The City announced that it has been awarded the ‘Distinguished Budget Presentation Award’ by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its Annual Budget for fiscal year 2022-2023.
This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting, and marks the 2nd consecutive year the City has been honored with the award after being selected by a panel of independent reviewers.
In order to receive this distinction, an entity must satisfy nationally-recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and communications device.
“This award represents a significant accomplishment for the City. It is a testament to the excellent work of our city staff who work diligently throughout the year to consistently meet our goals of ensuring financial health through public engagement and financial transparency,” said Azusa City Manager, Sergio Gonzalez.
For additional information about this award and/or the City’s finances, please visit the Azusa City website or contact the City’s Finance Division at 626-812-5203.
The City of Baldwin Park has received a grant from the Los Angeles County Regional Parks and Open Space District Measure A – Facility in the amount of $1,200,000.
Grant funds will support the renovation and expansion of the daycare facility at Morgan Park. The Center will be repurposed for multiple recreational uses. This most recent accomplishment is a sign of the on-going commitment by the City of Baldwin Park to protect and promote the quality of life for the residents.
Water treatment infrastructure in the City of Chino just got $2 million dollars stronger, with a check presented by Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35) to Chino Mayor Eunice Ulloa and the Chino City Council.
The funds were secured as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Congressional Community Projects Funding appropriation. The money will be used to help complete a new treatment plant for City of Chino Wells 4 and 6. By reinstating the two wells, the City’s need to purchase water from other sources will be reduced by half.
This project is currently in the pre-design phase. The completed treatment facility will be located at Fourth and Carter Streets, adjacent to the Chino Public Works Services Yard and Chino Valley Independent Fire District Station 61.
The City of Chino Hills has selected David Crabtree as its new Interim Community Development Director. Mr. Crabtree is filling the vacancy created after Community Development Director Joann Lombardo retired in March. Mr. Crabtree brings extensive experience in land use, zoning, and community development working at several municipalities in the region and will assist the City with Planning and Building operations until the position is filled permanently.
Mr. Crabtree retired from the City of Brea in December 2019 as its Community Development Director after a 35-year career in municipal government. During his time with Brea, he was an integral part of the leadership team that worked through the redevelopment of Brea’s downtown during the 1990s and its emphasis on economic development, attracting and retaining business in Brea, and finding workforce housing solutions for the community. He was also involved with the City’s critical look at balancing growth in its hillside areas and creating new mixed-use opportunities as part of Brea’s comprehensive update to its General Plan.
Most recently, he has completed interim director assignments at the cities of Buena Park, La Habra, and Fountain Valley. Mr. Crabtree holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography from Arizona State University with an emphasis in land use and urban studies with postgraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and California State University, Fullerton. He was born and raised in Chicago.
The City has embarked on a project to replace all 1,200 residential street name signs throughout the city is now underway. The signs, many of which are faded, have been in place for more than 20 years.
Work is being done in two phases, with the first set of installations expected to be completed in late spring 2023, and the second set of installations programmed to start late summer/early fall and wrap up sometime in spring 2024.
The first phase will see the installation of 550 signs in the north, center, and south areas of the city. The remaining 650 signs that will be installed during the second phase will be located in the south-west and north-east portions of town.
For more information, visit www.diamondbarca.gov/constructionprojects or contact the Public Works Department at publicworks@diamondbarca.gov or (909) 839-7040.
Inland Empire-based Progressive Real Estate Partners has represented a Crumbl Cookies franchisee in leasing a location in Glendora. Known for their baked fresh on-site presentation and famous pink box, the Crumbl Cookies stores are now part of the fast growing company’s 600 locations in 47 states. The Glendora site is a 1,200 square foot store at 1365 E. Gladstone St. #500 in the Glendora Marketplace. The site is anchored by Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and AMC.
The City of La Verne is making strides in updating its General Plan, which functions as a blueprint for how decisions about growth and development are made in La Verne over the next 20 years. With the update process fully underway, the City will conduct an environmental review of the updated General Plan to understand potential impacts of implementation.
The General Plan consists of a series of elements covering a range of topics, including land use, economic development, mobility, resource management, public safety, community facilities, community design, fiscal sustainability, community health and wellness. For example, the land use element identifies planning objectives aimed at maintaining the character of La Verne by protecting existing single-family residential neighborhoods and open space resources. It also focuses on growth around the Metro station, Old Town La Verne and along the Foothill and Arrow Highway corridors.
