TLMA Telegram

Quarter 2 - July 2024

Board of Supervisors unanimously approved new Ranchos Ordinance

Ranchos hosting weddings, quinceañera, baptisms and other cultural and family celebrations in the Coachella Valley will be able to operate as permitted event venues after the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve a new Ranchos ordinance during their June 25 meeting.

For three years, Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, the community, and County staff worked together toward developing a new ordinance. The ordinance takes effect on Aug. 29 and an application submittal workshop will be held in August or September to assist Ranchos in the process of obtaining a permit. The deadline to submit an application is Nov. 2.

"Thank you for all of you who have been part of this movement," Supervisor Perez said. "I am very proud of you all and I am very proud of this day."

Several dozen members of the Ranchos community appeared at the Board meeting - some dressed in traditional quinceañera dresses - and urged the Board to approve the ordinance because of their cultural importance and the economic opportunity Ranchos provide for the community.

Claudia Alvarado, owner of Rancho 51, became emotional during the meeting and thanked the Board and County staff for working toward creating the ordinance.

"You didn't let us down. When we asked you last July to keep us open and in business, you held our hands and you helped us," she told Supervisor Perez. "This is not just about money, this is about our culture and our heritage."

Ranchos are primarily outdoors, on date palm ranches or agricultural properties, with many located in rural areas throughout the unincorporated communities of the Fourth District, especially in the eastern Coachella Valley and Thousand Palms.

The new ordinance defines Ranchos, where these are located within the Fourth District, and determines what types of activities would be allowed, to give more options beyond those that exist in the countywide temporary events and zoning ordinances. 

Regulations Ranchos would need to follow in their operations include: having onsite management, onsite and accessible parking, access for fire and emergency services, fire extinguishers, restroom facilities, a traffic plan, and trash disposal.

More information about the Ranchos Ordinance is available at planning.rctlma.org/rancho-community-event-facility-ordinance.

Riverside County's Housing Element approved by the state

The Planning Department succeeded in gaining approval by the State of California's Department of Housing and Community Development for its 6th Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element.

"On behalf of the Planning Department, we’d like to recognize and thank the multiple County departments for their collaborative efforts in achieving California State compliance with Riverside County’s Housing Element, for this 6^th Cycle amendment process," said Planning Director John Hildebrand. "It was a challenging effort, requiring multiple outreach and community engagement meetings, coupled with directly working with HCD to finally achieve approval."

Hildebrand emphasized there is still work to do.

"This process does not simply end with approval. The next steps include implementation of the nearly 38 separate programs over the course of the next cycle, as identified within the Housing Element. Some of the major programs include crafting two community plans (Cabazon and Thermal / Oasis), residential rent control and payment assistant programs, affordable housing production, and infrastructure analysis," he said.

The Housing Element includes goals, policies and actions the County will take to facilitate housing over an 8-year period to meet the needs of our population including.

• New construction
• Innovative housing types
• Affordable housing
• Special-needs groups
• Affirmatively furthering fair housing

"HCD appreciates the hard work and commitment you and your staff provided in the
preparation of the County’s housing element and looks forward to receiving the
County’s adopted housing element," wrote HCD Senior Program Manager Paul McDougall in a letter to Hildebrand.

The Board of Supervisors adopted the 6th Cycle Housing Element on June 25, and a final version of the Housing Element will be delivered to the state for certification.

Several federal, state and regional funding streams consider housing element compliance as an eligibility or ranking criteria. Gaining compliance means Riverside County will meet housing element requirements for these and other funding sources.

"This is a big 'win' not just for the County of Riverside, but also the residents within each of the communities," Hildebrand said.

TLMA team coordination helped developer succeed with residential project in Romoland

When Ronald Freeman, Director of Land Development for homebuilder Pacific Communities Builder, Inc., (PCB) hit a snag with his latest development project in the community of Romoland, he turned to the Transportation and Land Management Agency’s Ombudsmen Team to help him through the process.

PCB invested in the unincorporated area of Romoland to construct Pacific Parkview, a community of 154 single-family detached residential homes. The project received approval in March of 2021.

“We immediately proceeded with final project engineering and reached the point where we would not be able to get the project final maps recorded within the time frame we needed,” Freeman said. “I reached out to TLMA Ombudsman Halimah Shenghur for help, and she came through and pushed the project forward to the point where we will be able to record the project subdivision final maps in time to keep pace with our 2024 business plan. This is a critical milestone for us to reach, and Halimah was instrumental in advancing our efforts. She is in no uncertain terms a miracle worker.”

The TLMA Ombudsmen take complicated projects and act as a guide to help people get through what can be a complicated approval road map, Shenghur said, adding that the work is a team effort involving a number of employees coming together from several TLMA departments. Evan Langan, principal planner, and John Obing, project planner from our Planning Department; Russell Williams, Kevin Tsang, and Benji Cho with our Transportation Department; and Sam Gonzales in our Building & Safety Department, all brought their resources together to assist Freeman with his project.

“We strive to provide the highest level of customer service,” said TLMA Agency Director Charissa Leach. “Our team wants to help people succeed whether it is a mom-and-pop business operation or a multimillion-dollar development.”

Freeman, who manages Land Development activities for PCB throughout Southern California, says he is excited to begin building homes at Pacific Parkview in summer 2024.

“We are happy to get the project to the market,” he said. “It has been a long time and we are ready to make it happen.”

Freeman recommends people use the resources the Ombudsmen Team can provide when they need help.

To learn more about the TLMA Ombudsmen Team visit https://rctlma.org/quick-links/ombudsmen-team.

To learn more about Pacific Parkview Estates, visit https://pacificcommunities.com/communities/pacific-parkview/.

