Dear Community Member,

Happy New Year! On behalf of the City of Yorba Linda, welcome to 2023! While last year was an exceptional year full of great accomplishments for the City, the outlook for 2023 is even more promising. This year, we are excited about the following:

• Reopening Adventure Playground following a $7 million renovation to create a one-of-a-kind recreation facility;
• Leveraging our state-of-the-art spaces to create new and innovative programs at the Library and Cultural Arts Center;
• We are implementing new programs that increase our wildfire resiliency thanks to an $866,000 grant from CalFIRE, and launching a public education campaign promoting awareness of Yorba Linda's evacuation zones.
• Adopting a new 2-year budget that funds essential projects while maintaining our fiscal health;
• Continuing to invest in our City's infrastructure through capital improvement projects, such as our Annual Pavement Preservation Project & the widening of Bastanchury Road; and
• Strengthening our current businesses while bringing in exciting new companies and restaurants to fill retail vacancies, such as the upcoming Target store.

While these are just a few highlights of the year ahead of us, Yorba Linda is on the right course to continue delivering the exceptional services our community deserves for years to come. We look forward to sharing all the good news with you all year long! Thanks for staying engaged with the Yorba Linda community.

Best Regards,

Mark Pulone

City Manager

Want to learn more about the decisions and actions of the Yorba Linda City Council? The latest City Council meeting recap is now available online. These recaps briefly summarize the City Council's activities until the official minutes are adopted (generally at the next meeting). In addition, City Council Meeting agendas and minutes from previous meetings are available on the Agendas and Minutes page on the City's website.

We're pleased to announce the winners of our first Holiday Decorating Contest from last month. Congratulations to David Bradly and his family for their exceptional display of lights on Buena Vista Avenue, which took the top prize. We enjoyed sharing our contest entries on our holiday decorations map so the community could find exceptionally decorated homes near them. This first year was a lot of fun, and we are already excited and dreaming about our next holiday decorating contest. To learn more about the contest, visit yorbalindaca.gov/holidaycontest.

Yorba Linda is constantly attracting new businesses to open their doors in our exceptional community. We're currently tracking the development of several exciting restaurants and other companies planning to open shop in Yorba Linda soon, including:

• Lone Wolf Brewing – Now Open in the Packing House Square;
• Clydes Hot Chicken – Opening soon (Arroyo & School Street);
• Jalapeños – Coming Soon (Stater Bros. Center);
• Sushi Imari – Coming to the Packing House Square soon;
• Handel's Homemade Ice Cream - Coming to the Packing House Square in 2023;
• Denny's – Location on Richfield Road & Yorba Linda Boulevard opening this month; and
• Target – opening in the former OSH building at Valley View Center in early 2023.

The City presents these exciting updates and announcements about new businesses as information develops. For more information about opening a business in Yorba Linda, contact our Economic Development Manager at 714-961-7105.

For 2023, we are focusing on honoring Yorba Linda’s unsung hometown heroes – the people who live up to our community’s highest ideals of service and engagement – but we need your help! If you know someone who deserves to be highlighted, no matter their age, tell us! Please send us an email with a brief description. Selected individuals will be honored at a council meeting, and we will share their stories on our social media channels. Thank you!

If we can't reach you, we can't alert you! AlertOC is Orange County's mass emergency alert system and will rapidly send out messages when there is a perceived, emerging, or imminent situation that may require community action, such as evacuating your home. Yorba Linda residents are encouraged to sign up today at AlertOC.org. Please include your home address to ensure you receive the most relevant updates. Also, if you signed up for AlertOC in the past but have changed your phone number or home address, be sure to visit the website to update your profile and contact information.

With the receipt of the CalFIRE Fire Prevention Grant totaling $866,610, the City is now ready to implement an integrated fuel reduction project in seven strategic sites around Yorba Linda to reduce the risk of wildfire to State Responsibility Areas. The project includes goat grazing, hand crews, and mechanical abatement as dictated by slope, accessibility, and brush density. An estimated 78 acres of surface area will be treated over the 3 to 4-year project life. The project performance period is until March 15, 2025, with a potential additional year pending available funds and CalFIRE approval.

We will provide more updates about this project in future editions of this e-newsletter, as well as our website and social media channels. For more information and updates regarding the Fuel Reduction Project, please visit the City's website.

