Resources for Local Officials on Joint Use of Facilities

Several organizations provide joint use of facilities resources to local officials. Much of this work has been motivated by public health goals of enabling both children and adults to be more physically active by joint use of school/recreational facilities. Irrespective of an agency’s policy goals in pursuing joint use of facilities, these resources offer helpful guidance to local officials on joint use issues.

• ChangeLab Solutions (formerly Public Health Law & Policy), is a team of attorneys, policy analysts, and urban planners dedicated to building healthy communities nationwide. ChangeLab Solutions has developed a toolkit that covers such issues as:
  • Checklist for Developing a Joint Use Agreement
  • Profiles of Joint Use in Action
  • Financing Joint Use
  • Addressing Liability Concerns
  • Strategies for Scheduling, Relationship-Building, and Maintenance
  • A Legal Framework Supporting Joint Use
  • Sample Agreements and Related Documents
  • Model California Joint Use Agreements

  Related Links

  • Print-friendly
  • ShareThis
  • ChangeLab Solutions: Increasing Physical Activity Through Joint Use Agreements
  • California Afterschool Network
  • California Project Lean: Joint Use of School Facilities
  • jointuse.org
  • Center for Cities and Schools, University of California, Berkeley
  Post November 16, 2011

  Sample Agreements
  Intergovermental Collaboration

  In the past, arrangements were sometimes based on informal agreements. However, the better practice is to use written agreements, formally approved by each participating agency’s governing body as a binding contract. Such agreements protect participating entities and prevent misunderstandings related to maintenance, operations, liability, ownership or cost sharing.

  Joint use and shared service agreements typically include the following components:

  • City of Brentwood and Brentwood USD
  • City of Palo Alto & Palo Alto USD
  • Stanislaus Animal Services Agency
  • Sonoma County Dispatch
  • Modesto and Stanislaus Co Dispatch
  • Solano, Fairfield, Fairfield-Suisun USD
  • Modesto Regional Fire Authority
  • Sonoma Co. Communication System
  • Suisun City Library
  • Solano County Library
  • Solano County Joint Use Building
  • Stanislaus Office of Emergency Services
  • Read more
  • ChangeLab Solutions_Model Joint Use Resolution
  Post October 23, 2012

  The Importance of Written Agreements

  In the past, joint-use arrangements were sometimes based on informal agreements. However, the better practice is to use written agreements, formally approved by each participating agency’s governing body as a binding contract. Such agreements protect participating entities and prevent misunderstandings related to maintenance, operations, liability, ownership or cost sharing.

  Joint use agreements typically include the following components:

  • Read more
  • Sample Interagency Agreements