Happy Holidays, Escondido!

We would like to wish all of our residents and visitors a happy holiday season and end of 2023. As the year comes to a close, the City is proud of what we have accomplished as a community and are looking forward to 2024.

City offices will be closed on December 25 and January 1, 2024 in observance of the Christmas and New Year's holidays, with emergency services always available.

 

The Weekly Activity Report will resume on January 11, 2024.

 

 

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 155 stuffed stockings, 415 canned food items, and 742 nonperishable food items were donated. Thank you to everyone who participated in making the Employee Holiday Drive a success!

 

Christmas Tree Recycling Information

In Escondido, it's EASY to recycle from December 26 - January 5.

 

Curbside:

Cut tree to fit inside green waste bin and place on curb on your regular trash collection date.

Kit Carson Park:

3333 Bear Valley Parkway

South entrance, first parking lot on right, across from adult softball complex

 

Jesmond Dene Park:

2401 North Broadway

Parking lot next to ball fields

Questions?

Call Escondido Disposal at 760-745-3203 or the Recycling Hotline at 760-839-6216.

 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Code Compliance:

Total Code Cases (Year to Date)

1587

 

Graffiti Restitution:

 

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES:

 

Escondido Business News

Downtown Escondido parking lot now available for development The Coast News Group

Axiom Brings Escondido Retail to 100% Occupied Connect CRE

Multi-Cultural Business Association hosts annual Holiday Festival Escondido Times-Advocate

Patio Playhouse Youth Theater to offer "Mrs. Claus's Holiday Hullabaloo Escondido Times-Advocate

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Resources

Are You Looking for Assistance with Your Small Business?

Discover the range of San Diego and Imperial Valley SBDC services provided to assist you in starting, growing, and succeeding with your small business. Services offered span topics including accounting, marketing, human resources, technology security, manufacturing, distribution, and finance.

Request for Assistance from SBDC Follow the link to request assistance from the San Diego SBDC Network. You will be contacted within the next 1-2 business days.

City of Escondido Economic Development Contacts

Request a Meeting with Our Team

Thinking about starting a business? Already have a business and need additional support? Have a property and looking for tenants or starting improvements? Reach out and we can help you navigate City and community resources to achieve your goals.

The Economic Development Team are always available to help with questions or connecting you to the right resources. Do not hesitate to reach out!

Subscribe to our Business News and Insights Email Newsletter!

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Review

On June 7, 2023 the Escondido City Council approved the 2023-2028 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). This document outlines data and community feedback about the City's economy and outlines a five-year plan to improve the local economy.

Let's dive into the SWOT section of the CEDS:

Resilient Labor Force: The quantitative analysis highlights the astonishing bounce-back from the Covid-19 pandemic by Escondido's labor force. Employment in the City has returned to its pre-pandemic level and the unemployment rate is only slightly higher than it was in March of 2020. Throughout the post-pandemic period, median and average earnings have continued to tick up. The resilience of the Escondido economy is a credit to its industrial base. The City's largest employer is Palomar Medical Center; the Health Care sector grew by 1.2% between February 2020 and December 2022, compared to 0.8% for the rest of the labor force.

 

POLICE DEPARTMENT UPDATES:

Thank You

Our community is the best!We always have so many groups reach out to us this time of year with goodies for the officers and professional staff and donations for the people we contact every day. A few days ago a member of the North County Support Your Local Police Committee stopped by the police station to deliver baked goods. They were so generous!

 

 

 

Victory Outreach and PAL Team Up for the Holidays

The Grinch tried to steal Christmas, but Escondido PD was there to make the arrest. It was an honor for the Escondido PD and the Escondido Police Athletic League (PAL) to be a part of the Victory Outreach Community Christmas. Families in need came to this event to receive toys to give their children for Christmas. Escondido PAL added more cheer by providing food gift certificates, a small home-made toy, and candy. This year some families were really struggling. One grandmother walked up in tears saying that she just needed food for her grandchildren, whom she is raising. When she was greeted with food certificates, her response was, I would believe you were all angels. It was a joy to see the smiles on the faces of the families that were blessed. There were a record number of people in attendance this year, so retired Lt Al Owens ran to Vons to purchase more food certificates. Special thanks to all of our amazing volunteers: Dee Russel, Kim Miller, Jim Miller, Judy Fitzgerald, Rick Hernandez, Riquelme Hernandez and Escondido PD Sgts. Martin and Leso. Also, a shout out to our PAL donors who help make this all possible and to Victory Outreach for always helping the community. We at the PD are so honored to be able to help out with this event.

 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Public Safety Dispatchers Hannah Wible and Monica Parra-Delgado on completing their probationary period. Both ladies are an amazing asset to our dispatcher team. Nice work ladies!

 

Farewell and Good Luck

Congratulations to Captain David Cramer!After 28 amazing years with the City, he is retiring next week. Captain Cramer has worn many hats and held many roles at the Police Department, including filling in as chief. His experience, expertise and genuine amazing attitude will be sorely missed by everyone at the Police Department. Even the building does not want to see him go as he was taking the elevator to move his personal items out on Wednesday, the elevator decided to stop working and keep him there for over 30 minutes. The Fire Department and Police Department employees realized he had worked too hard to keep him here against his will, though, so he was eventually released. You will be missed sir. Congratulations and good luck in retirement!

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 14, 2023, Fire Chief John Tenger, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Sargis and Division Chief Art Holcomb had the pleasure of attending this year's Old Timers Luncheon. This annual tradition has been taking place for decades, whereas retired chief officers are invited to attend by the current chief of their respective departments. Not just an opportunity for old colleagues to gather and share a meal, but each year a guest presenter provides inspiration and mentorship to the group. For Escondido Fire "One Team"is more than just us, it's also the men and women who currently serve at each region, and those who have served before us. This year, retired Fire Chief Mike Lowry, retired Division Chief Tony Gossein, retired Division Chief Dominick Arena, retired Division Chief Randy Licata and retired Division Chief Pete Montgomery attended the lunch and it was a special time.

 

 

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & ENGINEERING

Permits and Inspections:

 

Building Division:

• The counter staff conducted in-person meetings with 64 applicants, processed 59 applications, and issued 65 permits.
• The total permit valuation for the week was $1,304,179.00
• Building inspectors completed 261 inspections.

 

Field Engineering Division:

 

Field Engineering processed 26 permits

Field Engineering inspectors completed 31 inspections

Field Engineering active 310 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

 

To learn about previous applications for residential and commercial development permits, please visit the Development Project Information Archive page or contact the Planning Division.