Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) Program

Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) Program is sponsored by Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). OSLAD is a cost-sharing program that helps communities acquire and/or develop land for public parks and outdoor recreation projects, including playgrounds and natural playscapes designed for accessibility. The program has a focus on supporting underserved communities.

OSLAD - Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (FY26) OSLAD - Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (FY26) Acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation facilities by local units of government through competitive reimbursement grants. Department Of Natural Resources The Illinois "Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development" (OSLAD) is offered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

The OSLAD program is a grant program that provides up to 50% (100% for distressed communities) funding assistance to eligible, local units of government to acquire, develop, and/or rehabilitate public outdoor recreation areas. The OSLAD program is a state-financed program enacted by Public Act 84-109, the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act (525 ILCS 35/1 et. seq.)

Funding Opportunity Number https://il. amplifund. com/Public/Opportunities/Details/e685dd9b-9c7e-4713-bb03-91cc9b023085 Funding Source Description The OSLAD program is a state-financed program enacted by Public Act 84-109, the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act (525 ILCS 35/1 et.

seq.) The program was initially financed with "Build Illinois" bond money subject to an annual appropriation by the Illinois General Assembly. In 1989, Senate Bill 1463 was enacted (PA 86-925), which earmarked a portion of the State's Real Estate Transfer Tax as a dedicated funding source for the OSLAD program.

The program became fully funded in FY'95 and provides millions annually for local park and open space initiatives. The amount of money available varies on a yearly basis due to the fluctuation in the real estate market. Restrictions on Indirect Costs Submission Timeline Additional Information Completed applications must be submitted through AmpliFund by 5:00 PM on the Application Closing Date in order to be reviewed.

Allow Multiple Applications Application Review Start Date / Pre-Qualification Deadline Other Submission Requirements https://gata. illinois. gov/grantee.

html There are five grantee pre-award requirements: 3. Grantee Pre-qualification 4. Fiscal and Administrative Risk Assessment (ICQ) 5.

Programmatic Risk Assessment All grantees must be registered with the State of Illinois. Grantee Registration is completed by browsing to https://grants. illinois.

gov/portal and associating your Illinois. gov account with your organization. New accounts must enter the organization’s information on the Registration screen.

Existing accounts must click the “Edit” button next to the organization name on the Main Menu. 3. Grantee Pre-qualification All entities must be qualified to do business with the State of Illinois.

To be qualified for a grant award, an entity must: Be registered in the SAM. gov system and have a valid UEI number assigned; Have a current SAM. gov account; Not be on the Federal Excluded Parties List; Be in Good Standing with the Illinois Secretary of State, as applicable; Not be on the Illinois Stop Payment list; Not on the Dept.

of Healthcare and Family Services Provider Sanctions list. Pre-qualification status will be verified after Grantee Registration is registered and nightly thereafter. If an entity has a pre-qualification issue, the specific issue and remediation support is provided thru the grantee portal.

Entities on the Federal Excluded Parties List are not eligible to do business with the State of Illinois. 4. Fiscal and Administrative Risk Assessment (ICQ) Entities must complete an Internal Controls Questionnaire (ICQ) as the Fiscal and Administrative Risk Assessment.

The ICQ is completed once, annually. All state agencies will utilize the results of the ICQ. The entity can access the ICQ from the grantee portal.

5. Programmatic Risk Assessment Entities must complete a Programmatic Risk Assessment for each grant award. The grant-specific Programmatic Risk Assessment is administered by the awarding agency.

The programmatic risk assessment is generally performed towards the end of the application process. Your state awarding agency will inform you of the timing of the Programmatic Risk Assessment and administer the Programmatic Risk Assessment. These grantee pre-award requirements are mandated by Federal Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) and the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA).

Grantees must complete these requirements prior to receiving a grant award from the State of Illinois. Questions regarding the grantee pre-award requirements should be directed to your state awarding agency.

Question Submission Information Question Submission Open Date Question Submission Close Date Question Submission Email Address Question Submission Additional Information Please check frequently asked question before submitting to dnr. grants@illinois. gov. Frequently asked questions are found in the 2026 OSLAD Grant Manual.

