Community Development Department Wins Two American Planning Association Section Awards
The Northern Section of the American Planning Association (APA) California Chapter recently recognized the the City’s Community Development Department with an Award of Excellence as a Planning Agency, another Award of Excellence in Advancing Diversity and Social Change for the Alisal Vibrancy Plan. The Planning Agency Award, “honors the work of a public sector agency that has continually produced a program of exceptional work that has elevated awareness about planning”... click here to read more
April 1, 2020
Today is Census Day!
Did you know that April 1st, 2020 is Census Day? Every 10 years, the United States Census Bureau, counts every person living in the United States every 10 years. The purpose of the Census is to determine the amount of congressional seats in congress and other representative districts, to allot electoral votes to each state, and it also determines how much money local communities receive in federal funding annually - which amounts to billions of dollars each year for education, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, healthcare, and other niche benefits such as disaster relief funding and farmworker housing.
The 2020 Census is crucial to the City of Salinas' effort to make Salinas "a more inclusive, diverse and welcoming city where all persons can thrive," which is the City's Overarching Core Value, developed in the 2020 General Plan Update's Guiding Principles, and approved by the City Council in early 2020. Many of the items outlined in the Guiding Principles, such as improving access to public transit, and ensuring all youth have access to quality preschools, schools, and afterschool programs, are all programs that the Census can determine millions of dollars in local funding for. For every person that does not take the Census, this equates to $2,000 per person per year in federal funding.
For more information on the 2020 Census, and the efforts in Salinas to ensure a complete count, we encourage you to visit the 2020 Census webpage at www.cityofsalinas.org/2020census. The City formed the 2020 Census Salinas Action Team in February of 2019, and has been working in conjunction with local non-profits, the County of Monterey Complete Count Committee, City Departments, and all local school districts to help inform the public about the Census and encourage people to complete their Census. So far, the Action Team and partners, such as Center for Community Advocacy (CCA), the Census Bureau, and First Five of Monterey County, have completed over 85 outreach events in Salinas reaching approximately 3,848 people.]
To take the Census, please visit 2020census.gov, or call 844-330-2020.
January 24th, 2020
Final Parks, Rec, and Libraries Master Plan; Chinatown Plan; and Alisal Vibrancy Available for Viewing! Click each icon below to view:
October 21st, 2019
3rd Annual Chinatown Block Party on November 9th
May 6th, 2019
Visión Salinas / General Plan
Guiding Principles Released!
Click the Image below to see the document:
December 7th, 2018
Chinatown Block Party 2018 in Review!
The City and the Salinas Upper Room Church hosted the 2nd Annual Chinatown Block Party- Housing Starts in Chinatown on Saturday, November 17, 2018 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the heart of the Chinatown, on Soledad Street. The event was a great success with 300 to 400 people in attendance and with a great number of non-profit organizations, service providers, car clubs, community members and families donating their time, commitment and resources to make of this event a great community effort. Homeless individuals were assisted in their first step to housing. They were connected to service and resources that could assist them get into housing. The intent of this event, and of the Chinatown Revitalization Plan, was to also assist in making the neighborhood a place where there is economic growth and where families and the community will feel safe and welcomed. This was accomplished through the great community contribution and turnout. During this year’s event, we had more residents, families and children join and participate in the Chinatown Block Party. Many of the children from the community got to enjoy the children activities available for them at the Buddhist Temple. The children were excited to take part in the bicycle raffle and seven of them went back home happily riding a brand-new bicycle. On top of this, the was excellent food, music and activities free for everyone in attendance.