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all City facilities will be closed on Monday, January 16, 2022. Please note that there will be no delay for residential trash pickup.

The City of Yorba Linda and Republic Services is giving away FREE compost to Yorba Linda residents as a "thank you" for participating in the green waste recycling program. Compost creates healthier soil by adding organic matter and improving soil structure. Join us on Saturday, January 28, from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (or sooner) at Tri-City Park (2301 N Kraemer Boulevard, Placentia, 92870). Compost is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis with a 60-gallon limit. Please bring your own containers to transport the compost, such as a trash can or plastic tote, but bags will not be allowed.

The Library is celebrating local writing talent with a local author festival. Read Locally allows local authors to gain exposure and engage a new readership. The Library is now accepting applications from Yorba Linda authors to participate in the event. Applications for Orange County authors (space permitting) will begin on Monday, February 6. Please visit the Library's Read Locally website for more information, including application materials.

Providing the best road facilities for our community is one of our highest priorities. The City Council recently awarded a construction contract for the Bastanchury Road Widening Project. This project includes the widening of Bastanchury Road between Casa Loma and Eureka avenues with an additional thru lane in each direction and the installation of new traffic signals at those intersections. In addition, a new sidewalk will be installed on the north side to provide continuous pedestrian connectivity, while the multipurpose trail on the south side will be reconstructed. Another feature of this project is the change in vertical curvature of the roadway to provide an improved line of sight for motorists traveling along Bastanchury Road.

While the outcome of this project will result in easier driving through this stretch of Bastanchury Road, there will be significant impacts and delays during construction. The contractor will be required to phase construction and maintain one lane of travel in each direction of Bastanchury Road at all times. However, due to the complexity of the project and the narrowing of travel lanes, it will be necessary to implement four-way stop controls at the intersections of Bastanchury and Casa Loma & Eureka avenues. In addition, project signage and changeable message boards will be in place to advise motorists of the approaching construction work. Construction is anticipated start next month and last approximately one year.

Join the City of Yorba Linda’s Parks and Recreation Department in making a New Year’s resolution to keep Yorba Linda’s parks clean, safe, and attractive for everyone to enjoy through the Clean Parks Campaign. Every little bit helps, so please join us in making a big difference. By lending a hand and working together, we can keep our parks looking their best for generations to come!

A few ways you can participate include:

• Please do not litter! Clean up any trash you make and help pick up other litter you see during your visit;
• Please pick up after your pet. Doggie waste stations and bags are available throughout Yorba Linda parks;
• Keep your dogs leashed for the safety of your dog and other park visitors;
• Report damaged landscaping areas, playground equipment, or broken drinking fountains, sprinklers, or other park and field concerns through MyCivic311;
• Donate! Individuals, organizations, and businesses can donate through the Community Sponsorship Program. Donations can be earmarked for specific projects or larger donations; and
• Volunteer! Non-profit organizations or groups of individuals can volunteer and complete park rehabilitation projects. One of the best ways to volunteer is to participate in Love Yorba Linda in the spring!

The Landscape Maintenance Assessment District (LMAD) is hard at work maintaining the beautiful appearance of Yorba Linda. The LMAD just finished renovating the entry monument at the intersection of Yorba Ranch Road and Esperanza Road. This multifaceted project began with repairing and painting the existing monument walls and caps. Staff then went to work rehabbing the existing irrigation and replanting the landscape using a climate-adapted plant pallet to ensure this monument will look its best for years to come. The project was partially funded by spray-to-drip irrigation conversion rebates offered by the Metropolitan Water District of Orange Country.

Yorba Linda Police Services is committed to bolstering partnerships with the City and business community and is excited to present Business Watch -- a free crime prevention program that enlists the active participation of business owners in cooperation with law enforcement as we all aim to prevent crime. 

Modeled after the nationwide Neighborhood Watch program, Business Watch encourages neighboring businesses to form a community that looks out for each other, communicates important information, and reports suspicious activity and crime. These cooperative efforts make for a successful crime-fighting team and offer mutual aid assistance in times of disaster. This significantly impacts law enforcement’s ability to maintain safer business establishments and commercial complexes while cooperating with businesses. 

Business Watch offers many benefits, including prompt after-hours notifications of incidents at the location, pertinent crime trend alerts, increased communication with Yorba Linda Police Services and fellow merchants, and timely safety tips or recommendations.

