Full reservoirs and a drought-free California offer short-term relief, but a vanished snowpack and unresolved Colorado River negotiations signal rougher water ahead.
A fiery sunset reflected in the still waters of Lake Evans draws a family to the shore at Fairmount Park. (Julian Barham) Have a photo that captures the spirit of Riverside? Share it with us and help celebrate the beauty of our community!
Monday Gazette: April 20, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! The first of the Raincross Gazette's candidate forums is this Thursday. The Ward 2 forum is just days away, and if you haven't reserved your seat yet, now is the time. Come ready to hear directly from the candidates who want to represent your neighborhood and be part of the conversation before June's election.
A busy week at City Hall includes housing proposals, substance bans, and the search for a new City Attorney.
Welcome to our weekly digest of public meetings and agenda items worth your attention for this 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 a special meeting Monday, April 20 at 8 a.m. (agenda), and closed and open sessions on Tuesday, April 21, in an afternoon session at 3 p.m. and an evening session at 6 p.m. (agenda).
The agenda for Monday’s special meeting includes:
Considering the recruitment of a new City Attorney during a closed-door session authorized under California state law, a position that serves as the City's chief legal adviser.
The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting includes:
Considering a proposal to rezone and redesignate approximately 2.72 acres on Hedrick and Jones Avenues from single-family to multi-family residential to allow construction of a 117-unit apartment complex.
Considering a pilot program that would allow housing density to be redistributed among City-owned surplus properties and designated housing sites along University Avenue to encourage residential development in that corridor.
Considering an ordinance that would increase City fines for any violation of the city’s municipal code to $100 for a first offense, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for each subsequent offense of the same type.
Adopting updated airport rules covering animal control on the airfield, unauthorized access to aircraft movement areas, tenant events, and restrictions on off-airport commercial vendors.
Considering loan agreements totaling approximately $3 million to support construction of 25 affordable senior housing units and 9 affordable family housing units on Mulberry Street.
Considering a contract worth up to $1.85 million with a North Carolina vendor to provide specialty equipment for police vehicles through 2029, funded by Measure Z.
The Community Police Review Commission meets on Wednesday, April 22, at 5:30 p.m. (agenda) to review a policy recommendation on racial and identity profiling data collected during police stops and consider the CPRC's draft 2025 Annual Report on police oversight activity.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission meets on Thursday, April 23, at 9:00 a.m. (agenda) to review its 2026 procedural rules while postponing — at the applicant's request — a public hearing on a proposed Arlington Avenue gas station and convenience store that would require rezoning residential land in Ward 3.
Economic Development Committee
The Economic Development Committee (Councilmembers Robillard, Cervantes, and Hemenway) meets on Thursday, April 23, at 3:00 p.m. (agenda) to review presentations on local technology partnerships, workforce apprenticeship programs and economic development initiatives.
Opinion: 2026 is Shaping Up to Be a Mixed Bag in the Water World
Full reservoirs and a drought-free California offer short-term relief, but a vanished snowpack and unresolved Colorado River negotiations signal rougher water ahead.
As our climate continues to warm and shifts to longer dry periods and shorter, more intense, wet periods with more precipitation in the form of rain and less snow, water providers are concerned about longer term supply if 2026 turns out to be a dry year. On the plus side, California and the Colorado River Basin both had a pretty good year in terms of overall precipitation, but warmer storms with rain rather than snow and a historically warm March destroyed the snowpack that would normally provide capturable runoff throughout the spring. The graphic below shows April snowpack for the last four years. As you can see, we didn't have any this year.
The rapidly melting snowpack and rain runoff did a great job of filling California's reservoirs, but there was far more runoff than there was room to store it and a great deal simply flowed out the Golden Gate into the Pacific Ocean. On the Colorado River, little water was lost and storage in Lake Mead significantly increased although both Lake Mead and Lake Powell remain far below full capacity.
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