City Council will consider reallocating $100,000 for emergency food assistance due to federal shutdown impacts, review a Downtown valet parking pilot, and consider partnership with a South Korean EV company seeking to open in Riverside.
Our yearly visitor: A flame skimmer dragonfly returns right on schedule to the same backyard spot in Canyon Crest — a short-lived beauty, with adults living only about two months. (Bob Sirotnik)
Monday Gazette: July 28, 2025
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City Council meets in closed session for labor disputes. Other boards and committees meet about community safety concerns about a 50-unit affordable housing complex and planning for $110 million in water treatment facilities to remove forever chemicals.
Welcome to our weekly digest on public meetings and agenda items worth your attention in the coming week. This guide is part of our mission to provide everyday Riversiders like you with the information to speak up on the issues you care about.
City Council
City Council will meet in closed sessions for a special meeting on Tuesday, July 29, at 1 p.m. (agenda) to review the City's negotiating position on salaries and benefits for eight employee groups, including firefighters, police officers, management, and union workers, to prepare for upcoming labor contract discussions.
Housing and Homelessness Committee
The Housing and Homelessness Committee (Councilmembers Cervantes, Mill, and Robillard) meets on Monday, July 28, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda) to review the Housing Authority's development pipeline of 476 affordable housing units and addressing community safety concerns at the existing St. Michael's Apartments complex that have prompted increased police coordination and plans for resident safety meetings.
Board of Public Utilities
The Board of Public Utilities meets on Monday, July 28, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to considering three major utility infrastructure projects including a $2.3 million water pipeline replacement on Dundee Road, a $354,160 five-year contract for power plant maintenance, and planning for $110 million in water treatment facilities to remove harmful PFAS chemicals that will increase water rates by an estimated 4.5% annually starting in 2026.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission meets on Thursday, July 31, at 9 a.m. (agenda) to review a church expansion permit that allows Tabor Romanian Christian Church (10750 Cochran Ave) to add a 6,000-square-foot multi-purpose building to replace temporary classrooms and provide permanent space for Sunday school and administrative activities.
Harada House Rehabilitation to Include New Interpretive Center
Museum of Riverside resumes design work to restore the historic landmark and share the Harada family’s enduring civil rights legacy.
Historic Harada House at 3356 Lemon Street, a National Historic Landmark preserving the story of civil rights and resilience in Riverside.
The National Historic Landmark Harada House is a vibrant civil rights icon located in Riverside. This influential and enduring site was the personal family home of the Haradas. Their story, like so many others across the nation during the early and mid-1900s, embodies the topics of immigration, basic rights, assimilation, citizenship, loss, perseverance and legacy.
Jukichi Harada, his wife Ken, and their first son, Masa Atsu, emigrated from Japan and settled in Riverside in the early 1900s, where they began operating a rooming house and the Washington Restaurant. In December 1915, Jukichi purchased the house at 3356 Lemon St. in the names of his three American-born children, Mine, Sumi and Yoshizo, because “aliens ineligible for citizenship,” like himself, could not own property at the time. This led to a court case filed with the Riverside Superior Court. In 1918, the Haradas prevailed in a landmark decision to retain the home. The judge upheld that American-born children of aliens were citizens and therefore entitled to all constitutional rights of citizens.
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