New boundaries for Riverside’s seven City Council wards have been tentatively approved by the council, with formal adoption expected in a month.
In a 6-1 vote Tuesday, council members signed off on the revamped wards, which were designed based on an eight-month input gathering process that involved multiple community meetings citywide.
Only Councilman Chuck Conder, who represents Ward 4, opposed the changes, objecting to the removal of a segment of his current ward that extends toward the Riverside (91) Freeway.
The council’s initial approval will be followed by adoption of an ordinance codifying the revisions, which is slated to be the subject of a second hearing toward the end of April.
“This process has been comprehensive, with extensive community input,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “In the end, we came up with a map that does the best job possible in balancing the community’s needs and desires.”
Riverside County completed a redistricting process that changed the five supervisorial districts in December 2021.
In addition to the change to Ward 4 in Riverside, several other wards were modified, with Ward 2, represented by Clarissa Cervantes, expanding to the 60/91/215 interchange, as well as the Hunter Industrial Park, which were previously in Ward 1.
That ward, represented by Erin Edwards, will in turn expand to the south, encompassing part of the Eastside neighborhood along Kansas and Ottawa avenues.
Ward 5 will cede the Arlington Heights area to Ward 4, but will gain the Casa Blanca neighborhood.
Nominal changes were made to the other wards as part of the redrawing process approved by the council.
Additional information connected to the revisions is available at www.reshaperiverside.com.