Dear Friends and District Five Residents:
This is the December Newsletter with some general information on economic development, infrastructure updates, and more.
I encourage you to stay connected by following me on Facebook @MayorBarajas or Instagram @MayorBarajas or sign up for my monthly newsletter below!
I hope you enjoy this e-newsletter. Please reach out to me if I may be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Chris Barajas
Mayor
COMMUNITY development
HOUSING ELEMENT
We approved a resolution to begin the process of amending our General Plan to accommodate the additional housing units allocated to Jurupa Valley through RHNA (https://scag.ca.gov/rhna) While we do not agree with how the number of units are allocated to each city, including Jurupa Valley, or how it negates any mechanism to improve infrastructure to accommodate population growth, this is a state mandate and not complying could result in funds being withheld and/or grants or other funding sources being blocked. As a REMINDER....the City DOES NOT BUILD housing, we are only required to allow for growth through land use, zoning, and general plan designations.
We have identified land along our transportation corridors for this increased density while preserving our equestrian neighborhoods to the extent that we are able to. You can view the full report here: https://www.jurupavalley.org/462/Housing-Element-Update
Truck Intensive Use Ordinance
We approved a Zone Code Amendment eliminating expansion or establishment of Truck Intensive Uses in various Commercial, Industrial and Manufacturing zones, initiation of a General Plan Amendment to change the land use in the following study areas: 1. Bellegrave-Van Buren 2. Belltown-Agua Mansa, 3. PedleyLimonite, 4. Flabob Airport, 5. Sierra Avenue. Some truck intensive uses will still be allowed with a CUP in Heavy Industrial areas which are primarily in the Mira Loma and Agua Mansa warehouse overlay areas. In addition, we will begin to develop a Flabob Airport Specific Plan, which in my opinion, is more than overdue. This ordinance does not affect commercial/retail developments. You can view the full staff report here: (https://www.jurupavalley.org/.../Vie.../Agenda/_12022021-413)
The Truck Intensive Use Ordinance is proposed to make the following amendments to the zoning code to address truck intensive uses: (1) establish the zone(s) in which truck intensive uses are permitted, along with the appropriate entitlement (e.g. Site Development Permit or Conditional Use Permit); (2) revise the list of permitted uses in industrial zones, and (3) add development standards for truck intensive uses (see Attachment 1).
We approved the first amendment to the Paradise Knolls specific plan replacing the market rate equestrian boarding area with a 2.75 acre park open to all our residents while still maintaining the publicly accessible equestrian trails along Downey and Planning Area 5 which is along the entire stretch of the Santa Ana River within this development. We discussed using the community benefit from this amendment to potentially construct an equestrian trailhead going East from Downey allowing for connectivity to various trail systems for all our residents to enjoy. More to come...
Major Planning Projects and Planning Reports
As we continue to convert contract staff to city staff, where it makes financial sense, who work directly for you, we've also been working on updating our website to provide more current and relevant information.
You can now view recently approved projects and those under review here:
https://www.jurupavalley.org/.../Major-Planning-Projects...
As a reminder, the City does not build housing, retail, or industrial buildings. We manage land use, zoning, general plans e.t.c Land owners can either build within what's allowed according to the zoning on their land or submit for a change. An example would be commercial property which allows for retail, hotels, e.t.c If they wanted to build a warehouse, housing, or manufacturing, they would have to get approvals for the change and are not guaranteed to get those approvals. Please keep that in mind as you review the list of about 40 different projects currently under review that total an estimated two thousand acres combined.
infrastructure
City Staff and I met with SCE to discuss the recent PSPS events that affected 5 Counties and tens of thousands of residents across their territory including Jurupa Valley, over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
I've shared that I had met with SCE staff on this very topic back in the Spring of this year, including mitigation and resources that had been, or were planned to be, implemented. At that time, most circuits in our City had some level of mitigation implemented.
With the events over the Thanksgiving Holiday, some of the mitigation efforts, such as circuit pole switching to alternate sources, were not an option as those alternate sources were also impacted by a PSPS event.
Some positive news I can share as of the date of the meeting is the following:
- The Cabana circuit that energizes the communities of Country Village, Homestead, and a few more will have more automated mechanisms for pole switching sources during a potential PSPS event that should reduce and/or eliminate future deenergizing of said communities.
- The BlackHills circuit that serves the Jurupa Hills neighborhood West of GoldenWest up against Indian Hills and between Jurupa and Limonite will have some additional mitigation implemented that is expected to reduce the number of affected homes during future PSPS events significantly.
