Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Grant Program

Funder: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

The Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Grant Program, managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, offers funding to enhance community livability and sustainable development in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. With an anticipated budget of $1,050,000, the program supports projects that align with smart growth principles, fostering environmental protection, economic development, and community planning. Eligible initiatives include improving public spaces, enhancing transportation access, and promoting tourism while ensuring the preservation of natural resources.

Community Smart Growth Grants
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in cooperation with the Department of State and Adirondack Park Agency, is soliciting smart growth grant applications from Adirondack Park and Catskill Park communities and organizations. DEC seeks proposals for capital projects and community development initiatives that link environmental protection, economic development and community livability within the special conditions of the parks.
Grants will support comprehensive planning and implementation of key projects, actions and strategies identified in local plans developed by Park communities in pursuit of smart growth. Projects submitted must be consistent with the Smart Growth principles outlined in the application package. State assistance may fund up to 100 percent of approved project-related costs.
Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Program
Smart growth can provide the right balance between development and preservation for Adirondack communities. The Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Program supports projects that foster sustainable development, environmental protection and community livability. The program supports planning and implementation of key projects identified as priorities in plans. The program offers grant funding for counties, towns and villages that need financial or technical assistance to plan and grow successfully in the Adirondack Park.
Funds
DEC anticipates approximately $1,050,000 in funding will be made available from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) for Adirondack Park projects.
Program Goals
The overarching goals of the programs include:
Support main streets in villages, hamlets and town centers including streetscapes, bicycle, transit and pedestrian accessEncourage mixed use and adaptive reuse of underutilized buildings and sitesEnhance community housing availability and encourage age-, income- and ethnic-integrationImprove waterfront access and facilitiesEnsure environmental resource protection including watersheds, habitat, and wetland protectionEnhance recreation sites and public access including parks, trails, and greenwaysProtect and manage open space, farmland, working forests and scenic resourcesPromote and support tourism with a focus on resource-, recreation-, ecological- and heritage-based tourism and educational opportunities, including historic and cultural resources, festivals and interpretive systemsBuild local capacity to engage in collaborative, public, stakeholder-driven planning processes
Project Examples
Eligible projects include, but are not limited to:
Providing bike-friendly routes and amenities or providing shuttle servicesImproving main street facades and refurbishing historic propertiesProviding community-based tourism programs and activities and improving or promoting local/regional museums and theatersCreating new recreational opportunities and developing multi-use trailsInstalling informational signage and kiosks and enhancing parks and public spacesBeautifying tourism sites and improving visitor centersProviding sidewalks and streetscape enhancementsCleaning up contaminated sites and preparing them for re-useDeveloping municipal comprehensive plans and updating land use lawsConducting project-specific feasibility, design, market and climate change resiliency planning and energy efficiency assessment and improvement