California State Parks announced $548.3 million in grant funding to deliver new parks to more than 100 communities and advance the Newson Administration’s “Outdoors for All” initiative to enable all Californians, regardless of zip code or income, to access parks and open space.
The City of Tustin received $5.6 million to construct a new park at Heideman Elementary School in collaboration with the Tustin Unified School District. Heideman School Park will provide much needed outdoor space for the surrounding neighborhood to gather, exercise, celebrate, and relax. Included in the park will be a new athletic field, playground, restrooms, picnic shelter, lighting, running/walking track, fitness equipment, and renovated basketball courts. The new park will be open to the public after school hours and on weekends and holidays.
Awarded through the Statewide Park Program Development and Community Revitalization Grant Program, the grants represent the single-largest investment in state history in expanding access to parks in underserved communities, with new or enhanced parks funded in every region of California.
The awards are funded by $153 million approved by the Legislature in the 2021-’22 state budget and $395.3 from the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018 (Proposition 69). To date, the Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Grant Program has provided $1.16 billion to California’s communities in four rounds, including $368 million in grant funding from Proposition 84 (2006 Bond Act) Sustainable Communities and Climate Change Reduction program.
