City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: ACCEPTANCE OF A $20,000 GRANT AWARD FROM RESILIENT CITIES CATALYST, INC. TO SUPPORT OUTREACH, CAPACITY BUILDING, PHASE 2 FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS FOR THE NORTHSIDE AGRICULTURE INNOVATION CENTER.
ISSUE:
Accept a $20,000 grant award from Resilient Cities Catalyst, Inc. to support outreach, capacity building, and Phase 2 fundraising and development efforts for the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Accept $20,000 from Resilient Cities Catalyst, Inc. to support outreach, capacity building, and Phase 2 fundraising and development efforts for the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center; Approve the Resilient Cities Catalyst Grant Agreement between Resilient Cities Catalyst, Inc. and the City of Riverside and any grant extension(s) for the amount of $20,000; Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the Resilient Cities Catalyst Grant Agreement, including making minor and non-substantive changes and contract extensions; and With at least five affirmative votes, and upon receipt of the award, authorize the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, to record an increase in revenues and appropriate expenditures in the amount of $20,000 in the Grants & Restricted Programs Funds, Resilient Cities Catalyst Grant revenue and expenditure accounts.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Riverside’s Northside Agriculture Innovation Center (Center) is a community-driven, multi-partner urban greening and climate resilience initiative focused on advancing sustainable food systems, water efficiency, renewable energy integration, and workforce development. Located on an 8-acre site currently under phased development, the Center will serve as a public-facing agricultural demonstration and resilience hub that connects climate-smart agricultural innovation with hands-on training, technical assistance, and community education. The project addresses climate impacts including extreme heat, drought, food insecurity, soil degradation, and community health disparities through controlled-environment agriculture, agrivoltaics, solar PV greenhouses, regenerative land management practices, and community resilience infrastructure. Through partnerships with universities, public agencies, nonprofits, and private sector energy developers, the Center is advancing a scalable model that integrates renewable energy generation, climate-resilient food production, workforce training, and community wellness in an underserved community vulnerable to climate and economic stressors.
DISCUSSION:
In December 2024, construction for Phase 1 of the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center began; Phase 1 includes land development, site grading, installation of trails and tree plantings, and water and electric infrastructure. The completion of Phase 1 allows for soil-based training programs to occur at the Northside Center in the spring of 2026. Future phases of the Center include solar greenhouse, an onsite micro-grid, and a resilience center, which will be made possible with additional funding.
In October 2025, Office of Sustainability was invited to present the Northside Center at the working session of the Climate Resilience Implementation Accelerator, a multi-million dollar climate resilience partnership – co-led by Climate Resolve, California Forward, and Resilient Cities Catalyst - that acts at scale to facilitate implementation of priority, high-impact climate resilience projects that benefit historically marginalized and climate-vulnerable California communities. Consequently, in March 2026, the Office of Sustainability was invited to apply for the Climate Resilience Implementation Accelerator (Accelerator) grant, and subsequently was one of four project recipients selected from over 60 statewide applications. Feedback from the grantors state the selection of the Northside Center for the Accelerator was due to its innovative approaches and scalability to address multiple pressing climate resilience actions. The awarded amount is $20,000, and will be used to support outreach, capacity building, and Phase 2 fundraising and development efforts needed to expand the Northside Center’s climate resilience programming and infrastructure. Additionally, the Accelerator will provide tailored technical assistance based on project needs and facilitate opportunities to engage with a curated network of philanthropies and funders from June 18, 2026 through May 31, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of the action is an increase in revenues and expenditure of $20,000. Upon City Council approval and receipt of the award, an increase in revenue and appropriation of expenditures will be recorded in the funds and accounts listed in the table below.
Fund
Program
Account
Amount
Grants & Restricted Programs
Climate Resilience Accelerator Grant
Revenue
9937900- 339000
$20,000
Expenditures
9937900- 440309
$20,000
Prepared by: Joyce Jong, Senior Project Manager
Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Finance Director
Approved by: Gilbert Hernandez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: James Johnson, City Attorney
Attachment: Grant Agreement
California Resilience Implementation Accelerator Grant ● Page 2