Litterbugs and careless RV owners beware! Tossing your trash on the ground or storing a vehicle – such as an RV, trailer or boat – on a public street will soon carry a $1,000 fine. ‘Quality of Life’ and Safety Leads to Code Changes The changes to three chapters of the Visalia Municipal Code […]
Despite the best arguments of the residents and owner of the Westlake Village Mobile Park, the Visalia City Council denied their attempts to derail construction of a 28-pump gas station and car wash 160 feet from their homes. The 3-2 decision to ratify the previous decision of the city’s Planning Commission came during a meeting […]
Short-term rentals – so-called AirBnBs – are apparently still causing chaos in Visalia, and City Hall aims to bring scofflaw landlords to heel. They’re going after their pocketbooks. Almost No Compliance with New Code Just about this time last year, the Visalia City Council revamped the city’s zoning rules in an effort to bring […]
The owner of the Downtown Visalia Certified Farmers Market says the city’s new limit on the events requiring street closures is aimed at hamstringing her popular weekly gatherings. City leaders, however, say it’s a case of a personality conflict and self-interest. City Seeks Limits to Road Closures for Events At the center of the […]
Residents of Westlake Village Mobile Park say they will do anything it takes – including court action – to stop the construction of a 172,000-square-foot Sam’s Club in their backyard. And they say they have the backing of the park’s ownership. Mega Box Store Plan Approved, Appealed Westlake Village is located at 2400 Midvalley […]
Future neighbors of a proposed 172,000-square-foot box store near their homes are mounting a last-minute battle to prevent its construction. Residents of the Westlake Village Mobile Park at 2400 Midvalley Avenue in Visalia – which bills itself as a lake-dotted “nature paradise” for seniors – say their peaceful community is facing a threat to its […]
The good news: Cafe 210 – the community center owned and operated by the First Presbyterian Church of Visalia – will remain open for the foreseeable future. The bad news: The half a dozen employees who make and serve the food could soon be looking for new jobs. Money the Root of Evil at 210 […]
Two big battles are unfolding right now in the ongoing Central Valley Water Wars. Last Thursday, a Kings County judge again ruled in favor of the Kings County Farm Bureau in its lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The judge extended an injunction issued in July that halted costly and difficult-to-implement probationary […]
The Visalia Navigation Center – the city’s first low-barrier homeless shelter and resource center – is just weeks away from opening its doors. The center will finally open its doors at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 4. It’s a grand opening years in the making. A Community-Wide Effort for Adequate Housing It took the […]
A split vote of the Visalia City Council on Monday, August 12, altered the city’s municipal code to again make camping in city parks, recreation areas and other public spaces illegal. State-Forced Change to City Code Doesn’t Help Homeless The changes to sections 12.32 and 12.35 of Visalia’s municipal code allow police to resume […]