On Thursday, the state Wildlife Conservation Board unanimously approved the money, to go toward a 1,000-acre wilderness preserve in the foothills.
With 571 acres already set aside, the city has been working to drum up the money to purchase the remaining 429 acres.
"The money is not going to go that far. The overall value is more than we thought earlier, but we'll get the bulk of it," said Randy Nelson, spokesman for the Wildlife Conservation Board.
The city will match the grant, for a total of $18.7 million.
Most of the money will likely go to three properties, belonging to Congressman Gary Miller, developer Fred Bowden and resident Steve Pokrajac, for $17.2 million total.
The city has tentatively agreed to buy the largest lot about 175 acres from Miller for $11.8 million. Plans include buying 21 acres from Bowden for $4.7 million and 5.6 acres from Pokrajac for $740,000.
The properties are zoned in total for about 81 houses.
The City Council will vote on whether to buy those properties at its Tuesday meeting.
Nearly two years ago, 77 percent of Monrovians voted to tax themselves to raise the money for saving the foothills. The special tax was expected to raise an estimated $10 million, with the city to find another $10 million in grants.
Soon after, the city found potential funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board and entered into an agreement for a grant of up to $9 million.
In the first round of appraisals, issued by the city, the land was valued at less than $9 million combined, angering many property owners. Before the election, the city had estimated the land at about $20 million.
Since then, the city has been working with 12 landowners to find a reasonable price for their properties.
A delegation of about 14 city officials, including the City Council and Wilderness Preserve Steering Committee, flew to Sacramento on Thursday morning to convince the board to approve the grant.
The residents' willingness to tax themselves is what helped the city win the grant, said Councilman Rob Hammond. "It was the community working toward a common goal."
-- Lisa Faught can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496, or by e-mail at lisa.faughtsgvn.com.