OSLAD26 - Distressed List Applicant Eligibility Information Beneficiary Eligibility Information Credentials Documentation Eligibility Information Additional Eligibility Information Only units of local governments having specific statutory authority to acquire and develop land for public park and recreation purposes are eligible for OSLAD assistance. Additional Information URL https://dnr. illinois.

gov/grants/openspacelandsaquisitiondevelopment-grant. html Award Administration Information Once a final decision has been made, the successful applicants will be notified by email and/or letter of any final requirements before the state grant can be awarded to them. Once all the final requirements have been completed, the Grant Agreement between IDNR and the applicant will be sent for the applicant to sign and return.

Once the agreement is fully executed by the IDNR a copy will be returned to the applicant. Administrative and National Policy Requirements The Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA), 30 ILCS 708/1 et seq. is the Administrative Code that this grant will be governed under.

Financial reporting will include all funds, including matching funds, spent in the undertaking of the project and interest earned on advanced payment. Various types of reporting are required for grant agreements awarded under this grant, including the Periodic Financial Report and the Periodic Progress Report.

Performance Progress Reporting: The grantee shall be required to provide quarterly reporting of its activities under this project. The IDNR may withhold or suspend payment if the grantee fails to submit the required reports.

The following reports are required under this Agreement and the forms are provided in the Implementation and Billing Packet that will be received upon award: • Periodic Financial Report (PFR) • Periodic Progress Report (PPR) These Quarterly Report are Due By: April 1; July 1; October 1; January 1 State Awarding Agency Contacts The State of Illinois is not obligated to make any award of the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant Program because of this Notice of Funding Opportunity.

The Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources makes the determination of what grants will be awarded after considering the recommendations. Grant applicants are not authorized to proceed on their projects, no costs shall be incurred, until the Director has signed the Grant Agreement and IDNR has provided the applicant with a copy of the executed Grant Agreement.

The following criteria will be used by the Department for evaluating and ranking grant applications. Each criterion indicates the weighting that will be given to that criterion. 1.

Statewide Outdoor Recreation Priorities and Project Need - 60% a) 35% is based on the extent to which the project addresses the following major outdoor recreation/conservation priorities identified in the state plan. i. Protection or enhancement of a State or locally significant natural area, or threatened/endangered species habitat, or an area identified in a Wildlife Action Plan; ii.

Protection or enhancement of significant wildlife habitat. iii. Protection or enhancement of natural wetland areas.

iv. Promoting conservation education opportunities. v.

Promoting recreational use of Illinois' surface waters. 10 vi. Protection or recreational use of linear greenways (excluding bike & snowmobile trail construction).

vii. Interagency cooperation in providing and/or effectively utilizing local recreation resources. viii.

Enhancing recreational opportunities for minority and less affluent populations. ix. Promoting adaptive reuse of properties for open space and park purposes.

x. Use of resource conservation elements and/or native landscaping.

b) 25% is based on a local "needs assessment" or comparison of, 1) the existing supply of recreational facilities per capita for the proposed project component(s) to a statewide median as calculated by the IDNR in its statewide planning process, and 2) the existing supply of local open space/parkland acreage, measured in acres/1000 population for particular park types (e.g., neighborhood, community parks, etc.), to the statewide median, and 3) the availability of similar park facilities within the proposed project site's service area.

* If multiple entities overlap or share the same boundaries within a community, all existing facilities are considered. i. The current statewide average for the supply of local open space and parkland acreage according to the Illinois Recreation Facilities Inventory (IRFI) is approximately 11.

35 ac/1000 population for overall community parkland acreage and approximately 52. 69 ac/1000 population for regional parkland acreage.

The DNR uses a criterion that approximately 20% of local parkland/open space acreage should be allocated to neighborhood or mini-park facilities serving an area up to ½ mile radius and approximately 80% allocated to community parks serving a community-wide area or up to 2-mile radius in high density urban areas. ii.

