News from Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s Office:
Palm Desert, CA – The Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency (TLMA) is extending hours and expanding staffing at its Coachella Valley office to enhance services and the process for building projects in unincorporated areas of eastern Riverside County.
TLMA Director Juan Perez announced the changes on Tuesday at a meeting of a blue ribbon committee formed by Supervisor V. Manuel Perez to review and improve the county’s entitlement and permitting process.
“The Blue Ribbon Committee is a regular forum for interaction with me, county staff and the development community, where issues can be raised and addressed, and improvements can be identified,” said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “I am pleased by the changes generated from the productive dialogue at these meetings, as well as TLMA’s ongoing pursuit of improved service. We are all working together to make the county a better place to do business and create more jobs in the Fourth District.”
The Desert Permit Assistance Center, the eastern Riverside County office for permitting and entitlement processing, is located north of the Washington Street Interstate 10 exit, at 77-588 El Duna Ct., Palm Desert.
TLMA is extending office hours to open earlier on weekdays and remain open during lunch, with additional staff to process building permits and perform inspections for projects.
Starting Aug. 3, the office will open a half-hour earlier, at 7:30 a.m. The office has been open during the lunch hour since June 29.
The county brought on a full-time contract planner to assist with case processing. Planners guide project applicants through the review process, and the additional planner, who started this week, will help with the workload for projects in the desert region.
Currently, the county is hiring additional building inspectors to make inspections on projects more readily available. TLMA encourages people interested in becoming county building inspectors to apply through the Human Resources Web site, www.rc-hr.com.
More changes are in the works. A new software system that will simplify billing statements, increase efficiency, and provide better project status and cost tracking to developers will be launched in fall.
“These are great changes that will improve efficiency, saving time and costs for projects and development,” said Perez. “I am happy this effort is producing steady progress, and these meetings will guide continued improvements.”
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Supervisor V. Manuel Perez represents the eastern two-thirds of Riverside County on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. Stretching from Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, south to the Salton Sea and east to Blythe and the Colorado River, the 4th District is the largest geographical district in the county.
Supervisor Perez’s office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.