Build Riverside

Welcome To Build Riverside

Build Riverside is an initiative based on the City of Riverside’s commitment to providing world class customer service and the most efficient, business-friendly development experience possible. It starts from the moment an application is received by the city team and ends with approval for occupancy once construction is successfully completed, encompassing the entire development process. The initiative includes a review and update of city-wide regulations, improved business processes for services in house and in the field, useful technology, and supporting programs like Streamline Riverside, which result in a smoother, more efficient permitting process for all types of development based on simplicity, transparency, collaboration and certainty.

Collectively, these initiatives have positively impacted customers who require development services, business support and permits in the City by reducing red tape, expediting entitlement and building permit review times, streamlining the inspection process, and reducing costs using smart technology. Our development service experience allows our customers the autonomy to visit us at our award winning One Stop Shop here in City Hall, or to connect with us through our virtual services platform, including our newly released Public Permit Portal.

Riverside is open for business and our dedicated team is here to serve and help you BUILD Riverside

Streamline Riverside

The award-winning Streamline Riverside program is a collaboration of City departments including Community & Economic Development, Fire Prevention, Public Works, Riverside Public Utilities, Parks & Recreation and Finance. City staff worked closely with a working group of key stakeholders that include design professionals, developers, builders, and business owners. Through the process, the City solicited feedback on the development review process leading to recommendations that remove red tape and help facilitate a timely and effective development review process. The working group met on several occasions and their input and support was critical to the success of the program. The City also actively engaged with the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce to garner feedback and input on the proposed improvements.

Collectively, the Streamline Riverside program has significantly reduced entitlement and building permit review times and cost for our customers. Those positively affected by the Streamline Riverside program include property owners, business owners, developers, design professionals and contractors. In fact, nearly all customers who require development or business permits in the City have been positively affected by the Streamline Riverside Program.

Streamline Riverside provides our customers with various “tools in the toolbox” that allow customers to seamlessly work through the development process and promotes certainty and transparency which is critical for businesses and property owners as we know, time is money.

Development tools created as part of the program include:

An award winning One Stop Shop with the entire City development team located on the third floor of City Hall.
A streamlined Development Review Committee process that includes an option for early input from all City Departments through our Conceptual Design Review process or comprehensive City-wide, coordinated review processes for all entitlements.
Reduced red tape through code updates to the City Zoning Code, and others, which move projects through the process in an expedited manner.
Uniform Plan Check Turnaround ensures all City teams return plan review comments by the same date, creating efficiency and certainty for customers.
Expedited Plan Check Services allows you to request quicker service in times of need for an additional fee, which can cut review times in half
Useful Technology includes a new Public Permit Portal powered by POSSE LMS and Computronix, which provides customers with remote access 24/7 to the City team and your projects using our online permit tracking software system. Submit projects, permit applications and electronic plans from the comfort of your office or home, obtain real time status updates, pay fees, schedule inspections and more, saving you time and money without a visit to City Hall. Most all City development projects can submit online, no matter the size or complexity of the project, ensuring the City maintains resilient services and continuity of operations under any condition, while also promoting a sustainable environment for our community.

Collectively, these helpful tools promote a “customer centric” development process that is efficient, consistent and transparent for our customers.

House Riverside

The City has initiated the update to our Housing Element. Every eight years, the California Department of Housing and Community Development assesses the projected housing needs of the entire state and assigns a minimum number of housing units to be produced over the following eight-year period to the governing bodies of the state’s major regions. Those governing bodies are then responsible for assigning the individual communities within their boundaries their share of those units – called the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA). A new eight-year cycle will begin in fall of 2021 and, due to a combination of factors that resulted in chronic under-production of housing across the state, the expected RHNA numbers will be higher than ever in many places. Southern California alone must identify space for 1.3 million new homes over the next eight years just to catch up with past under-production and expected need. Riverside’s share is a minimum of 18,415 units, and in order to make sure we can safely meet that minimum, the City will need to identify space for approximately 24,000 new homes by 2029.