Ranchero Road Widening Project In December, the City of Hesperia and County of San Bernardino will begin widening the five-mile stretch of Ranchereo Road between the interchange and underpass from two to five lanes. Construction is expected to last 18 months with intermittent closures in place. Residents can expect noise during construction and detours posted onsite. Keep up with the latest project updates and traffic notices by enrolling in Hesperia Alerts at https://www.cityofhesperia.us/list.aspx. The Ranchero Road Corridor is a major east-west corridor in the Mojave River Valley carrying more than 15,000 motorists each day. To accomodate an increase in traffic and vigorous growth in the community, the City has invested significantly into expanding the Corridor’s capacity. This $54 million project is made possible with support from the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, San Bernardino County, and local and state funds. The Ranchero Road Widening Project is the final phase of a 3 phase process. Previous phases of the project included the installation of an underpass at the BNSF Railroad tracks and an interchange at the intersection of Ranchero Road and Interstate 15. Additional installments of Phase III involve constructing a new bridge over the California aqueduct, widening the at-grade crossing at the UPRR railroad tracks, and several street utility upgrades. Volume 21, Issue 1
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Hesperia Horizon 1
Rental Housing Program
Registration is Open!
Fall For Your New Best Friend With a 95% live-release rate, the Hesperia Animal Shelter is pleased to receive a no-kill status! Thanks to a communitywide effort, homeless animals in Hesperia are truly given a second chance. Opportunities to get involved are always available. Complete an application at www.cityofhesperia.us to become a volunteer! Stay up to date with adoption specials on the Hesperia Animal Shelter Facebook page, and view available pets at www.PetHarbor.com. To foster an animal, please contact the Hesperia Animal Shelter at (760) 947-1700.
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Last Spring, the City introduced the Rental Housing Business License and Inspection Program to ensure optimal rental housing conditions for residents. To maintain these standards, City staff will conduct property inspections each year during the property owner’s assigned renewal month. Current rental property owners were asked to enroll in June to avoid penalty fines, and new property owners must apply for a business license within ninety days of property purchase. The enrollment fee is $75 per single family residence and $50 per unit in multiple-family housing or apartment complexes. Property owners must also obtain a business license for each property. The City thanks its residents for their cooperation to promote the highest quality of living in Hesperia.
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Residential Parking Truck Permit Applications Due November 3rd Preserving roadway infrastructure is a top priority for the City. Substantial investments have led to enhancing Ranchero Road, Maple Avenue, and Peach Avenue with newly budgeted projects underway. To honor these investments, an evaluation process explored avenues to minimize road damage and facilitate the highest standard of transportation for Hesperia residents. After an extended adoption process, the City Council finalized the Residential Truck Parking Permit Program. Under this new program, residents who wish to park tractor-trailers on their property must apply for an annual permit.
Hesperia is proud to house a trucking community and is the only city in the High Desert to allow residential truck parking. To maintain this support, the City continues to allow parking but will implement a modest annual fee to offset costs of roadway damage. Annual permit fees are waived for up to two tractors and trailers and cost $100 per additional tractor and $400 per additional empty or loaded trailer. Residents who wish to park tractor-trailers on their property must apply for a truck parking permit by the moratorium date on November 3rd, 2021. Those who do not enroll by this deadline will not be permitted to park their vehicle on their property.
One Acre = Two tractor trailers Are you Emergency-Prepared? We can’t foresee emergencies, but we can work proactively to prepare for them. Start today in you household by creating a plan, assembling an emergency kit, enrolling in emergency alerts, and educating your family on the right steps to take when disaster strikes. Learn more at www.ready.gov.
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CONTACT INFORMATION Adopt-a-Street......................................760-947-1019 Advance Dispsal................................ 760-244-9773 Animal Control................................... 760-947-1700 Business Licenses................................ 760-947-1315 City Hall...............................................760-947-1000 Code Enforcement............................. 760-947-1343 Economic Development...................760-947-1909 Graffiti Hotline...................................760-947-1600 Job Line.................................................760-947-1100 Public Works.......................................760-947-1400 (after hours)....................................760-947-1400 Water Billing.......................................760-947-1840 Water Conservation Hotline.............760-947-1601 We-TIP............................................ 1-800-78-CRIME Police (non-emergency).....................760-947-1553 Fire (non-emergency)........................760-947-8023 Emergency..........................................................9-1-1 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 1 The Hesperia Horizon is published by the City of Hesperia. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS Cameron Gregg, Mayor Brigit Bennington, Mayor Pro Tem Larry Bird, Council Member Bill Holland, Council Member Rebekah Swanson, Council Member CITY MANAGER Nils Bensten EDITORS Rachel Molina, Assistant City Manager Jennifer Colby, Community Relations Specialist CONTRIBUTORS Marissa Pereyda, Community Relations Specialist Melinda Sayre, City Clerk April Antonio, Administrative Analyst 9700 Seventh Avenue Hesperia, California 92345 www. cityofhesperia.us Printed on Recycled Paper Follow Us!
