San Antonio unveils 52-action Heat Resilience Playbook, cites nearly 2,400 heat-related illnesses since 2022

San Antonio officials on April 23 updated the Community Health Committee on a newly compiled Heat Resilience Playbook that lays out 52 implementation actions to reduce heat-related illness and strengthen neighborhood cooling.

"The heat resilience playbook is the city's implementation roadmap for extreme heat," Laura Patino, director of the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, told the committee. Patino said the plan groups actions into new actions, existing actions and improvements, and that “over 80% of these actions are ongoing.” She said the playbook is organized around two goals—"safe and prepared San Antonians" and "cooler neighborhoods"—and four objectives that include outreach, relief sites, built-environment adaptation and data.

Patino said Metro Health data and UTSA vulnerability mapping show that since 2022 the city has reported nearly 2,400 heat-related illnesses categorized as dehydration, fainting, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. She described several implementation efforts now under way: coordinated outreach to high-risk groups (unhoused residents, older adults, outdoor workers), a pilot expansion of places to stay cool, pilots for bus-shade structures and continued deployment of cool pavement and tree planting.

On cooling and green infrastructure, staff reported that Parks has funded and committed resources for more than 11,000 new trees citywide, including about 400 street trees and 500 park trees; residential plantings and giveaways account for over 10,000 committed trees. The city has installed about 28 miles of cool pavement with five additional miles planned by the end of the fiscal year. Neighborhood Housing reported plans to complete 75 additional cool-roof replacements in target areas and more than 600 cool roofs have been installed citywide since 2022.

Patino said the city will expand a visible network of "places to stay cool," mapping public facilities and pilot private partners, and aims to have one to two partnership commitments in place by the end of the fiscal year. She also described the city’s communications plan: a centralized hub at sa.gov/hotweather, consolidated emergency alerts at sa.gov/alerts, summer press releases, social-media safety content and a council toolkit for sharing resources with constituents.

On data and mortality tracking, Metro Health staff told the committee they will add death data to the heat-related illnesses dashboard starting this year but must follow state suppression rules. "Currently, the most standard method for collecting death data is through death certificates," Patino said. Dr. Jacob Repperts of Metro Health explained that counts are assigned to residents’ addresses (not the incident location) and that when counts are fewer than 10 the data are suppressed for confidentiality. He added that provisional death certificates confirmed by the medical examiner and state will be shared starting next month.

Council members pressed staff on local priorities and partnerships. Councilmember Adelita Cavito thanked staff and asked about outreach to encampments; Patino and partners described coordination with the Department of Human Services (HSD) and a community-connections hotline and text-message notifications for activations. Several members asked staff to pursue collaboration with VIA transit on shade structures; Doug Melnick, assistant director in the resilience office, said the city is working with VIA on prototype shelter designs but that site constraints and funding are challenges.

Parks Director Homer Garcia noted that coordination with transportation and capital-delivery teams has been in place since the 2022 bond, and cited current plans that align 400 trees with street projects this year and a longer-term approach to integrating trees into project designs.

Council members also asked for capital-cost estimates for shade and cooling investments to inform future bond or budget decisions. Staff pointed to a $2,000,000 community-impact fund allocated in 2024 and said they are working with Economic Development (RevitalizeSA) to identify grant and pilot opportunities to support small businesses and community partners in resilience work.

The committee did not take a vote on any ordinance or resolution during the update. Staff said they will provide follow-up details on pilot timelines, cost estimates for shelter upgrades and the planned toolkit by the end of the fiscal year.