De Novo Planning Group, a firm specializing in community planning and environmental studies, has led the City’s General Plan update since the process began in 2017. Since then, they have hosted three visioning workshops, conducted a survey, hosted 10 meetings with the General Plan Advisory Committee and more. Additionally, the City completed a public review of these elements in 2019 but held off on completing updates to the General Plan until it completed its Housing Element. The Housing Element is a state-certified planning document that helps the City prepare for future housing needs and will be included in the updated General Plan.
At the February 21 regular City Council meeting, De Novo Planning Group provided an update on the status of the new General Plan. Once the City finalizes the draft plan, the environmental review will include in-person and online open houses to receive community feedback as the City considers the impacts of the plan on factors such as noise, air quality, vehicle miles traveled, greenhouse gas emissions and energy.
Similar to past public engagement, the City will inform and engage with residents about this last segment of the general plan update through social media posts, direct emails, updates in the City Manager’s newsletter and meetings and workshops between spring and fall 2023. The City also plans to relaunch the General Plan website with the most updated information for the community to explore.
After the City completes the environmental review, the La Verne Planning Commission and City Council will review the final document in fall 2023 before approving it. To learn more about the General Plan update, visit laverne.generalplan.org.
Contact: Eric Scherer, Community Development Director
Telephone: (909) 596-8706
SRS Real Estate Partners’ Investment Properties Group has brokered the $54 million sale of New Haven Marketplace in Ontario. Built in 2020, the shopping center totals 95,000 square feet. Stater Bros. anchors the property, which was fully leased at the time of sale. Other tenants include Starbucks Coffee, Chase Bank, Carl’s Jr., Great Clips, Rodeo X Public Market and Brew Haven.
The San Sevaine Trail Project is another step closer to reality after the Rancho Cucamonga City Council approved an agreement with Caltrans to maintain part of the future trail.
The multi-use trail project is a partnership with the city of Fontana, where the trail starts. Parts of the trail will run through Caltrans property as it passes under the 210 and 15 freeways.
Rancho Cucamonga will be responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the parts of the trail crossing Caltrans property in addition to the parts of the trail in the city. The council at its March 15 meeting moved to approve the agreement as part of the consent calendar.
The project means more than a mile of multi-use trail for running, walking, and biking, will be added to Rancho Cucamonga early next year. The trail will extend from the Pacific Electric Trail, where it meets the Etiwanda Creek Channel in Fontana, to Banyan Street in Rancho Cucamonga.
Under the agreement with Caltrans the city will ultimately be responsible for graffiti removal, maintaining the trail’s pavement, signs, striping, drainage, fencing, and lighting.
In 2010 the city entered into a Common Use Agreement with San Bernardino County Flood Control District to develop trails along portions of Day Creek and Deer Creek Channels, the agreement was modified in December 2020 to include the San Sevaine Trail Project. The city has also received permits from Caltrans to build the trail.
A six-month budget for trail maintenance will be added to the city budget for 2023-2024 as maintenance will not begin until after construction ends.
The Walnut City Council has made public safety enhancement a top priority. The commitment of resources and the focus towards keeping Walnut a safe community is showing positive results early on in 2023.
So far this year, crime rates have decreased in the City of Walnut, compared to the same period in 2022. Overall, crime in Walnut is already down 20%. This is in large part to lower counts of Burglary and Larceny Theft, which are down approximately 29% and 19%, respectively.
The recent addition of a directed burglary patrol unit, an extra traffic patrol unit, and an increase in resident/citizen involvement have all contributed to this positive trend. The Community, City Council, Sheriff Personnel, and City Staff will continue to work together to make sure crime numbers stay on a downward trend.
West Covina, according to a study from personal finance technology company MoneyGeek, listed West Covina as the No. 3 safest in the country for cities with populations over 100,000. The results of the survey were also featured on Forbes Magazine.
The city is not without crime. It has its share like any other city, but it’s considered the third safest city in the nation for cities of 100,000 or more because, as Melody Kasulis with MoneyGeek puts it, it has less more-serious crimes than serious ones.