Dear Director Curtis, 

We urge the Strategic Growth Council to step up and use Prop 4 funding to fill the budget gap caused by the termination of EPA Community Change Grants (CCG) to the Rooted in Comunidad, Cultivating Equity (RICCE) program, a Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Round 5 grantee.  

RICCE advances climate resilience and pollution reduction in eight of San Diego’s most polluted neighborhoods through 12 community-driven projects developed over five years of robust resident engagement. The eight communities rank in the 99th percentile for poor air quality per CalEnviroScreen. 

Without CCG funding: 

• the Boston Avenue Linear Park, a project decades in the making, will be defunded. 

• the MTS Electric Bus Program, a key project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will be canceled  

• the Holistic Healthy Homes program will have to provide fewer low-income families with free home upgrades that improve air quality, lower energy costs, and make homes more resilient to climate change disasters.   

• La Via Verde, Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center's free electric shuttle service - which reduces air pollution and traffic - will have to decrease ride services drastically.  

• Workforce Development Programs to provide training and placement in good-paying green jobs will face deep cuts. 

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to environmental justice. We urge your support. 

Sincerely,