Envision Minnesota, an SGA coalition member, announced on Thursday that the EPA Office of Sustainable Communities’ Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program has awarded grant funds to Forterra and the Building Sustainable Communities Consortium. These organizations will provide technical assistance for community development.
The assistance will be provided in 4 different regions around the country: Central Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State; the San Francisco Bay Area in California; the Twin Cities Metro Area and Greater Minnesota; and the Greater Boston Area in Massachusetts.
Envision Minnesota, as a partner in the Building Sustainable Communities Consortium, will be offering free technical assistance to 4-7 jurisdictions in the state of Minnesota this year. 5 types of technical assistance are available: Downtown Vitality; Natural Resource Protection; Local Food Production and Promotion; Complete Streets Regulation/Incentive Development; and Conservation Development Regulation/Incentive Development. The technical assistance will be provided by experienced, locally-based organizations and will help interested communities implement the Livability Principles developed by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. 20% of the assistance will be targeted to rural or low resource communities.
Local governments in Minnesota (city, county, and tribal) are encouraged to apply for technical assistance from Envision Minnesota. Nonprofit organizations can also apply if they have support from or are partnering with a local government. To apply, submit a letter of interest and an application form to Envision Minnesota (Application Instructions). The application deadline is April 30.