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Council Redistricting Within a City, voting districts determine which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together and represented by a City Council Member. Districts are defined carefully to easily identify boundaries, minimize division, and respect the integrity of neighborhoods and communities. Local governments must redraw their voting districts every ten years to ensure that each Council Member represents roughly the same number of constituents. For the City of Hesperia, the redistricting process must be completed by April 17, 2022. The City Council will seek input in selecting the next district map. This is an opportunity to share how you think district boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community! The City’s first public hearing was held on September 21st with future hearings held at tentative dates. Please visit the City’s website to stay up to date on the process or email cityclerk@cityofhesperia.us for more information.
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A Message from the City Manager This year, the Hesperia Environmental Assistance Resource Team (HEART) was established to aid existing City and community efforts to beautify Hesperia by cleaning up illegal dumping. The HEART team is comprised of a full-time crew that works each weekday picking up discarded items from our neighborhoods. Residents can report illegal dumping via the City of Hesperia mobile app, available for free on iOS and android devices. In addition to this new program, there are several existing City-sponsored programs in place that aid with beautification, including quarterly Neighborhood Beautification Day which collects approximately 36 tons of material annually; Community Cleanup Day which collects about 13 tons annually; Electronic Waste Recycling Events that collect over 100 tons of electronics annually; Tire Amnesty events that collect more than 7,500 tires annually with an additional 3,500 picked up by City staff; and the Restoring the Environment for a Cleaner Hesperia (REACH) program which together with Code Enforcement, collects about 220 tons of debris each year. I want to extend my thanks to the volunteers that have committed to joining us for our next Community Cleanup Day, which is planned for Saturday October 23, 2021. For more information about this event, visit www.keephesperiabeautiful.com. This month, the City is pleased to present the annual State of the City address, where we recognize community partners that helped us put Community First over the past year. These partners include public safety professionals, local business owners, educators and residents that partnered with us as we forged a new path toward recovery from the economic downturn and lingering pandemic. Among those recognized at this year’s event was Hesperia Deputy Dustin Whitson, who was shot in the line of duty in March of this year. On behalf of the City of Hesperia, I extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude for his commitment to service. As we shared during the State of the City address, the City is committed to continuing to put Community First. Hesperia is a great community and I’m proud of the things we are accomplishing together.
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Hesperia Progress Economic Development
Building Is Booming! Members of the Mojave River Valley have noticed a large pad being graded along the west side of Interstate 15 just south of the Highway 395 intersection. This is the new site of Hesperia Commerce Center One, an Industrial Complex consisting of three buildings totaling 3.5 million sq. ft. Building One will house the new Modway Furniture Distribution Center with Buildings Two and Three still available for prospective tenants. Along with Hesperia Commerce Center One, Covington Capitol is in the process of developing three more industrial locations in the southwest portion of the City.
On the housing front, we are pleased to welcome D.R Horton, Frontier Communities, Pacific Communities, Harris Homes and Richmond American as a few of the developers building new residential projects in Hesperia. The City has issued 290 new single-family home and duplex permits in Fiscal Year 2020-2021 with an additional 320 projected for the coming year.
New options in multi-family housing are opening to the community. Frontier Communities just completed the Las Casitas Apartments, a 160-unit complex located on Live Oak Street near Avenal Street. Three apartment complexes are under construction: the Olive Retail is in full swing on Main Street. Big Lots plans Tree Apartments with 186-units on Third Avenue and to start development in the Midtown Square shopping Olive Street, the Tamarisk Apartments on Tamarisk center after closing at a previous location. Ace Avenue just south of Main Street with 56-units, and Hardware completed its final inspection to occupy a the Sonoma Apartments with 142 two-story units on Muscatel Street and E Avenue. The City looks forward location on the corner of G Avenue. to the development of the Eagle Housing Senior Hesperia has added another franchise to its growing Apartments Phase II, which will add 96-units to their list: Raising Cane’s is under construction on the corner 55+ community. of Main Street and Escondido Avenue. Other new culinary options include Charley’s Philly Steaks and For more information about these projects and other Castaneda’s Mexican Food both located on Bear Valley opportunities, contact Economic Development staff at Road. aantonio@cityofhesperia.us.
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Visit the Hesperia Civic Plaza Park on Halloween weekend for a classic car show, vendors, carnival games, and the best Trick-Or-Treat around! Enter your hot rod in the classic car show or become a vendor at www.hesperiaparks.com.
Water Bill Text-to-Pay The Hesperia Water District now offers a text-to-pay feature as a quick and simple method to process your monthly water bill! Enrolled customers will receive a text notification when their bill is ready--just reply to submit payment. It’s really that simple! Visit www.cityofhesperia.us/texttopay and enroll today!
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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 84 Victorville, CA
City of Hesperia 9700 Seventh Avenue Hesperia, CA 92345
Postal Patron Hesperia, CA
October 23rd - Cleanup Day 30th - Hot Rod Halloween Event November 25th - Thanksgiving - City Offices Closed December 2nd - Tree Lighting Ceremony Please check the City’s website for calendar updates.
Regular Meetings Meeting agendas are available at www.cityofhesperia.us City Council 6:30 p.m. City Hall First and third Tuesday of each month Planning Commission 6:30 p.m. City Hall Second Thursday of each month