- The Galena circuit that serves the communities around Clay Park had already had mitigation implemented months ago. With this recent event, the alternate sources (Rubidoux & Flabob Circuits) were also impacted by a PSPS event thereby nullifying the mitigation. SCE will be looking at potential mitigation for the alternate source.
- The circuits along the 60 freeway in Glen Avon are being analyzed for potential automatic pole switching which could potentially significantly reduce the number of homes affected in future PSPS events.
In addition, I've asked City staff to work with our local government agencies to construct a plan for future PSPS events. The goal would be to make any government building that is energized and can be safely accessed by the public, be made available for our residents to charge devices, use restrooms, e.t.c I've also asked SCE to make available more readily their resource centers during these events. While we had one the day before Thanksgiving, we had 0 in our city on Thursday.
Any PSPS events are recorded and reports submitted to the PUC for review. You can view the full report on the most recent event here:
https://library.sce.com/.../Wildfire_112421...
You can also learn more about PSPS events by watching the video below or visiting the link:
https://energized.edison.com/psps-decision-making
SCE plans on holding public informational meetings the early part of next year including long term plans for improving their infrastructure. We'll be sure to share that information when it becomes available.
The Riverside Transmission Reliability Project (RTRP) is set to begin construction soon and is projected to be completed in 2026. As a REMINDER, this project will be UNDERGROUND in City of Jurupa Valley
Please see the attached images for additional information.
Did you know you can report vandalism such as what happened to our beloved Eddy via the E-Citizen app or through our website HERE? We contract with JCSD for graffiti abatement throughout our City of Jurupa Valley With your help, we can address issues quicker so be sure to use the app! Happy that through our partnerships we were able to get Eddy addressed and that the solvents work! I want to thank Wes and his team for all the work they do to continuously improve JMDC and look forward to seeing improvements to Eddy in the future.
**** If you haven't visited JMDC, or you have but not recently, I strongly encourage you all the pay them a visit and check out the renovations and new exhibits!
JURUPA ROAD GRADE SEPARATION UPDATE:
Construction of the Jurupa Rd Grade Separation has started and will go through June of 2023. New roads are being built to connect to Van Buren as alternate routes and improvements are being made to the intersection of Galena/Rutile and Van Buren including a traffic signal at Pedley and Jurupa. #jurupavalley #infrastructure
Jurupa Road will close on the West side of Van Buren and remain closed until Spring 2023 on December 6, 2021. The East side will follow shortly thereafter.
You can see more info and stay up to date with road closures and more here:
city manager updates
Our City Manager Rod Butler is releasing bi-weekly City Manager Updates. You can view the full updates at the following links:
View the Update Here
RESOURCES
council business/community news
It was great to see so many of our residents and their families at City of Jurupa Valley Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony! A huge thanks to Mr. & Ms. Claus and their elves and a special thanks to Wini and Chester of LA Circus for the Magic Show, decorations, and more. #jurupavalley
My family and I had a blast volunteering in the Jurupa Valley Adopt A Family Santa Express Parade!!! It was four nights of fun and work to collect all the wonderful donations from our very giving residents. We hope everyone along the parade route had a great time. We look forward to seeing everyone next year.
December 7, 2021 marks the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I had the privilege of attending a commemoration ceremony to remember and never forget the more than 2,400 Americans who lost their lives defending our nation. Thank you to the City of Norco for holding this regional event. #jurupavalley #neverforget #PearlHarbor
Congratulations to our VFW Teacher of the Year Richard Leach, Deputy of the Year Sgt Steve Lycopolus, and EMT of the Year Sr Master Sgt Jorge Rodriguez! It was an honor to participate in presenting these amazing community members with their plaques in recognition of the amazing work they do in our community! #jurupavalley#VFW#VeteransOfForeignWars
Jurupa Valley Adopt a Family Program closed out their Santa Express this past Sunday! The Jurupa District Lions Club #2659 held their Lunch with Santa on the same day as well. I has the privilege of volunteering at both. My family and I always enjoy volunteering at events that give back to our City of Jurupa Valley Community! We hope you were able to attend the various holiday events throughout our city.
Huge thanks to my good friend Pastor Jeff with @where_your_at_ministries and his team, Lion Brenda, Lion Patty Trueba, Lion Patty Tewell, Lion Dorothy, Lion Elvera, Lion Emerson, and all the volunteers for putting on today's Christmas Gift Giveaway! My daughter's had a blast helping out. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you and your families.
