HR 3374 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To improve the ability of small communities to coordinate with universities and design professionals in developing a vision to address their local needs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

August 3, 2007

Mr. SPACE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on AgricultureCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To improve the ability of small communities to coordinate with universities and design professionals in developing a vision to address their local needs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Small Community Visioning Improvement Act'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Small communities are vital components of the nation's economic, social, agricultural, historic, and cultural fabric.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Our national character has been shaped by and is forever tied to the landscape in and surrounding small communities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) A growing number of small communities are facing significant challenges that place their long-term viability at risk, including economic hardship, declining population, eroding tax bases, and environmental pressures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Revitalizing and strengthening small communities begins by helping residents of those communities to articulate and formalize their vision for the future and to develop an action plan to achieve that vision, including in the areas of economic development, agriculture, tourism, transportation, land use, education, recreation, and culture, and by understanding the amenity characteristics of landscapes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) In many cases, a community's vision for the future is rooted in and inseparable from the landscape, including the natural and built environments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Landscape architects have the education, training, and skills, including in the areas of community involvement and public participation, land use planning, design, project visualization techniques, scenic resource assessment, mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), environmental analysis, and environmental psychology, that ideally qualify them to lead community visioning efforts.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) Expanding Federal support for small community visioning is an investment in the future of small communities and will leverage additional public and private sector participation in such efforts.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) Successful community visioning efforts have yielded tangible results with regard to the enhancement of transportation corridors, economic development initiatives, land use policies, conservation of natural and community resources, community master plans, and park and recreation plans.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. COMMUNITY VISIONING PILOT INITIATIVE.

