Riverside staff report $1.4 million in grants, 713 code-enforcement closures in 2025
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Summary
City staff presented the Community Development annual report, saying the department secured about $1.4 million in grants, closed 713 code-enforcement cases, registered 262 rental properties and moved a Unified Development Ordinance rewrite to city council for review.
Community development staff told the Riverside Planning Commission on Feb. 19 that the department secured about $1.4 million in state and federal grant funding in 2025 and closed 713 code-enforcement cases during the year.
"There was $1.4 million in grant funding that was secured," said Mr. Smith, the department presenter, who highlighted the department's actions on permitting, enforcement and economic development. He credited outreach and faster permit turnaround for renewed applicant activity.
The presentation noted top permit activity in 2025: 115 fence permit applications topped the list, followed by accessory-structure and business permits. Staff said the earlier fence-code changes reduced the number of variance applications brought to the board.
"When we talk to our residents and our partners and we tell them it's 3 to 5 business days ... that encourages people to turn the application in," Mr. Smith said, describing an effort to clear a backlog and speed approvals.
The report also said a rental-property registration program launched in 2025 has registered 262 rental properties. Staff reported 34 city-owned properties were transferred to the Riverside Community Improvement Corporation for redevelopment, and economic development efforts included MSD opening an administrative office that brought 90 new jobs to the city.
On zoning and policy work, the planning commission recommended a rewrite of the Unified Development Ordinance and a new zoning map; staff said they had sent the rewrite to city council for review and aimed for a first reading at the March 2 council meeting.
Mr. Smith closed the presentation by listing 2026 priorities: UDO and map adoption, targeted community engagement during the transition, and a nuisance-abatement RFP process that is under way. Commissioners asked follow-up questions about permit trends, fence-code effects and UDO timing during the discussion.
The commission did not take further formal action on the UDO at the Feb. 19 meeting; staff said council would consider the UDO and map at an upcoming meeting.