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CONSENT CALENDAR
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: December 17, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Lynn Merrill, Director of Public Works
Department: Public Works
Subject: Ratify the Acceptance of the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP) Grant in the amount of
$175,000, for San Bernardino Community Resilience and
Greening Planning Project (All Wards)
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2025-406:
1. Ratifying the acceptance of the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program grant award in the amount of $175,000.00 for the project titled San Bernardino Community Resilience and Greening Planning; and
2. Authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to execute the grant agreement and any subsequent amendments with the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation; and
3. Authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to execute all related agreements and documents with Tinkercraft: Design & Advocacy Group, the collaborative project partner, necessary to implement the project in accordance with the grant requirements; and
4. Authorizing the Interim Director of Finance & Management Services to establish all required revenue and expenditure accounts and to process all financial transactions necessary to implement the grant.
City Manager's Comments
The City Manager recommends approval.
Executive Summary
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The City of San Bernardino has been awarded $175,000.00 through the State of California’s Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP) for a Small Planning Grant Project titled San Bernardino Community Resilience and Greening Planning.
This planning effort aims to build capacity and conduct pre-development activities to advance long-term resilience to the compounding effects of climate change, particularly in extreme heat, on historically underserved communities in San Bernardino.
Background
The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation’s (LCI) Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP) recently announced $9.4 million in funding to support 32 California communities in building capacity for extreme heat action planning and project implementation. The awards are divided into 20 Small Planning Grants and 12 Small Implementation Grants, supporting local, regional, and tribal efforts to reduce the impacts of extreme heat through investments in infrastructure, planning, nature-based solutions, and emergency preparedness.
San Bernardino faces increasing impacts from extreme heat, particularly in historically underserved neighborhoods with limited access to shade and cooling infrastructure.
The EHCRP grant, administered by the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, supports local and regional projects that reduce heat-related risks and improve long-term community resilience.
The EHCRP program is designed to help cities like San Bernardino build early-stage planning capacity, develop localized adaptation strategies, and prepare for future funding opportunities aimed at implementing cooling infrastructure and long-term resilience improvements.
Discussion
The City of San Bernardino received a state grant award in the amount of $175,000 under the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program for the San Bernardino Community Resilience and Greening Planning project. The project will focus on developing an Extreme Heat Adaptation Toolkit through a collaborative planning process led by the City of San Bernardino and Tinkercraft, and pre-development activities to prepare for the next round of funding for project implementation. The project will be implemented in four key phases: partnership development and community engagement, data collection and analysis, toolkit development, and final reporting.
During the first phase, the project team will formalize partnerships with Tinkercraft, community stakeholders, including San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) . Focus groups will be conducted to gather input from frontline workers and residents most 3 0
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affected by extreme heat, ensuring that local perspectives guide the development of practical solutions. The City will also coordinate student participation from SBVC to support outreach, research, and design tasks, strengthening community-based capacity building.
The second phase will include data collection and analysis to assess current conditions, identify heat-vulnerable areas, and evaluate potential interventions. This information will form the foundation for the third phase, which focuses on the creation of the Extreme Heat Adaptation Toolkit. The toolkit will consolidate guidelines, design strategies, and implementation measures specific to San Bernardino’s urban environment, supporting future capital and policy decisions that reduce the impacts of rising temperatures.
The final phase will document project outcomes and lessons learned in a final report to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI). The total project cost is fully funded through the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP). The grant budget includes expenses for community engagement materials, focus group facilitation, and translation services to ensure language accessibility throughout the process.
The project is expected to strengthen San Bernardino’s planning capacity to address the health and infrastructure challenges associated with extreme heat. The toolkit developed through this effort will serve as a model for integrating climate adaptation strategies into local policy, design, and capital improvement planning.
Due to the nearly seven-month delay in receiving the grant agreement, which required prompt execution upon receipt, staff requests that the Mayor and City Council, by Resolution, ratify the grant award agreement to carry out the project deliverables.
The City is requesting ratification at this time because the grant agreement was not executed within the original state-designated timeframe. Once the agreement was issued, staff prioritized securing the funding and ensuring the City remained eligible for the grant; however, the compressed turnaround period and competing operational deadlines delayed formal execution. As a result, the agreement now requires Council ratification to validate acceptance and allow the project to proceed in full compliance with state requirements. This step ensures transparency and proper administrative alignment without impacting the City’s grant funding or project eligibility. 2021-2025 Strategic Targets and Goals
This project aligns with Goal No. 3: Improved Quality of Life by enhancing community health, safety, and resilience through proactive planning for extreme heat. By developing strategies that improve shade, cooling, and urban design, the project supports a safer, more comfortable, and sustainable environment for all residents.
Fiscal Impact
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There is no General Fund impact associated with this item. All costs associated with the EHCRP grant will be covered by the $175,000. accepted.
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2025-406:
1. Ratify the acceptance of the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program grant award in the amount of $175,000.00 for the project titled San Bernardino Community Resilience and Greening Planning; and
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the grant agreement and any subsequent amendments with the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation; and
3. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all related agreements and documents with Tinkercraft: Design & Advocacy Group, the collaborative project partner, necessary to implement the project in accordance with the grant requirements; and
4. Authorize the Interim Director of Finance & Management Services to establish all required revenue and expenditure accounts and to process all financial transactions necessary to implement the grant.
Attachments
Attachment 1 – Resolution 2025-406
Attachment 2 – Executed Agreement for ECHRP Project - CSB and LCI Ward:
All Wards
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions:
N/A
CC: Eric Levitt, City Manager