The purpose of the Neighborhood Enhancement Grant Program (NEGP) is to provide funding from the City to neighborhoods that meet program criteria and requirements to assist in maintaining and/or revitalizing their areas, so as to prevent the decline of mature neighborhoods. By encouraging neighborhood participation and investment, it is the program's objective to address individual neighborhood needs before they become community challenges. The process includes application submittal, a meeting between the applicant and city staff to discuss the proposed scope of work, and consideration by the Neighborhood Advisory Commission (NAC) at a public meeting.

Start the Application Process

The City Council has allocated $30,000 in grant funds for neighborhood initiatives in the 2024/25 Fiscal Year. The Neighborhood Advisory Commission reviews funding requests against program criteria and requirements, and in previous years distributed grant dollars across multiple projects to ensure funding benefits the broader community.

1. Applicant reviews Program Criteria & Requirements.
2. Applicant completes and submits the online Neighborhood Enhancement Grant Request Application form. Alternatively, a printed application and any additional materials can be submitted in-person to city staff at 7447 East Indian School Road, Suite 105.
3. After the Application has been accepted, a staff member will contact the applicant within five (5) business days to schedule a consultation meeting.
4. Complete applications that meet Program Criteria & Requirements are reviewed and considered by the Neighborhood Advisory Commission periodically, in the order they are submitted. Staff will confirm upcoming Commission meeting dates with the applicant.

The Neighborhood Advisory Commission established the following criteria to determine and consider the allocation of Neighborhood Enhancement Grant Funds:

Location Criteria

Project must be seen by the overall public.

• Improvements must be located on City-owned property or within the City’s public right-of-way.
• Improvements must be visually accessible to the public.
• Improvements must be located adjacent to:
• A minor collector or greater based on the city’s Transportation Action Plan; and/or,
• A canal/park/public school/city-owned property.

General Need Criteria

Project should benefit areas where funding mechanisms are not available.

• Improvements must be located within non-Homeowners Association (HOA) neighborhoods.

Other Considerations

Existing conditions, history, and ongoing maintenance may all be considerations of project approval.

• Code Enforcement History – Assess whether the location currently holds an active "Notice of Compliance" from Code Enforcement and determine if the proposed project improvements will bring the site into full compliance.
• Existing Conditions – Assess whether the project improvement enhances the location and aligns it with the surrounding context.
• Scope of Work - Assess the requested linear feet and/or area for planned improvements.
• Ongoing Maintenance – Evaluate the continuity of ongoing maintenance, including the presence of an established neighborhood organization (i.e. Neighborhood Watch, GAIN, Nextdoor), and long-term sustainability of project improvements.

The following inset map is intended to provide further clarity on project eligibility, specific to Location Criteria. You may either manually enter your address or zoom to your property to see important qualifying criteria and requirements displayed visually on the map.

Alley Improvements

• Dust control millings at lots adjacent to alley ingress/egress points, conditional to evaluation and approval by City Solid Waste and Streets Departments
• Paint alley walls at lots adjacent to alley ingress/egress points

Landscape Enhancement

• Low water/maintenance vegetation should be selected utilizing the Arizona Department of Water Resources Plant List and planted as per the Design Standards & Policy Manual. Landscape plan may be subject to Development Review Board approval.
• Trees are limited to 1 per 1,000 sq. ft. and ground plantings to 1 per 230 sq. ft.
• Hardscaping is limited to decomposed granite (not less than ½” in size) and boulders.
• Coordination with City staff may need to take place for locations where the city maintains existing landscape material. If the proposed landscape enhancement is in a location that is not maintained by the city, the applicant must receive 75% (or more) support for the project from property owners directly affected to ensure maintenance obligation of plantings.

Landscape Maintenance

• One-time clean-up of landscaping located within areas of public right-of-way.

Neighborhood Signage

• Repair existing signage, modify existing signage, or provide new community signage located in public right-of-way – subject to city standards.
• Proposals to modify existing or provide new community signage must receive 75% (or more) support from the neighborhood at-large, including property owners that may be directly affected (notification list to be provided by staff).

Perimeter Wall Maintenance

• Limited to finished treatment and color of an existing wall or fence, and must receive 75% (or more) support for the project from property owners that may be directly affected (notification list to be provided by staff).
• Selected paint color should match the existing color of the wall-plane.
• If a new color is proposed along the full perimeter wall of the neighborhood, the selected paint color should be context-appropriate with the existing neighborhood and may be subject to Development Review Board approval.
• Utility box painting will be coordinated with the appropriate utility provider.