Dear Neighbors, 

Back to school season is here, and so is my August update. Read on for good news on the future of culture and innovation in the Northside, and learn how you can make your plan for engagement on Inclusionary Housing at the Planning Commission. Learn how the City Council is standing up for the Santa Ana River, and mark your calendars for events and meetings.

In service,

The Northside's history as an agricultural hotspot comes full circle with the recent $1 million allocation in Federal funding for Northside Heritage Meadows, a site for urban agriculture, nature trails, nonprofit co-work space, and a new community garden. That's $1 million that will support the partnership between the City and UCR while addressing food security and resiliency right in the heart of the City's oldest neighborhood.

Down the street from the future Northside Heritage Meadows site is the Trujillo Adobe, a relic of Riverside's first settlers from New Mexico. The State recently allocated $10.4 million towards Spanish Town Heritage Foundation for the restoration of the Trujillo Adobe, the last standing house from the Trujillo family and an essential part of the future Cultural Center outlined in the City's Northside Specific Plan. Celebrate this milestone with the Trujillo Family on August 13th at the Trujillo Adobe Open House. 

To bring the Northside's dreams to life, we need to tell its story. That's why the City has launched a website marking the next phase of the Northside Specific Plan as they search for a Master Developer that will bring the plan to fruition. Tell the story with us: sign up here for alerts regarding public meetings and public art initiatives.

After a year and a half in discussions at the Housing & Homelessness Committee, Inclusionary Housing is coming before the Planning Commission on August 18th at 9 AM. 

Read the report and the special segment in the June 2022 Ward 1 Update to learn about the many elements to this policy. Share your thoughts through e-comment, or in-person at the meeting. You can send your feedback and questions to Councilmember Edwards here. 

The City Council voted 6-1 to adopt an anti-camping ordinance specific to Riverside's wildlands. After nearly a year of collaboration between Councilmember Edwards, City staff, Riverside Fire Department, and Riverside Police, Riverside now has one more critical part of the solution to the decades-old humanitarian crisis in the River Bottom. The ordinance will supplement the enforcement piece on the Wildlands PSET Team.

Over the last nine months, Riverside has conducted numerous outreach efforts in the River Bottom while planning long-term solutions for emergency housing. The work doesn't stop here. Tune into the next Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting on August 22nd at 3:30 to hear a full update.

Save the Date: World Rivers Day 2022

Mark your calendar for World Rivers Day on September 24th to join in on a day full of festivities celebrating our very own Santa Ana River.

Vegan Depot is every other Thursday from 4-8 PM. you'll find tacos, pizza, specialty hot dogs, michelaguas, and a DJ to top it all off. Don't miss out and join the next one on August 11th.

• Review of City of Riverside participation in Southern California Public Power Authority, City Council, August 16th (afternoon)
• Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Planning Commission, August 18th (9 AM)
• Zero emission vehicle requirements overview from General Services Department Fleet Division, Economic Development Committee, August 18th (3 PM)
• Presentation on Home Court Program, Housing & Homelessness Committee, August 22 (3:30 PM)

*For meeting information, videos, agendas, and e-comment submissions, visit us here.

Take pride, Riverside! Catch Meg Sullivan's feel-good spotlight on Downtown Riverside in the New York Times' California Today segment. 

"The Cheech didn’t disappoint with its abundance of great hits, especially from the 1990s. We stayed across the street in the historic Mission Inn, which was lovely as ever and teaming with beauties posing for quinceañera photos. An excellent tour by the affiliated nonprofit museum provided access to all kinds of nooks and crannies that we wouldn’t have found on our own [...]

Meals were extraordinary at the Mission Inn’s lovely interior courtyard; at Tio’s Tacos with its delightfully outrageous sculptures made from recyclables; and at the hipster Food Lab food court. (Mi Vida Gorda’s Michelada, dripping with homemade chamoy syrup, was to die for.) We just happened to hit the pedestrian Main Street when a farmers’ market was laid out with perfect California produce."