Module 3: Facility Improvements

Facility improvements are essential to developing a successful Community Resilience Hub that meets the diverse needs of the community, both in routine operations and during emergencies.

By systematically assessing the facility’s current capabilities and resources, evaluating its resilience to climate hazards, and planning necessary upgrades, you can ensure that the Hub is equipped to provide essential services when they are needed most. Typically, the steps outlined in this module are implemented by the Technical Lead or with the assistance of an external consultant.

Module 3 Purpose & Objectives

This module provides a structured approach for assessing and preparing a facility to serve as a Community Resilience Hub. It offers guidance for evaluating the capacity and resilience of the building to provide necessary Hub services and determining the building retrofits or upgrades required to meet community needs effectively. This module emphasizes readiness for both day-to-day operations and emergency situations, including climate hazards and impacts such as extreme heat, floods, or power outages. By following this guidance, your Project Team can develop a comprehensive plan for aligning facility capabilities with their Hub’s intended services while prioritizing equity and community accessibility.

Key Steps Involved in Forming a Team

Begin by assessing the facility’s existing infrastructure and overall capacity compared to the requirements of a Community Resilience Hub.

This assessment aims to determine whether the facility can handle the projected demand for services to meet community needs during both day-to-day operations and emergencies. Assess critical systems for infrastructure readiness, including HVAC, plumbing, and power systems, to understand current capabilities and any upgrades that may be needed. Prepare a facility map to review the current size and capacity of the building and assess existing resources and the potential for upgrades to better meet community needs, including restrooms, laundry facilities, workstations, A/V equipment, room dividers, and other desired amenities identified by community members.

Identify any partnerships or facility use agreements already in place for the facility to provide critical community services.

Engaging with FEMA, Red Cross, your local government’s office of emergency management (OEM), or other resource relief sites can help you understand more specific requirements for emergency activation to inform necessary upgrades.

Recommended Resources

Austin’s Resilience Hub Toolkit
City of Austin, Office of Resilience

  • Site Assessment Checklist
    PDF pg. 12

Sample Facility Use Agreement
American Red Cross & City of Fresno

Identify local climate hazards and climate impacts of greatest concern to your community to assess the facility’s ability to withstand these risks and provide relevant services.

Key climate hazards facing the Central Coast region include extreme heat, wildfires and wildfire smoke, drought, extreme storms, and inland and coastal flooding. These hazards can compromise air and water quality, disrupt critical infrastructure and services (e.g., power and communication outages), and create a variety of other public health and safety issues. By utilizing the tools outlined to the right as recommended resources, you can find localized climate data to better understand climate hazards and risks facing your community, as well as the suite of services your facility can be equipped to provide to support community resilience.

Recommended Resources

Cal-Adapt: Local Climate Change Snapshot (all climate impacts)
California Energy Commission (CEC)

MyHazards (earthquake, flood, fire, and tsunami hazards map)
California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES)

Climate Change & Health Vulnerability Indicators for California (CCHVIs)
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)

CalHeatScore (heat impacts)
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)

Evaluate the facility’s current energy use, efficiency, and ability to remain operational during power outages.

This step will likely be led by the Technical Lead on your Working Group or by an external consultant. Most potential hub sites would benefit from building envelope improvements, such as improved insulation and sealing, efficient lighting upgrades, and programmable thermostats. Partnering with an energy consultant to perform an on-site evaluation can help your team identify and prioritize the most impactful upgrades, as well as the most cost-effective sequencing of upgrades to implement.

Identify and enroll in no- or low-cost programs to receive technical assistance programs to support assessments and facility upgrades.

One example is the Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN) Energy Assurances Services (EAS) program. 3C-REN’s EAS technical consultant will assess risks of power loss to your operations, estimate additional energy loads of emergency operations or new HVAC and air filtration upgrades, evaluate the potential for solar and battery storage, and recommend additional energy efficiency and resilience upgrades.

Evaluate potential barriers to the site and services of the Community Resilience Hub, with consideration to physical, transportation, and language accessibility.

For physical accessibility, conduct an on-site assessment to identify improvements needed for people with access and functional needs. Consider requesting a site walk-through with a local disability advocacy organization to identify issues related to mobility, signage, restrooms, and entrances.

For transportation accessibility, determine whether the Community Resilience Hub is accessible by public transportation and proximal to major routes of travel. Coordinate with local or regional transit operators to collaboratively develop emergency transportation and evacuation protocols.

Finally, for language accessibility, ensure all signage, outreach materials, and key information are available in languages spoken by the community. This may include multilingual signage, interpretation services, and translated emergency communications.

Recommended Resource

Make a Plan for Disasters and Emergencies: People with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Based on the outcomes of the assessments conducted in Steps 1-4, develop a Facility Improvement Plan that outlines the upgrades needed to support Community Resilience Hub operations and services.

This plan should reflect both resilience priorities and community needs identified through engagement efforts. Facility improvements may include lighting and appliance upgrades, solar panel installation, battery storage systems, backup water systems, improved ventilation, Wi-Fi and digital infrastructure upgrades, new laundry facilities, or additional hygiene stations and restrooms. Site improvements may include green infrastructure upgrades, such as bioretention areas, bioswales, permeable surfaces, or tree planting, particularly to improve stormwater management for sites located in areas facing greater flood risks.

Recommended Resource

Resilient Power Project Toolkit
Clean Energy Group

Revisit Module 2: Community Engagement

Elevate community voices by defining clear engagement goals, partnering with trusted local organizations, leveraging existing events for outreach, designing inclusive methods that remove participation barriers, and transparently sharing how input shapes the Community Resilience Hub.

Start Module 4: Emergency Management

Understand local emergency activation procedures and build the Hub’s emergency response capabilities by developing comprehensive plans, securing essential supplies, and providing training to Hub staff, volunteers, and community members.