Connecting with the community at French Valley Airport

The hum of plane and helicopter engines mixed with music from a DJ spinning tunes set the tone and mood for the April 27 Community Event at French Valley Airport.

Children climbed onto historic and military aircraft and took pictures with their families. Riverside County Aviation employees passed out aviator sunglasses for guests to wear. Local vendors offered sweet treats and savory meals while children played Gel Blaster and other games.

Approximately 3,000 members of the community joined Riverside County Aviation to learn more about the French Valley Airport and many visitors took 20-minute rides in small planes and helicopters offered by different pilots to experience the thrill of flight.

Watch this video to see the event in action.

Love of graphic arts and public service shines through in Sign Maker Angel Rodriguez

Our Transportation Department has a one-manned sign shop dedicated to creating all of the signs for County-maintained roads.

At the helm is Angel Rodriguez who makes from 100 to 150 signs a year along with specialty warning  stickers for Transportation Department equipment and vehicles.

Angel began his County career at the now-defunct Printing Department where he worked for 10 years. The Transportation Department rehired him to work in the sign shop where he has worked for the last 5 years. 

Angel developed a love for graphic arts through his father, who was a printer. He took Angel to work with him and cultivated his interest in printing and graphics.

His sign-making skills are mostly self taught and require him to follow specifications for size and reflectivity to ensure motorists are safe.

Watch this video to learn more about sign-making, Angel's side job as a disc jockey, and his commitment to public service. Angel devotes his time to the community as entertainment director for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (Colton-Grand Terrace), suicide prevention advocacy and 20 years of food drives for needy families.

Building & Safety Department recognized by Board of Supervisors during Building Safety Month in May

Riverside County's Building & Safety staff along with engineers, architects, developers, construction workers and many other professionals were celebrated during Building Safety Month in May for their commitment to keeping the public safe.

The Board of Supervisors presented a proclamation to Deputy TLMA Director and Building Official Sam Shahrouri on May 21 recognizing Building Safety Month and the hard work of his staff.

The Building & Safety Department improves the quality of life and orderly economic development by providing and managing plans review, permit issuance, and building inspections. Their work makes our buildings stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient

"Your work is sort of invisible to the average citizen but you serve as the backbone to a lot of the building that goes on to ensure that it is safe and that the structures where people congregate in are safe to be inside, so we appreciate your work," said Third District Supervisor Chuck Washington, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. 

Fifth District Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez lauded the department's use of technology to conduct business. 

"I also like the fact that your department is online - as well as ahead of the times, and that is a good thing," Gutierrez said.

Building & Safety staff set up an information table in the lobby of the County Administration Center during the Board meeting for the public to get more information about the work that they do.

During the meeting, Second District Supervisor Karen Spiegel thanked Shahrouri and said she appreciated the department's work and was joined by First District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries who thanked the department staff for their longtime service to the public.

Fourth District Supervisor V. Manny Perez spoke about how the department can continue to balance business interests and public safety interests in the future.

"We have to ensure that the public is safe, but as we move forward, we have to consider what does that looks like and how do you balance that out to make sure people still have the access and opportunity to develop and to grow," Perez said. "How do we make the process more amenable - builder-friendly if you can be - but at the same time ensuring ultimately that we are taking care of our people and those that step into those buildings?"

Ninety percent of street vendors contacted by Code Enforcement on Mother’s Day properly permitted to operate

The Riverside County Code Enforcement Department found 90 percent of street vendors selling flowers on Mother’s Day had obtained the proper permits to run their businesses.

“I contacted about 40 vendors on Mother’s Day to make sure they were in compliance with permitting and the majority had done the work to run a legal business,” said Code Enforcement Officer Rigoberto Jimenez. “We really try to work with vendors so that they understand the process and can operate legally.”  

Over the last two years, members of Code Enforcement’s Special Enforcement Team and the Department of Environmental Health made efforts to educate vendors about the requirements to operate. Because of their outreach, the numbers of sidewalk vending permits have increased 148 percent since 2022.  There were 68 sidewalk vending permits obtained in 2022, 122 permits in 2023 and 169 permits so far in 2024.

In 2022 and 2023, Code Enforcement officers reported only 5 percent of street vendors they contacted on Mother’s Day had the proper permits to operate. At that time, street vendors were encouraged to obtain the legal, proper permits to operate in the County to avoid fines and confiscation of their products and equipment.

“We want to help businesses come into compliance because it benefits their bottom line,” said Rania Odenbaugh, managing director of TLMA. “Consumers can feel confident that who they are purchasing products from are legitimate vendors who are accountable to our codes and requirements.”

Vendors must obtain a sidewalk vending permit from the Transportation Department at the County Administrative Center at 4080 Lemon Street in downtown Riverside or at the Transportation Department’s Palm Desert office at 77588 El Duna Ct in Palm Desert.

A sidewalk vending permit allows vendors to sell any type of merchandise other than food (prepackaged food is allowed) for a $79 fee.  The sidewalk vending permit is good for 12 months from the date it is issued.  Food sales may also require an additional permit from Environmental Health.  For more information on food vending options visit rivcoeh.org/mobile-food-facilities.

“I like to encourage potential vendors to follow the permitting process and get their business on a legal footing that way they have more opportunities to make money legally,” said Senior Code Enforcement Officer Michael Collins of the Special Enforcement Team. “It’s the American dream after all.”

Food vendors who want to obtain permits to operate in Riverside County must first start with the Department of Environmental Health and have their cart, food truck or trailer approved for operation. This includes a requirement for food safety certification. 

The County recently opened a new vending lot at Harvill Avenue and Dree Circle in the community of Mead Valley for vendors to set up and sell their wares in a safe and controlled manner. 

To learn more about street vending requirements in Riverside County, please visit our website at rctlma.org/streetvending.

Transportation Department Performance Measures

January 2024 through March 2024