Calimesa council adopts delinquent-trash assessments, landscaping fee and approves Quick Quack car wash

The Calimesa City Council on July 20 approved several consent and public‑hearing items: confirmation of delinquent refuse-fee assessments, adoption of the final engineer’s report for the citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District No. 91‑1, and approval of entitlements and a zone-text amendment for a Quick Quack car-wash in an existing shopping center.

On item 17 the council adopted Resolution 2026‑633 confirming the report of charges for delinquent refuse fees and authorizing staff to submit the assessed list to the Riverside County tax roll. City Clerk Darlene Gerdes said the list was current as of July 14 and that CR&R (the franchise hauler) provides notice and a sequence of outreach steps before accounts go to the tax roll. Resident Donald McCurdy told the council he returns infrequently, lives on a slim retirement income and felt compelled to pay a bill for service he said he never requested; "there should be a waiver," he said, and criticized CR&R customer service.

CR&R representative Barbara Jimenez told the council the hauler gets its account information from Riverside County records, that staff can remove properties that were mistakenly billed if owners contact CR&R, and that the company leaves a green tag, follows up with a letter after 30 days and bills every 90 days before forwarding delinquent accounts to the county for assessment. Jimenez confirmed CR&R offers senior discounts and smaller carts.

The council then adopted Resolution 2026‑35 approving the final engineer’s report for the Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District No. 91‑1 for fiscal year 2026–27. City Engineer Mike Thornton said the fee remains $21.50 per equivalent dwelling unit, approximately 4,466 parcels will be assessed, and the assessment would generate about $109,276.38 for the city. No public testimony was received on the item.

Item 19 was a multi-application package for a 3,362‑square‑foot automated Quick Quack car wash at 1168 Calimesa Boulevard in The Shops at Calimesa. Staff described a zone-text amendment that would allow automated self-service car washing as a conditionally permitted use in the downtown neighborhood commercial zone (subject to a conditional-use permit), a development plan review showing a three-lane queuing area with 24 spaces across three lanes, 30 vacuum stations and other site improvements, a tentative parcel map to subdivide the shopping center parcel, and a CEQA addendum finding the project consistent with earlier environmental review. The Planning Commission recommended approval 5–0 and no members of the public testified. Council approved the environmental addendum, introduced Ordinance No. 4‑21 for the zone-text amendment and adopted related resolutions and permits by roll-call vote (5–0).

All three items passed on unanimous roll-call votes. For delinquent-refuse and landscaping assessments, staff noted that CR&R will continue to work with residents to reconcile accounts before parcels are finalized for county assessment.