City Council will discuss placing tax measures on the June ballot including a potential 0.25% sales tax generating $21 million annually and consider warehouse development restrictions.
Angel's trumpet blooms in a Downtown front yard. (Maria Driver) Have a photo that captures the spirit of Riverside? Share it with us and help celebrate the beauty of our community!
Monday Gazette: January 26, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Monday! Today is National Spouses Day, and we'd be remiss if we didn't give a shout-out to our own partners who support this two-person newsroom behind the scenes. Here's to the spouses who listen to our story ideas over dinner, celebrate our wins, and make this work possible. Lindy Pardee and Luke López, you are appreciated!
City Council will discuss placing tax measures on the June ballot including a potential 0.25% sales tax generating $21 million annually and consider warehouse development restrictions.
(Titus Pardee)
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 closed and open sessions on Tuesday, Jan. 27, in a afternoon session at at 3 p.m. and an evening session at 6:15 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
Discussing whether to place one or more tax measures on the June 2026 ballot, including a potential new 0.25% sales tax generating an estimated $21 million annually or the possible extension of Measure Z beyond its 2036 expiration, with a March 6 deadline for ballot placement and no other opportunity until 2028 if Council takes no action.
Considering updates to the City's Good Neighbor Guidelines for industrial development—a multi-year effort that began in 2022 and now incorporates new state law (AB 98) regulating warehouse construction in the Inland Empire. The proposed changes would restrict warehouse size based on proximity to homes and schools, establish floor area ratio limits reducing allowable building space near neighborhoods, and require on-site notification signage for proposed projects.
Housing and Homelessness Committee
The Housing and Homelessness Committee (Councilmembers Cervantes, Mill, and Falcone) meets on Mon, Jan. 26, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda) for a workshop presentation on homelessness response that covers the City's outreach and housing programs, spending levels, homeless population data showing recent stabilization, and a new state law expanding criteria for involuntary psychiatric holds to include people with severe substance use disorders.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission meets on Thu, Jan. 29, at 9 a.m. (agenda) to consider a zoning change in an industrial area near Kansas and Massachusetts avenues—once planned as part of the City's Innovation District—to allow two warehouses totaling 200,000 square feet with no tenant yet identified, along with a permit for an Arlington liquor store to relocate to a larger space within the same shopping center.
Commission on Aging
The Commission on Aging meets on Thu, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. (agenda) to review it’s 2025 accomplishments and 2026 priorities, which focus on connecting older residents with housing resources, healthcare education, and social programs.
Committee Advances Billboard Deal That Could Bring City $2.5 Million Annually
Proposal would swap 10 static billboards on side streets for 10 digital displays along freeways and major arterials.
A static billboard on Madison St. is among those that would be removed under a proposal advancing through City Hall.
A billboard company's unsolicited proposal offering Riverside $2.5 million annually cleared its first hurdle Thursday, moving closer to changing the city's 20-year ban on new billboards.
Why it matters: If approved, you'll see 10 new electronic billboards—including one at Magnolia Ave. and Central Ave. in Midtown—in exchange for removing 10 static billboards from arterial streets like Van Buren Blvd. and Main St.
Driving the news: The Economic Development Committee voted to advance zoning amendments that would let billboard operators request relocations for the first time since 2005.
The proposal likely comes from Lamar Advertising, based on city materials and the company's inventory maps.
The deal:
Remove 10 static billboards from arterial streets
Install 10 double-sided electronic billboards (5 on freeways, 5 on major streets)
City receives $2.5 million annually plus $600,000 upfront
What they're saying: "We don't have a lot of freeway billboards, and this is not going to dominate the landscape," said Committee Chair Steven Robillard, who sees the Midtown location as a chance for local businesses to advertise despite the city's strict sign code.
The backstory: Riverside banned new billboards in 2005 to address visual impacts. About 75 billboards exist citywide, mostly on side streets.
What's next: Planning Commission review tentatively Feb. 12, followed by City Council vote in March.
This season's navel orange harvest connects visitors to the groves that shaped our region.
Ian M. Wright reaches for ripe navel oranges during Heritage House's January harvest, continuing a seasonal tradition that connects visitors to Riverside's citrus heritage. (Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside)
Have you seen Heritage House's navel oranges? January is a great time to harvest and we must say, they look delicious this year!
Riverside's groves helped shape our region's identity. Crates of citrus would travel across the country, promising quality and a taste of California. The Museum of Riverside's archival collection includes roughly 2,600 colorful citrus crate labels, so it's safe to say this aspect of the marketing of citrus fruit is an important part of Riverside's story as well. If you're interested in taking a piece of this history home, you can find original historic crate labels in various designs in the Heritage House gift shop, another great reason to visit this local gem.
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