
Bak credited partnerships with Self Help Enterprises and several cities for enabling the county to pass SB2 dollars through to local projects and to complete what he described as a “housing element” that included extensive homelessness work requested by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). He said HCD pushed the county to document homelessness actions in the housing element and that the process required repeated submissions and clarifications before HCD accepted the material.
County staff also recognized project leads. Bak presented an American Planning Association award to Russell Koshawa for his role getting the housing element approved and to Emily Gage for completing a Climate Adaptation and Resiliency element and a multijurisdictional hazard mitigation plan that required approvals from the California Office of Emergency Services and FEMA. Bak said the county received the Central California branch award first among applicants and was encouraged to seek the statewide award next.
Planning staff said the county also completed work that made the jurisdiction eligible for a related grant and that work included updates to emergency hazard annexes for 34 jurisdictions and special districts. The county emphasized the work was performed through partnerships and that the completed hazard plan is now in good standing with OES and FEMA.
Bak and staff asked the commission to note the award and the county’s continuing planning work; the commission did not take formal action on the awards.
The county said it will continue technology and data improvements — including geographic information system updates and a future online addressing conversion — to make permitting and public access to planning information easier.
