Happy Holidays, Escondido!
We would like to wish all of our residents and visitors a happy holiday season and end of 2022. As the year comes to a close, the City is proud of what we have accomplished as a community and are looking forward to 2023.
City offices will be closed on December 26 and January 2, 2023 in observance of Christmas and New Year's, with emergency services always available.
The Weekly Activity Report will resume on January 5, 2023.
City Council Installation Ceremony
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Escondido's newly elected Mayor Dane White, and re-elected Councilmembers: Consuelo Martinez, District 1, and Joe Garcia, District 2.
We would like to thank former Mayor Paul McNamara and Councilmember Tina Inscoe for their dedicated service to Escondido.
The Installation Ceremony took place on December 14 where all were sworn in.
Congratulations to all!
Employee Holiday Drive
Each year City employees organize a Holiday Drive to give back to the community. This year's drive has ended, and a total of 103 Souper Sacks were donated. Souper Sacks are bundles of nonperishable food items and holiday surprises that are distributed to seniors at the Park Avenue Community Center during the holiday season. In addition, 534 PJs were dropped off at the Escondido Union School District to be distributed to students and their families. Thank you to everyone who participated in making the Employee Holiday Drive a success!
Free Little Library
Escondido's new Free Little Library was unveiled last week in Washington Park. This is a partnership with Vista Community Clinic's Healthy Escondido Program. The structure and books/activities were provided by the County of San Diego Library System. The Little Free Library initiative is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota that is dedicated to expanding book access to all communities. Visit them at https://littlefreelibrary.org/ for more information.
Robert Rhodes, Deputy Director of Community Services, noted that, We see the Little Free Library as a place where people can come together to learn, grow, engage, and create community making Washington Park the perfect location as it serves as the heart of the neighborhood.
BY THE NUMBERS
Code Compliance:
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Total Code Cases (Year to Date)
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1582
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Public Works:
Graffiti Restitution:
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Collected Last Week
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Collected Year to Date
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$100
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$2,923.44
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES:
Business Licensing Data:
Week of Week of December 5-9
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Escondido Business News
Volunteers come together for Escondido's Holiday Festival - KPBS
Over $5M in grants awarded to local cities for homeless shelters Fox 5
Artwork by three locals inspires poetry for Escondido Arts Partnership anthology The San Diego Union-Tribune
KPBS Kids Event: Sid the Science Kid January 14 - Patch
Stos Partners Buys Industrial Building in Escondido, California for $20M ReBusiness Online
The Elizabeth Hospice Buys Escondido MOB for $8M Connect CRE
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Data Corner
Check out the City of Escondido's Economic Area of Influence Data Dashboard! Data found in this dashboard include the economic area of influence of the City of Escondido, which extends slightly beyond the City borders.
Check out the City's Real Estate Snapshot below
POLICE DEPARTMENT UPDATES:
Holiday Time Around the Police Department
As with everyone in the City, the holidays are a busy time around the Police Department. On Thursday, December 8, PD hosted its annual EPD Children's Christmas Party. This year, it was hosted at North Coast Church, here in Escondido. From Santa to the Grinch, these deserving children got to enjoy a fun party and some really cool presents. Our community always comes through, making sure these kids get to have the best holiday ever. Thanks to everyone who donated and all the police department staff who put all the time and effort into making this the amazing event it is.
Also, this week, the police department team got together with their families for a fun family holiday party. There were gifts for the kids, good food, pictures with Santa, and lots of fun and laughs.
Finally, a special thank you to Westfield Shopping Center! They found out about the amazing EPD Christmas Party and decided to support with a toy drive. On Saturday, uniformed members of the Police Department went down to the mall for their festive close to the toy drive. After socializing with some of the local community, the officers collected all the presents and filled our Bearcat with them. What a nice surprise! We could have never imagined the number of presents that our amazingly giving community members would provide. The gifts will be used for the many children in our community that could use a little extra holiday cheer.
Community Resources:
Anonymous Tip Line: 760-743-8477 (TIPS)
Crime Data/Mapping: https://www.crimemapping.com/
� Helicopter Announcement Transcription:
Call 858-866-4356 or text "Hello" to 858-866-4356
Megan's Law Information: https://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/
Mental Health & Crisis Intervention:
Access and Crisis Line: 888-724-7240
It's Up to Us Campaign: www.Up2sd.org
Get Connected. Get Help: Dial 211
National Drug Helpline: https://drughelpline.org/contact/ or call 844-289-0879
Non-Emergency Line: 760-839-4722
FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATES:
On December 6, the Escondido Police & Communication Center received a report of a vehicle colliding into a home in the 800 block of Omar Dr. Upon arrival of both Fire and EPD, crews found a single vehicle had crashed into the front, right corner of the garage. The driver of the vehicle, who was the only occupant, was uninjured and refused medical evaluation. The City's building Engineer was called out to evaluate the structure and possible hazards. It was determined that the vehicle could be safely removed by tow truck, without additional damage the structure of the building. There were no injuries to the residents of the home or damage to nearby properties.
On December 7, the Escondido Police and Fire Communication Center received reports of a residential structure fire located at 474 El Dorado Drive.Units responding noticed smoke showing in the distance and requested a working fire upgrade for additional resources. The first arriving engine reported a working structure fire with heavy smoke and flames coming from a large, detached garage, located to the rear of the property. Firefighters contained the fire to the garage in approximately fifteen minutes, preventing additional fire spread to the surrounding exposed houses. Due to the garage being full of equipment and storage items, there was significant fuel load resulting in heavy fire activity. Crews spent several hours overhauling the area to ensure full extinguishment. In all, nineteen firefighters and one fire prevention specialist responded to the fire. EPD, SDSO, and CHP conducted traffic control, and SDGE was dispatched to address utilities. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
On December 9, Firefighters from Station 5 were invited to attend and participate in Bernardo Elementary School's Winter Family Read Night. Children who attended wore pajamas and brought blankets to cozy up and enjoy a winter's tale. Each firefighter took a turn reading and the kids were excited to see them there.
On December 10, Escondido Fire was represented at the Escondido Jaycees 70th Annual Christmas Parade "Miracle on Grand Avenue". The fire engine and ladder truck from Station #1 joined Battalion Chief Jeff Sargis and Fire Chief Rick Vogt in the parade.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & ENGINEERING
Permits and Inspections:
Building Division:
1. The counter staff conducted in-person meetings with 71 applicants, processed 65 applications, and issued 47 permits.
2. The total permit valuation for the week was $278,463.
3. Building inspectors completed 171 inspections.
Field Engineering Division:
1. Field Engineering processed 13 permits.
2. Field Engineering inspectors completed 50 inspections.
3. Field Engineering has 182 active permits.
Development and Capital Projects Update:
Curious what's happening with development projects around the City? The link below directs to an interactive dashboard of projects currently in various stages of the development process. Browse project descriptions, see locations on the map, browse photos and more.
City of Escondido Project Dashboard
A short overview video of the Dashboard features can be watched here.
To learn about previous applications for residential and commercial development permits, please visit the Development Project Information Archive page or contact the Planning Division.
