OVERVIEW
In July 1999, the Los Angeles City Council approved the Health Alternatives to Smoking (HATS) Trust Fund (Ordinance No. 172727). The HATS Trust Fund was created to disburse monies collected from the National Tobacco Settlement. Monies from the fund may only be used for the acquisition of park land and recreation improvements in under-served areas.
Approximately $1,230,933 will be made available under the HATS Program. Under-served areas are census tracts that meet all of the following criteria based on the latest available census (See RFP, pages 12–14)
- Above average youth in poverty (greater than 36 percent);
- Above average persons 18 and under (greater than 26 percent);
- Below average acreage in parks (less than 2 percent); and
- Not adjacent to major parks or national forest land