Elected Officials:
Mayor of Salinas – Joe Gunter
City Manager – Ray Corpuz
City Council Woman – Gloria De La Rosa
Monterey County Supervisor – Luis Alejo
Police Chief and Police Assistant Chief – Adele Fresé/Manuel Martinez
Congressman Jimmy Panetta Representative
Assemblymember Anna Caballero Representative
Performers:
Salinas Upper Room Worship Team - Worship Team, 12th Tribe – Old School / Hip-Hop, SOG – Reggae and RMD, Grupo Rio Jordan – Tejano, Pedro Iniguez (Los Freddy’s) – Balads, Desiree Inocencio - Contemporary, M24 Bluez Band – Blues, Randel Ponce – Rancheras/Mariachi, Kids for Christ - Gospel, C-Flo – Rap
Car Clubs/Churchs/Non-profits:
Salinas Upper Room, Buddhist Temple of Salinas, Kings of Luxury CC, Jesus is Lord CC, Los Padrinos Car & Truck Club, Castroville Midnighters CC, Oldies of Monterey County CC, Cross MC Ministries Bike Club, Classic Dreams of Monterey County CC, Roadsaints MC Salinas Valley, Motorcycle Club, Hayward Upper Room, Harvest Community Church, Salinas Chinese Christian Church, Jesus is Lord Church, Cross MC Ministries, Tell the World Youth Leadership Team, Saint Pablo & San Pablo Catholic Church, Door to Hope, The Original Castroville Paintbusters, Can Dell Light by Viv, M&M Auto Collision, Tri County Trophy & Engraving, Nine Empire 831, Cortez (Jose) Family, Ruiz (Ricardo) Family, Tank Frank Productions, Time for Grieving and Healing, Monterey County Health Partnership, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, The Pink Artichoke, Anna Abad Real Estate, Monterey County Health Department, Central Coast Center for Independent Living, Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, Franciscan Workers of Junipero Serra, Interim Inc., Chinese Association of Salinas, Mother’s United, Ausonio Incorporated, Coalition of Homeless Service Providers, Monterey County Department of Social Services, Salinas Tent City, Target, Alta Vista Mortuary, Cover Jumpers, Judy’s Pastries, Lil Ray’s Transportation, Polomo (Huero) Family Rosary, Rosary Acosta Realtor, Gomez Auto Repair Inc, Espinoza Produce, Missing Hole Baking, Applebee’s, Chilli’s, Teresa Kistler, Salinas Downtown Community Board, Girl’s Scouts, Impalas Central Coast CC, Tavarez Family CC, Gloria de la Rosa, Mothers of Murdered Children of Monterey County, Victoria Martínez, DJ Booth, Salinas PD, Salinas Police Cadets, Golden State Portables, Republic Services
October 26, 2018
Have you been to the Library Connection @ Northridge yet?
Next time you're at Northridge Mall, make a visit to our temporary facility at Northridge Mall, while the El Gabilan Library is being rebuilt. The Library Connection @ Northridge is right at the kid's play area - a short walk from Sears. To visit the Library Connection @ Northridge's Website, click here.
October 10th, 2018
Check Out Photos from our Outreach at Ciclovía 2018
Over 114 participants were engaged by at Ciclovía, 2018, about topics such as transportation and park access in the Alisal. Participants told us that lack of lighting and poor quality of sidewalks were some of their concerns. Check out photos of our activities by clicking here.
September 20th, 2018
Alisal Vibrancy Plan Activity at El Grito 2018
The Salinas community came together to celebrate Mexican independence at the El Grito Festival on Sunday, September 16, 2018. The festival, hosted by the included dancing, music, shopping and traditional Mexican food vendors.
The event involved the community in a new and unique way. There were a variety of community organizations that shared and handed out information. Among the many organizations the City of Salinas Development Department staff was there to engage the community to participate in a few activities that focused on the economic development topic for the Alisal Vibrancy Plan.
Many thanks to all who participated, including our staff and especially to the organizers –the event demonstrated great community spirit and brought together many of those who work in the area. If you missed a chance to stop by our booth we will be at the Ciclovia event on Sunday, October 7th hope to see you there!
August 28th, 2018
Alisal Vibrancy Plan Steering Committee Reviews Content for Draft Plan
The Alisal Vibrancy Plan Steering Committee will soon conclude its first review of Working Group content. Five community-led working groups worked from last November to June on creating the ideas and actions that will form the bulk of the plan’s recommendations. So far in August the Steering Committee has reviewed the work from the Transportation, Housing, and Economic Development groups, and still has Quality of Life, and Community Health and Safety to go.
All of the draft content from the Working Groups can be found on the AVP website at the following link: https://www.alisalvibrancyplan.org/working-groups-1. You can also use the website to find out about other plan documents and events, sign up for more information, or to find out how to contact us about the plan.