A local/regional acreage standard or goal lower than the above indicated statewide median figures may be accepted by the IDNR for a given locality if the variant standard is supported by that agency's comprehensive recreation plan. Verification of a different local/regional acreage standard or goal should be submitted to the IDNR as part of the OSLAD application. iii.

Priorities for OSLAD acquisition assistance will be given to local agencies with less acreage than the statewide median for the particular type of park and recreation facilities being proposed in the application. iv.

Priorities for OSLAD development assistance is given to local agencies having a park system (supply) that meets or exceeds the current statewide median based on acres/1000 population, parkland diversity and distribution, and where a deficiency of the proposed recreation facilities exists.

Consideration is given to projects that provide the first and only park site in the service area, if the site is the first passive or active site in the service area or if the project provides a brand-new recreational element to the service area. 2.

Local Planning - 10% Consideration is given to projects identified in or consistent with adopted local plans AND where direct public participation in the planning process and/or project proposal is clearly evident. Current plans (less than 5 years old) and grass-roots public participation in the planning process are highest priority.

To be fully considered as an acceptable planning document, basic elements such as an overall needs assessment, current facilities inventory, and direct constituent input should be included. Please refer to IDNR’s Community Park and Recreation Planning guide for detailed information on planning. It is recommended that a series of public meetings be held for the proposed project.

Any additional sources of public input (referendums, surveys, open houses, fundraisers, etc.) are also strongly encouraged. Projects not identified in local plans that represent unique or unforeseen opportunities are given partial credit IF the proposal is generally consistent with local recreation/open space objectives and strong public support is evident.

11 (NOTE: The level of public involvement and support for a project is a critical factor considered under this evaluation category.) 3.

Site Characteristics and Development Plan - 25% Projects are evaluated primarily in terms of the project site's suitability for the proposed recreation uses including considerations of, 1) physical characteristics such as terrain, drainage, adjacent land uses, soil conditions, vegetation, etc., 2) site accessibility factors including safe pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular access, and sufficient parking, and 3) overall site plan considering such factors as creativity, sensitivity to environmental factors, diversity of recreation opportunity, and neatness.

Projects are considered diverse if there is more than one recreational element proposed. The more diverse projects tend to score higher, especially if the recreational elements are of high need based upon criteria stated in A2. All components that formulate a single recreational element are considered one element.

For example, site grading, seeding, fencing, dugouts, scoreboard and bleachers are all counted as one element and that is baseball. All components of a play area such as swing sets, climbing walls, jungle gym bars, modular play units, etc. are all counted as one element and that is a playground. The site development plan submitted should be accurate, neat and show good design.

Infrastructure costs are considered and if these costs are higher than 40% of the total project costs, points will be deducted. 4. Project Special Considerations - 5% The following are also considered in the evaluation of projects: a) Projects involving voluntary, third-party donations of land or cash (> 50% of local share) as part of the project scope.

b) Projects providing initial access to, and development of, an undeveloped park site. c) Projects that are part of the overall economic development of an area. d) Previous amount of OSLAD assistance awarded to the local agency (fair share factor).

e) Projects being undertaken by newly established recreation agencies or incorporated municipalities (5 years old or less). f) Projects improving or increasing necessary recreation opportunities in high density urban areas. 5.

Project Penalty Considerations A local agency may be penalized during project evaluation for poor performance in, 1) the execution of previous OSLAD projects, and/or 2) responding to IDNR requests for necessary application information, and/or 3) ability to maintain existing recreation/public facilities, and/or 4) providing required post-completion compliance certification information regarding prior grant projects.

Applications for funding assistance will not be considered by the Department if, 1) an unresolved program violation exists relative to a previous grant project, and/or 2) the local applicant has failed to provide local recreation facilities information as requested by the Department for the Illinois Recreation Facilities Inventory (IRFI).

Review and Selection Process All applications received on time and containing the information required by the application packet will be reviewed by a review team. All complete, eligible, and timely applications will be reviewed, evaluated/scored, ranked, and a recommendation made to the IDNR Director, who makes the final decision on awards. Anticipated Announcement Dates