ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
MEETING DATE: March 25, 2026 AGENDA CATEGORY: Consent – Miscellaneous TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jennifer M. Byers, Economic and Community Development Director DATE: March 2, 2026
SUBJECT: Appropriate $22,867,345 Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program Round 1 funds
to the Other Grant Awards fund in the Economic and Community Development Operating Budget for the Calm Horizons project (Ward 1).
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the appropriation.
BACKGROUND:
In March 2024, California voters passed Proposition 1, a two-bill package including the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) (Senate Bill 326) and the Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act of 2024 (BHIBA) (Assembly Bill 531). The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) was authorized to establish the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) to construct, acquire, and expand properties and invest in mobile crisis infrastructure related to Behavioral Health.
On November 20, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 167-2024, authorizing the application to and participation in BHCIP. The City, in partnership with Kern County Behavioral Heath, applied for funding not to exceed $25,000,000. The proposed project, Calm Horizons, would establish a new residential treatment facility for behavioral health and substance abuse at 2310 Wible Road.
On May 27, 2025, DHCS notified Economic and Community Development staff of the conditional award in the amount of $22,867,345 for the proposed Calm Horizons project.
On January 8, 2026, the City entered into the Program Funding Agreement 7690-CA BHCIP- BOND_1054_CalmHorizons-01 to acquire and rehabilitate project property. This agreement requires the City to provide cash match funding in the amount of $2,286,734.50 and sunk costs in the amount of $265,000. The match funds are proposed to be accounted for in the Opioid Settlement Funds received by the City through the National Opioid Settlement Agreement.
Staff recommends appropriating $22,867,345 in BHCIP funds into the Economic and Community Development Operating Budget to continue grant implementation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The project would appropriate BHCIP grant funds with the required match funds provided from the Opioid Settlement Funds. There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund.
COUNCIL GOAL:
Safety and Resilience
WARD: 1
ATTACHMENT:
Program Funding Agreement