Next steps for the plan include continuing outreach through small group discussions, surveys, and pop-ups, as well as getting all materials to the consultant team to produce a first draft of the plan, due for release in late Fall.
August 1st, 2018
City of Salinas Launches Open Data Portal
The City of Salinas launched its Open Data Portal on July 31st, at cityofsalinas.org/data. The City's goals for this new web tool are to create a more transparent government, make valuable data accessible to all, including innovators and entrepreneurs, and give residents greater insight into how government decisions are made.
June 29th, 2018
Community Development Welcomes Two Administrative Aides to Assist with Outreach Efforts
Community Development is excited to welcome two new Administrative Aides! Carla and Crystal will support community engagement for several planning efforts, including the Alisal Vibrancy Plan and Vision Salinas. Both are from Salinas, and bring local outreach experience and strong organizational support skills to our team.
Carla was born in Houston Texas, raised in Salinas, CA since the age of 3. Carla is a graduate of California State University Monterey Bay, where she received a BA in Sociology and a minor in Global Studies.
While Carla attended Cal State Monterey Bay, she was involved in a variety of nonprofit organizations where she helped youth and homeless women in the Monterey County. She is looking forward on working alongside the Alisal Vibrancy Plan team to advocate for the Community of East Alisal, and building working connections with her colleagues and the community residents Salinas. When not working in the office, Carla enjoys hiking, rock climbing, biking, wine tasting and traveling with her family.
Crystal is a bilingual Salinas native and received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Davis. She's looking forward to assisting our Alisal Vibrancy Plan team and continuing to be the bridge that connects valuable information to our community. When not in the office, Crystal enjoys hiking, biking and kayaking with her dog and whole-heartedly believes pineapple belongs on pizza.
May 25th, 2018
We're Building a new Library!! We're Building a new Police Station!!
The front entrance of our new Salinas Police Service Headquarters
May 18th, 2018
May 10th, 2018
Check out photos and community input from our pop-up at Take it Outside, 2018!
Visión Salinas introduced the Draft Guiding Principles to Salinas residents for the first time at Take it Outside, 2018! The Guiding Principles were developed based on community feedback from the Economic Development Element, Housing Element Update, Chinatown and Alisal Plans, and Visión Salinas pop-ups.The Guiding Principles are universal values and aspirations that will be the basis for the upcoming General Plan Update for Salinas.
At Take it Outside, participants asked to vote "Green for go" or "Red for no," for each Guiding Principle, to ensure that the City captured the bredth of their concerns from our outreach processes. If they had any comments or wanted to emphasize a particular priority for the city, they were given post-its to write comments.
**For materials in Spanish, please visit the Spanish Website at www.visionsalinas.org/es
April 3rd, 2018
Check out this Overview of Visión Salinas 2017 Outreach Efforts!
Check out this comprehensive outline of Visión Salinas Outreach Activities in 2017 by clicking here! This document is an overview of outreach efforts for Visión Salinas (community visioning in preparation for the upcoming General Plan Update); the Alisal Vibrancy Plan; the Chinatown Revitalization Plan; and the Parks, Rec, & Libraries Master Plan. In this document you can see photos and feedback from our numerous outreach efforts across Salinas such as the Chinatown Block Party, Alisal Working Groups and Ciclovia event, and see the status of each of the planning processes.
March 21, 2018
Salinas Connect App Launched!
Reporting a pothole, abandoned vehicles, tree trimming, graffiti, or variety of other issues is now as simple as pulling out a smartphone, making a phone call or logging into a computer in the City of Salinas. The City is taking residents to the next level with the implementation of SalinasConnect (QAlert). Residents can now submit their own service requests any time and staff can easily manage all resident service requests more efficiently.
SalinasConnect which integrates directly with the city's installation of QAlert, a community request management software, residents can notify the City, complete with comments and photos, as soon as they discover an issue. Through SalinasConnect, submissions are routed to the appropriate departments or individuals for handling and resolution. Residents can also review their existing requests, send updates, and receive phone and email notifications of status changes on their issues.