(a) Purposes- The purposes of this section are to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) develop and facilitate innovative visions that help small communities to address pressing local needs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) facilitate coordination between small communities, land-grant and other universities, and design professionals;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) encourage public-private partnerships; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) translate the small community's vision into images of design projects that integrate physical planning and design techniques, with sustainable community action, at the appropriate geographic scale.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Definitions- In this section:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) The term `small community visioning process' means the process described in subsection (c)(2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) The term `small community' means a political subdivision of a State with a population less than 25,000 individuals, an Indian tribe (as defined by section 2(7) of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act), a native Hawaiian organization (as defined by paragraph (11) of such section), or an Alaskan native village (as defined by section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) The term `design professional' means a landscape architect licensed pursuant to State law or other individual with demonstrated skills, training, and education in community involvement and public participation, land use planning, design, project visualization techniques, scenic resource management, mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), environmental analysis, and environmental psychology.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) The term `eligible grant recipient' means a small community, a land grant university or college established pursuant to the Morrill Act, an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965), or an economic or community development entity authorized by a State or political subdivision of a State.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) The term `construction documents' means technical documents, drawings, and designs which contain dimensions, measurements, material specifications, and other technical information necessary to complete design plans.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) The term `Department' means the Department of Agriculture.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Grant Authority-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall make grants to eligible grant recipients for the purposes of carrying out small community visioning processes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) SMALL COMMUNITY VISIONING PROCESS- In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, the applicant must use a small community visioning process that includes the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) SOLICITING AND ORGANIZING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION- The broadest segment of the public is invited to participate, and the process is structured to maximize participation and maintain efficiency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) NEEDS DETERMINATION- The small community determines whether the community requires assistance through this process with a broad-based needs assessment or whether it has identified a specific need through a prior community-based process that the community wants to address through the small community visioning process. Needs may include the areas of economic development, transportation, land use, agriculture, and the natural, cultural, and aesthetic values of the community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) DEVELOPING DESIGN OPTIONS- Members of the community engage in a series of discussions to articulate their vision for addressing the identified need. Design professionals facilitate the discussions, help members of the community identify areas of consensus, and begin translating the vision into images, including sketches, maps, digital images, computer simulations, and design concepts. The vision and design options are refined in an ongoing dialogue until community consensus is reached and physical designs for 1 or more projects are finalized.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING- Design professionals, members of the public, and others develop and finalize a plan that describes the specific steps the community would take to achieve its vision. At a minimum, the plan should identify--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) projects relating to that vision, including projects the community can undertake and complete with existing resources, personnel, and funding, and projects which the community could undertake and complete only with the infusion of additional resources, personnel, and funding;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) government agencies, nongovernmental entities, and other potential partners that could participate in implementation; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) possible sources of public and private funding to achieve the vision.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Application Processes-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 60 days after the Secretary issues final regulations under subsection (h), the Secretary shall solicit applications for grants from eligible grant recipients. The application shall include the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) A statement of the needs that the small community would address through the small community visioning process, or a statement that the small community requires assistance to identify such a need.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) A brief description of process the small community used or will use to involve a diverse cross-section of residents of the community in determining the need.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) A description of how the applicant will use the services of design professionals or university programs with demonstrated expertise in small community visioning processes in providing assistance to the small community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) A description of how the applicant will involve a diverse cross-section of residents of the small community in the visioning process.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) A description of the phases of the visioning process, the anticipated outcomes of each phase, and of the visioning initiative as a whole.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) A detailed budget for the visioning process, including the contribution to be provided by the applicant pursuant to subsection (h) or a request for waiver of such a contribution.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) A description of the steps the applicant will take to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) assess the effectiveness of the visioning process in addressing the community's need; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) integrate the findings of the needs determination into ongoing efforts to implement the vision developed pursuant to this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ALTERNATIVE APPLICATION PROCESS- The Secretary may establish an alternative application process through which eligible grant recipients may apply for funding sufficient to facilitate small community visioning processes in 2 or more small communities without having to apply separately for a grant for each community. The alternative application shall include the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) A description of the applicant's capabilities to achieve the purposes of this section, including a description of experience providing the assistance described in this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) If the applicant is an institution of higher education or land grant university or college and has an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program in landscape architecture, a description of the substantive role that the landscape architecture program will play in carrying out the purposes of this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) A description of how the applicant will use the services of design professionals and university programs with demonstrated expertise in small community visioning processes, in carrying out the purposes of this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) A description of the phases of the small community visioning process, and the anticipated outcomes of each phase.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) A projection of the number of small communities that the applicant could assist with the grant amount requested during the fiscal year in which the grant would be received, and with a proposed schedule for providing the assistance.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) A detailed budget for the activities to be carried out by the applicant with the grant.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) A description of the steps the applicant will take to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) assess the effectiveness of the visioning process in addressing each community's need; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) support community-based efforts to integrate the findings of the assessments into ongoing efforts to implement the vision developed pursuant to this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Grant Award Considerations- In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall consider--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the value of making grants to communities of various population sizes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the geographic distribution of the grants; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the value of giving priority to applicants with well-defined community, private sector, and university participation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(f) Grant Amounts and Administrative Expenses-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) AMOUNTS- A grant under this section shall not exceed--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) $25,000, if the application for the grant was submitted pursuant to subsection (d)(1); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) $250,000, if the application for the grant was submitted pursuant to subsection (d)(2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES- The Secretary may use not more than 10 percent of the total amount appropriated under this section for each fiscal year to administer this section. A recipient of a grant under this section may use not more than 25 percent of the grant for administration.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) LIMITATION- A grant under this section shall not be used to develop or produce construction documents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(g) Recipient Contribution Requirement-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- As a condition of receiving a grant under this section, the grantee shall contribute, from non-Federal sources, to the activities for which the grant is made an amount equal to 20 percent of total costs of the activities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) USE OF IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS- The Secretary shall allow a grantee to meet the requirement of paragraph (1) by making qualifying in-kind contributions of such type as the Secretary may allow in regulations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) WAIVER- The Secretary may waive the requirement of paragraph (1) in the case of a recipient who demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that the recipient is incapable of meeting the requirement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(h) Regulations- Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section and after opportunity for public comment, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as the Secretary deems appropriate to carry out this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) Report to the Congress- Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes, at a minimum--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the most effective practices and procedures used to assist communities in the small community visioning process;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) examples of the public-private partnerships developed to identify and implement community goals;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) examples of the tangible, physical outcomes of small community visioning processes funded under this section;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) recommendations for improving, strengthening, and expanding the program carried out under this section; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) a list of all grantees under this section, the city and State in which the grantees are located, and grant amounts received by each grantee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(j) Authorization of Appropriations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- For grants under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR APPLICATIONS TO ASSIST MULTIPLE SMALL COMMUNITIES- Not less than 40 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this section for each fiscal year shall be made available for grants for applications submitted pursuant to subsection (d)(2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS- Funds made available to carry out this section are authorized to remain available until expended.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink