City Manager's Updates 

Recruitment Updates—Building the New Team

We are moving forward with the recruitment process for Jurupa Valley’s first full-time in-house Executive Team.  Here is a quick rundown on each open position:

Community Development Director—We are pleased to announce that Mr. Joe Perez, currently the Director of Community Development for the City of South Gate in Los Angeles County, has accepted our offer of employment.  Joe has over 30 years of local government management experience in California, and he previously served as Director of Community Development for the cities of Lawndale, Bell, and Paramount. Interestingly, Joe was part of the team of professionals that helped the City of Bell rebuild and recover after the corruption scandals unfolded in 2009 and 2010.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles. In addition to his technical knowledge of planning issues, Joe has excellent management, customer service, and team-building skills that will be very valuable to the City as we begin to build an in-house planning and development staff.  He will begin his employment in Jurupa Valley on Monday, November 16.

Public Works Director/City Engineer—It is also my pleasure to announce that Mr. Paul Toor will begin his new role as Public Works Director/City Engineer on Monday, October 5. Paul has over 30 years of experience serving local governments in California.  While he has been working in his own consulting firm for the last year, he was previously the Director of Engineering and Utilities for the City of Redlands, the Director of Public Works/City Engineer for the City of South Pasadena, and the Public Works Director for the City of Coachella. Prior to that, he worked for the City of Banning for many years, so he definitely brings some solid Riverside County experience.  Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering in India and a Master’s of Public Administration from California State University, San Bernardino.  He is a registered civil engineer with strong experience in project management and capital improvement programs.

Assistant City Manager—The application period closed on August 16, and we had a huge response: over 110 applications for the position.  We conducted first-round panel interviews on Tuesday, September 15. Four very strong finalists came out of those panel interviews, and I will be conducting follow-up interviews with those four finalists over the next couple of weeks.  We expect to make an employment offer by no later than
October 9. 

City Clerk Updates

New Ways to Vote for the November 3, 2020 Election

In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and in accordance with State Law, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters will be deploying a new election model for the upcoming November 3, 2020, General Election. This will offer voters more ways and more days to vote safely. Each eligible registered voter for the November 3, 2020, General Election will receive a ballot by mail beginning Monday, October 5, 2020 in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order.
 
Voters can verify their voter registration at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/registration-status/ or register to vote at www.registertovote.ca.gov. 
 
A secure Ballot Drop-Off location will be available at Jurupa Valley City Hall beginning October 5, 2020 or you may use one of the 80 secure Ballot Drop-Off locations that will be available throughout the County of Riverside.  A list of these locations will be posted at https://www.voteinfo.net/
 
For those who wish to vote in person, there will be five Voter Assistance Centers located in the City of Jurupa Valley:
 
Avalon Park Community Center, 2500 Avalon Street
Eddie Dee Smith Senior Center, 5888 Mission Boulevard
Glen Avon Library, 9244 Galena Street
Jurupa Valley Community Center, 4810 Pedley Road
Riverside County Department of Animal Services, 6851 Van Buren Boulevard 
In order to vote in person you must surrender your mailed ballot or you will be asked to vote on a special “Provisional Ballot.”
 
The Vote Centers will be open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from October 31 through November 2, 2020 and from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Election Day.
 
Concerned about your ballot reaching the Registrar of Voter’s Office? You may track your ballot by registering at https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/
 
For further assistance, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (951) 332-6464

COVID-19 Updates

*As of 9/23/20

• 616,470 Tests have been completed in Riverside County
• 57,482 confirmed cases in Riverside County, 1,172 deaths, 52,776 recovered
• 3,230 confirmed cases in Jurupa Valley, 81 deaths, 3,013 recovered
• 146 currently hospitalized in Riverside County, Including 42 currently in ICU
  
  

Planning Department Updates

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU)

Government Code Section 65852.2(a)(4) states that “[i]f a local agency has an existing accessory dwelling unit ordinance that fails to meet the requirements of this subdivision, that ordinance shall be null and void and that agency shall thereafter apply the standards established in [Subsection (a)] for the approval of accessory dwelling units, unless and until the agency adopts an ordinance that complies with this section.”  Because of this, the City ADU ordinance has been nullified.  The Planning Department is approving applications for ADUs and JADUs that are consistent with State law, even if they are not consistent with the City zoning code.

As of January 1, 2020, several new bills came into effect that impact local regulation of ADUs and JADUs: Assembly Bill (AB) 881, AB 68, AB 587, AB 670, and Senate Bill (SB) 13. Consistent with the trend over the last several years, the aim of each bill is to remove barriers to the construction of ADUs and JADUs.

As a result of the aforementioned legislation, multiple amendments are necessary to the Section 9.240.290 of the Jurupa Valley Municipal Code to ensure compliance with state law.  On April 16, 2020, the City Council initiated an amendment to the Municipal Code to modify the provisions of the ADU provisions to be consistent with new State legislation. 
Staff has been working with the City Attorney’s office to draft a new ADU ordinance that is consistent with State law and addresses the needs of our local community.  JCSD has expressed an interest in the prospect of increased densities in our existing single family neighborhoods and the potential impact on infrastructure.  Staff has kept the district informed of the progress of this item.

On September 9^th, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed code amendment to make the City ADU provisions consistent with State law and forwarded the proposed ordinance to the City Council with a recommendation for approval.  The proposed ADU ordinance is expected to be decided by the Council at the October 15^th meeting.

Sheriff's Department Updates

Thank you to the Riverside County Sheriff's Deputies that have been assisting with the local fires!

New Community Service Officer Patrol Vehicles 

All Community Service Officers (CSOs) will now patrol in the above designated CSO units. The Jurupa Valley Station has four of these new patrol vehicles which are
already out on patrol throughout Jurupa Valley.

Fire Department Updates

In Memoriam

Charlie Morton, Squad Boss for the Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Crew of the San Bernardino National Forest, was tragically killed during efforts to suppress the El Dorado Fire. Our hearts go out to Charlie’s loved ones, friends, coworkers and the Big Bear Hotshots.

Thank you to our local CalFire Crews for their hard work and dedication battling fires across the state!

Public Works Department Updates

Code Enforcement Department Updates

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