December 16, 2025
Public Works
DATE: December 16, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager Community
Services
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Tawfic Halaby, Deputy Director of Public Works
Josef Munoz, Assistant Deputy Director of Public Works
Subject:
Accept and Appropriate the Hellman Foundation Grants
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The two $1,000,000 grants are being provided by the Hellman Foundation to the City of Richmond to support
two distinct projects that would offset costs incurred by the General Fund. The budget for the two projects will be increased by $1,000,000.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
December 17, 2024
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
In September 2025, the Public Works and Community
Services Departments submitted two separate
applications to the Hellman Foundation furthering the
goals of the Richmond Park Equity Program. City staff is seeking City Council authorization to execute the
required grant agreement and to appropriate the grant
funds for the respective projects.
AGENDA
REPORT
December 16, 2025
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution to ACCEPT and APPROPRIATE
two $1,000,000 Hellman Foundation grants received by
the City to support the development of an urban forest
management plan and to support further design
development of the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation
Center, and AUTHORIZE the City Manager or their
designee to execute all necessary documents –
Community Development (Lina Velasco 510-620-
6841/LaShonda White 510-620-6828/Tawfic Halaby 510-
620-5482/Josef Munoz 510-620-6671).
DISCUSSION:
Over the past two years, the Hellman Foundation has been partnering with Rich City Rides, PlaceWorks, the Trust for Public Land and the Richmond Park Equity Project (RichPEP) Advisory Group to build a community-driven investment strategy and understand opportunities for systemic impact in Richmond. RichPEP is a Black and Brown resident-led movement for park equity in Richmond (www.richpep.org) which believes well-maintained parks should be accessible for everyone within a short distance of where they live.
In fall 2024, the City was invited to submit proposals to further the RichPEP vision. The City submitted two proposals: (1) the Asset Inventory and Condition Assessment for Parks Buildings and Parks Amenities, and (2) the Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Community Center and Park Design Update. At its December 17, 2024, meeting, the City Council accepting both grants, approving $250,000 grant awards for each project.
Both projects are now nearing completion.
Summary of Richmond’s Proposed 2025 Grant Projects
In the fall of 2025, the Hellman Foundation released a second round of grants, with opportunities for grants up to $1 million. The City was invited to submit proposals that would further the RichPEP vision for new and/or existing projects. The City submitted two proposals, both of which were awarded $1 million each: (1) Development of an Urban Forest Management Plan; and (2) the continued development for the MLK Community Center.
The Urban Forest Management Plan will fund a tree inventory and development of a maintenance and management plan for trees within the Public Right-of-Way and on City property. The project will contain several distinct components that will work in concert:
conducting a tree inventory, selecting a tree management software program, developing and implementing a tree maintenance plan and catching up on deferred maintenance, developing long-term forestry goals and a management plan to achieve them, and updating the City’s tree ordinance to support implementation of the plans.
December 16, 2025
The initial 2024 Hellman Foundation Grant Funding project was a single, comprehensive effort to obtain community input for a combined Concept Plan for both the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and the adjacent Park. For the 2025 Hellman Foundation Grant proposal, the effort was strategically divided: the City submitted a proposal focused solely on the Community Center, while Trust for Public Land (TPL) submitted a separate proposal for the Park portion.
The City's 2025 funding will support the next phase of work for the Community Center including continued community outreach, development of a funding campaign, refinement of the conceptual plan, the start of environmental review, and the development of a schematic design. The development of the schematic design for the MLK Revitalization Project will run concurrently with the TPL MLK Park Revitalization Project to ensure the city develops a single, unified design for the community.
City staff are seeking City Council adopt a resolution to accept and execute the required grant agreements with the Hellman Foundation, and to appropriate the funds once executed (Attachments 1,2, and 3).
The Hellman Foundation’s Multi-Year Investment in Richmond
The Hellman Foundation was established in 2011 and is committed to building equity and opportunity in the San Francisco Bay Area by investing in community-led initiatives through cross-sector collaboration. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $310 million in grants.
The grants awarded to Richmond are part of more than $12.5 million total Hellman Foundation investment in RichPEP, a collaborative effort of community organizations, residents, parks and open space advocates, private philanthropy, the City of Richmond, and technical experts working to ensure that parks in Richmond, CA are vibrant, diverse, safe, equitable, and well-maintained. This collaborative is working to achieve long-term structural solutions through four key strategies: activation, needed improvements, maintenance, and funding. The first phase of funding totaled $2.1 million, while phase 2 contributions totaled $10.4 million.
SYNERGISTIC POLICIES:
The proposed grant projects would support the following Council adopted goals and policies in the General Plan 2030:
UF1.1 Urban Forest as Essential Green Infrastructure
Establish, maintain, and enhance Richmond’s urban forest as a critical component of the City’s green infrastructure, supporting climate resilience, public health, environmental quality, and neighborhood livability. Develop a comprehensive citywide tree inventory to provide accurate baseline data on tree location, condition, species composition, and canopy distribution. Use this information to guide planting, maintenance, risk mitigation, and long-term capital planning so that all neighborhoods
December 16, 2025
particularly those with historically low canopy—benefit equitably from the environmental, social, and economic value of trees.
UF1.2 Sustainable Tree Maintenance and Stewardship
Implement a proactive, data-driven tree maintenance program that prioritizes safety, long-term tree health, and equitable service delivery across all neighborhoods. Establish clear maintenance standards and cycles for pruning, inspection, pest and disease management, and young-tree establishment care to ensure a resilient and healthy urban forest. Coordinate with the Parks and Landscaping Division, community groups, and adjacent property owners to promote shared stewardship, enhance public safety, and extend the useful life of public trees while minimizing hazards and liability exposure.
UF1.3 Urban Forest Management and Regulatory Protection Prepare and adopt a comprehensive Urban Forest Management Plan to guide planting, preservation, canopy expansion, and climate-related adaptation strategies citywide.
Update the City’s tree ordinance to strengthen standards for tree protection, removal permits, mitigation, and replacement requirements on both public and private property.
Ensure that regulations, incentives, and administrative procedures support the long- term expansion and preservation of tree canopy, promote environmental justice, and align with adopted General Plan goals for conservation, public health, climate action, and high-quality parks and open spaces.
Goal PR 2: Safe and High-Quality Parks and Recreational Facilities Provide safe, high-quality, distinctive parks that support secure places for social interaction, community identity, beauty and livability. Base the park designs on the unique cultural, historic and environmental setting of an area so that each park is distinctive. Promote safety and activate parks by programming for broad appeal, encouraging flexible spaces to accommodate a wide range of experiences and utilizing natural and technological surveillance measures.
PR1.3 Equitable Distribution of Park and Recreation Facilities Expand park and recreation opportunities in all neighborhoods and ensure that they are offered within comfortable walking distance of homes, schools and businesses in order to encourage more physically and socially active lifestyles. Continue to implement the parkland development standard of three acres of community or neighborhood parkland per 1,000 population in each neighborhood planning area. This represents a minimum provision which should be exceeded whenever possible. In established neighborhoods where land availability for new large parks is limited, prioritize improvement and maintenance of compact parks, play lots and plazas to increase access to recreation opportunities for residents. Encourage developers to meet the City’s park development standard within their proposed development projects.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Revitalization project serves the surrounding neighborhoods including Santa Fe and Coronado neighborhoods and is identified in the adopted Richmond Resilience Road Map, and a key component of the larger Nystrom United Revitalization Effort.
December 16, 2025
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – Grant Award Letter – Urban Forest Management Plan Attachment 3 – Grant Award Letter – Martin Luther King Jr. Revitalization Project