The City Council to receive summary of all California Legislature housing bills, a special joint meeting will be held with the Board of Ethics, and affordable housing projects will receive updates.
Item 9: Update on 2021 housing bills from the California Legislature
On Tuesday afternoon, the council will receive a summary of all the 2021 housing bills from the California Legislature that went into effect. In 2021, there were 31 bills related to housing that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed, 12 of which the city says will have a medium to high impact on the city.
According to the city’s presentation, three bills will have a high impact on the city: AB 602, AB 838, and SB 9. AB 602 is creating new requirements for preparing impact feed nexus studies. AB 838 will require investigation of occupant complaints about substandard housing and provide reports of those investigations for free. SB 9 allows up to four housing units in any single-family zone, with some caveats.
Item 15: General banking account with Bank of America
The council will look to approve a service agreement with Bank of America for general banking and merchant card processing services. The agreement will be for five years, with an option for a two-year extension. It will cost the city $351,000 annually.
Item 20: Complying with new statewide organic waste recycling regulations
The council will consider adopting a resolution to submit a notice of intent to comply with Senate Bill 1383. The bill was signed by former California Gov. Jerry Brown and set methane emissions reduction targets for municipalities across the state. The bill will require that all organic waste disposal be reduced by 75% in 2025. Entities must also recover at least 20% of disposed of surplus edible food by 2025.
City Council / Board of Ethics Joint Special Meeting
Item 2: Ethics workshop and review of code of ethics and conduct
On Tuesday at 5 p.m., the city council and the board of ethics will hold a special joint meeting together at the Caesar Chavez Community Center. Together the board and the council will be receiving a presentation from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. After the presentation, the council and board will be reviewing the code of ethics and conduct and consider potential revisions to the code.
Housing and Homelessness Committee
Item 3: Update on affordable housing projects in Riverside
On Tuesday, the committee will receive an update on affordable housing projects underway across the city. According to the committee’s presentation, the city currently has 689 affordable housing units “in the pipeline.” Two hundred and seven of those units will be permanent supportive housing. The other units include interim housing beds for the homeless, including 28 through Helping Hearts Hulen, a recovery care facility.
Board of Public Utilities
Item 4: Updating water and electric rules
On Tuesday, the board will consider changing the following rules: Water rules 6 and 17, and electric rules 6 and 21. The changes to water rule 17 and electric rule 21 would allow utility customers to contact Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) by email or with RPU mobile or webpage form. It would also give customers up to ten calendar days to dispute a bill. The former limit was five days.
For water rule 6 and electric rule 6, the rules preestablish information associated with water rule 17 and electric rule 21. As pertaining to meter investigations and adjustments of bills, it would give customers ten calendar days to file a dispute. The former limit was five days.
Item 9: Updating contract utility line management and vegetation services
The board will consider approving a six-month contract extension for $1.3 million with West Coast Arborists Inc., of Anaheim. The company has conducted utility line clearance for Riverside since 2015. Its primary duties are tree trimming and vegetation management around city utility lines. If approved, it will be contracted through October 22, 2022, and will have a spending cap of $14.5 million
Jonathan Linden is a freelance reporter covering politics for The Raincross Gazette. Jonathan graduated from Biola University with a B.A in journalism and also reports for 91.9 KVCR in San Bernardino.
City Council set to consider a 23-unit affordable housing project in La Sierra, a 24-station electric vehicle charging hub at the Riverside Airport, and the $2.4 million purchase of electric trucks for its fleet.
City Council does not meet this week. Potentially stricter rules for industrial development near neighborhoods and a review of the City’s homelessness outreach and cleanup spending are on committee and commission agendas this week.
