Summer 2025 Zoning Code Clean Up

The City of Riverside is advancing an omnibus amendment to Title 19 of its Municipal Code, known as the Summer 2025 Zoning Code Clean Up, to align local regulations with recent California state laws and improve administrative clarity. The proposed changes span multiple articles of the zoning code, including administration, base zones, specific land use provisions, site planning, and permit procedures. Key updates include streamlining permitting for hydrogen fuel stations to comply with state mandates, codifying public convenience or necessity findings for alcohol licenses, and establishing new permitting requirements for junk dealers and scrap metal recyclers as directed by the City Council. The amendments also aim to simplify approval processes within the Neighborhood Commercial Overlay zone, clarify language surrounding accessory dwelling units, accessory structures, density bonus incentives, temporary use permits, and zoning administrator authority, while correcting technical errors, redundancies, and inconsistencies throughout the code to enhance enforceability and public understanding. The project is being processed under Case Number PR-2025-001793 and has received a certified exemption finding under CEQA Section 15061(b)(3), indicating that the amendments do not constitute a project requiring environmental review. The initiative is led by the City of Riverside’s Community Development Department, Planning Division, with Clarissa Manges, Assistant Planner, serving as the primary point of contact. The scope of work is citywide with no individual contract value assigned, as this is a legislative action rather than a procurement for goods or services. No federal acquisition regulations or standard contract clauses apply, and there is no identified contractor, solicitation number, or financial line items. The project does not involve delivery schedules, packaging requirements, inspection protocols, or payment terms typically found in federal contracts. Instead, compliance is measured through the adoption of updated municipal code language and formal approval by the City Council. Submissions related to the project, such as certified CEQA exemption documentation, are to be directed to the City’s Planning Division at 3900 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Riverside, CA, with no specified deadline or electronic submission portal identified. The effort represents a comprehensive administrative update to zoning code provisions focused on efficiency, legal alignment, and clarity rather than a competitive contracting process.