To register today, visit the City’s website to complete the Business Watch Enrollment Form (PDF). This information remains confidential and is essential in allowing us to contact business owners if a crime occurs at their business or in the event of an emergency. 

To finalize registration, a representative from Yorba Linda Police Services will arrange a time to visit the business and adhere a Business Watch sticker to the storefront window. Contact the Crime Prevention Specialist at 714-779-7098 or by email to learn more.

Are old electronics filling up your garage? The Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce is offering an E-Waste Recycling Event on the weekend of February 4-5, 2023. Hosted at City Hall (4845 Casa Loma Avenue) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Yorba Linda residents and businesses can bring consumer electronic equipment, working or not, to be recycled. Most electronic equipment and appliances with a cord and circuit board will be accepted, such as computer monitors, TVs, power supplies, printers, etc. can be recycled for free. There is a service fee for major appliances, including microwaves. Please note that fluorescent light bulbs and batteries cannot be accepted. For more information, please visit the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce website.

The 2023 Yorba Linda City Championship is set to take place on March 18-19, 2023, at Black Gold Golf Club. This contest is a two-day event that will feature many of the region's top collegiate and amateur players competing for the "Yorba Linda City Champion" designation. The Yorba Linda City Championship is open to all amateur golfers with a valid USGA Handicap Index who are at least 15 years of age at the event's start. Both Championship (Gross) and Net flights will be offered for Men, Women, and Seniors.

The Yorba Linda City Championship is one of the premier amateur golf tournaments in Orange County. Not only is it an honor to host some of the best amateur golfers in Southern California, but the event also presents an opportunity to showcase our beautiful facility, extraordinary staff, and outstanding golf course, which make Black Gold the preferred golf tournament venue in the area. Registration for the Yorba Linda City Championship is available in the golf shop at Black Gold and on their website.

To learn more about the exceptional services provided by Black Gold, please visit www.blackgoldgolf.com or view their flyer.

Great job, Yorba Linda! Our environmental services partner, Republic Services, recently completed 2022’s route review and container inspections as required by Senate Bill 1383. The good news is that Yorba Linda residents and businesses are making great efforts to separate their trash, recycling, and organic waste appropriately.

With the new state-mandated requirements for organic recycling changing how we separate and dispose of our waste, it’s important to remember that this is a learning process for all of us! We asked Republic Services what the top contaminants in each bin are, and the results show that we all need a quick refresher on some common items that are ending up in the wrong cart:

Almost two-thirds of all home fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms. Protect your family by installing smoke alarms, inspecting them regularly, and practicing home fire drills. The following tips can help keep you and your family safe:

Install

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, in hallways outside bedrooms or sleeping areas, and on every level of the home;
• Install smoke alarms on the ceiling or high on a wall. Make sure they are at least 10 feet from the stove and three feet from doors leading to the kitchen to reduce false alarms;
• Keep smoke alarms away from bathrooms with tubs or showers, heating or cooling ducts or vents, and ceiling or whole-house fans;
• Check the back for the manufacture date and replace all alarms when they are 10 years old;
• Use interconnected smoke alarms so when one sounds, they all sound;
• It’s safest to use both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms. Ionization alarms are quicker to warn about flaming fires. Photoelectric alarms are quicker to warn about smoldering fires; and
• Special alarms with strobe lights and bed shakers are available for deaf or hard-of-hearing people.

Inspect

• Test all smoke alarms once a month; and
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning to keep smoke alarms working well.

Protect

• Draw a home escape plan that shows two ways out of every room and an outside meeting place;
• Teach children what the smoke alarm sounds like and what to do if they hear it; and
• Practice home fire drills at least twice a year.

For more fire prevention tips, visit OCFA's website.

Outdoor irrigation accounts for more than 60% of a water bill. During the winter, residents can reduce their outdoor watering to an as-needed basis with their landscaping. To save water, and money, please observe the following tips:

• Avoid watering landscapes during and within 48 hours following measurable precipitation; and
• Replace traditional irrigation controllers with a weather-based irrigation controller to allow for a more accurate irrigation schedule based on local weather conditions.

Information regarding rebates and even more water-saving tips are available at the Yorba Linda Water District's website.