Downtown Brownfields Grant Program
Please click on the following link to download an application for the Downtown Brownfields program. This application will be compiled and added to the inventory list.
Application for Brownfield Grant Program (NEW)The City of Oroville has launched a new grant program that is a welcome addition to the City’s current lineup of small business/property owner assistance programs. The new “Downtown Brownfields Grant Program” is designed to help property owners and businesses proactively identify possible future hurdles to property sales/leasing, business expansion, and property reuse. By receiving free assistance from the City and identifying these hurdles early on, property owners and businesses can better plan for the future, avoid unexpected delays and costs, and understand what steps and resources may be needed to remove any such hurdles.
About the Program
Many properties in or around the Downtown area may have once been used as gas stations, dry cleaners, or other businesses that put certain materials into the ground. This can create expensive hurdles or possible roadblocks in the future to selling those properties or building new uses on them. To encourage economic growth in local communities like Oroville, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds grant programs for cities and other organizations to identify and evaluate where these hurdles might exist, and partner with cities and communities to figure out how to remove them. EPA offers a very popular and extremely competitive grant program to pay for these activities named “Community-wide Brownfields Assessment Grant.” In 2010, there were a total of only 124 communities selected for assessment grants. Of those, six were selected in California, one of which was the City of Oroville. The $400,000 grant will be implemented over the course of three years, a major element of which will be community outreach and involvement with key business stakeholders, property owners, and the community at large. Click here for EPA Fact Sheet to view or download a PDF of the EPA fact sheet on the City’s grant.
Community Outreach & Involvement
As a program designed to foster positive partnerships with businesses and property owners in the Downtown area, community outreach and involvement is critical to the program’s success. During the next several years, the City will host a series of meetings and workshops to give information about the program, and to consult with the community about the grant process. The City will use a series of communication tools and partner with the Downtown business community to disseminate information and to find prospective partners among local businesses and property owners seeking to participate in the program.
Upcoming Outreach Events
About the Team
The City hired Brown & Caldwell ("B&C") in 2011 to help design and implement the program and administer the EPA grant. B&C has successfully helped numerous other California communities secure similar brownfield grants and implement progressive programs to assist property owners and businesses. B&C’s consulting team includes Rosenow Spevacek Group (RSG) who is leading the program’s community outreach activities. RSG is also the City’s economic and redevelopment consultant who prepared the 2014 Economic Development Strategy and 2014 Five Year Implementation Plan that prioritized the development and implementation of this program. Team contact information is below.
City Staff Lead Consultant Community Outreach
Information Materials
As data and information created through the program is developed, the City will be posting additional materials available for viewing or download below.