Approval of Resolution 2026-165 - Authorization to Apply for Grants Funds through the Urban Greening Program at the Indio Fairgrounds Facility, Indio
Summary
SCH Number
2026090140
Public Agency
Riverside County
Document Title
Approval of Resolution 2026-165 - Authorization to Apply for Grants Funds through the Urban Greening Program at the Indio Fairgrounds Facility, Indio
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/2/2026
Document Description
In 2024, California voters approved Climate Bond Act, which will invest $10 billion in local projects that strengthen communities -- protecting drinking water, reducing wildfire and flood risks, restoring natural places, supporting healthy working lands, and expanding access to parks and outdoor spaces. Approximately $100 million has been allocated for Urban Greening Grants. Funding will be awarded in two competitive cycles, with $46,125,000 available for the first round commencing in 2026.
Urban Greening projects use nature-based solutions—planting trees that provide strategic shade, expanding green spaces that serve as places of refuge during heat waves, and creating green streets and alleyways that capture and clean stormwater—to help communities become more climate resilient. The Urban Greening Grant Program will fund projects using nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change impacts such as the urban heat island effect, rising temperatures, and extreme heat. Grant funding priorities have been established and used as screening criteria for award. Projects providing meaningful benefits to vulnerable populations, disadvantaged communities and have the potential to successfully mitigate extreme heat are then invited to submit full proposals. The Department of Facilities Management submitted a concept proposal requesting $1,500,000 for urban greening enhancements to the Indio Fairgrounds. The proposal has advanced through the screening process and the County has been invited to submit a full proposal for consideration of grant funds. Projects that include local funding are awarded additional points through the competitive evaluation process, so the County is proposing a ten percent contribution of $166,667 to the enhancements for a total project cost of $1,666,667. As part of the proposal requirements, the Board is required to adopt Resolution 2026-165 which certifies that the County understands the assurances and certification in the application, certifies that the applicant or title holder will have sufficient funds to develop, operate and maintain the project consistent with the land tenure requirements; or will secure the resources to do so, and certifies that it will comply with the prevailing wage provisions of the California Labor Code. The approval of the resolution to apply for grant funds is defined as the proposed project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The project is the approval to apply for grant funds through the Urban Greening Program; no expansion of an existing facility or change in land use will occur. No additional direct or indirect physical environmental impacts are anticipated.
Contact Information
Name
Mike Sullivian
Agency Name
County of Riverside
Job Title
Senior Environmental Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Indio
Counties
Riverside
Regions
Southern California
Cross Streets
46-350 Arabia Street, south of Highway 111
Zip
92201
Parcel #
614-040-002
State Highways
Highway 111
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Section 15061(b) (3), “Common Sense” Exempt
Reasons for Exemption
Section 15061 (b) (3) – “Common Sense” Exemption: In accordance with CEQA, the use of the Common Sense Exemption is based on the “general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.” State CEQA Guidelines, Section 15061(b) (3). The use of this exemption is appropriate if “it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” Ibid. This determination is an issue of fact and if sufficient evidence exists in the record that the activity cannot have a significant effect on the environment, then the exemption applies and no further evaluation under CEQA is required. See No Oil, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1974) 13 Cal. 3d 68. The ruling in this case stated that if a project falls within a category exempt by administrative regulation or 'it can be seen with certainty that the activity in question will not have a significant effect on the environment', no further agency evaluation is required. With certainty, there is no possibility that the project may have a significant effect on the environment. The proposed approval to apply for grant funds will not result in any direct or indirect physical environmental impacts. The direct effects from the approval will be administrative in nature and the indirect effects would be limited to minor improvements to landscaping, recreational amenities, and drainage at the existing facility. Therefore, in no way, would the project as proposed have the potential to cause a significant environmental impact and the project is exempt from further CEQA analysis.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Section 15301, Class 1, Existing Facilities Exemption
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed project is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA specifically by the State CEQA Guidelines as identified below. The project will not result in any specific or general exceptions to the use of the categorical exemption as detailed under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2. The project will not cause an impact to an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern nor would the project involve unusual circumstances that could potentially have a significant effect on the environment. The project would not result in impacts to scenic highways, hazardous waste sites, historic resources, or other sensitive natural environments, or have a cumulative effect to the environment. No significant environmental impacts are anticipated to occur with the approval to apply for grant funds through the Urban Greening Program.
Section 15301 – Class 1 Existing Facilities Exemption: This categorical exemption includes the operation, repair, maintenance, leasing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures or facilities, provided the exemption only involves negligible or no expansion of the previous site’s use. The Project, as proposed, is limited to approval to apply for grant funds that would result urban greening improvements at the Indio Fairgrounds, an existing facility. The greening improvements would be minor improvements to the existing landscaping, recreational amenities, and drainage and would not require any expansion of public services and facilities; therefore, the project is exempt as the project meets the scope and intent of the Class 1 Exemption identified in Section 15301, Article 19, Categorical Exemptions of the CEQA Guidelines.
County Clerk
Riverside
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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