Redwood City’s Community Preservation Volunteer program is now in its third successful year! In that time this volunteer program has resulted in numerous trained volunteers dedicating a total of over 1,000 hours helping Redwood City’s Building and Inspection division with community preservation projects. The City is seeking additional interested and committed community members to help beautify and improve neighborhoods and business areas. Applications for this very helpful volunteer opportunity are available from Code Enforcement Officer Steven Solorio at (650) 780-7351 or by emailing .
Volunteer training and program implementation will take place from April to September, and the deadline to apply for participation is Wednesday, April 6th.
The program has also gained a reputation, becoming a model program for the California Code Enforcement Association and for other city and county code enforcement jurisdictions.
Volunteer training includes riding along with Building and Inspection staff, and developing an understanding of the policy and procedure manuals for the department. After training, volunteers help Code Enforcement officers with specific case work and participate in outreach to the community. Their volunteer duties include responding to inquiries regarding abandoned cars and rubbish clean up, participating with an officer on sign ordinance enforcement for business owners, or performing important clerical and office related duties. These valued volunteers can also assist at the front counter at City Hall, provide follow-up to code enforcement cases and complaints, assist officers with preliminary investigations of non-health and safety code violations, and handle graffiti reporting, abandoned shopping cart reporting, and special community projects.
“This is a great way for community members to get involved and help supplement services that otherwise would be delayed or deferred due to the City’s budget problems,” said Redwood City Mayor Jeff Ira. “My call to action to our community is for everyone to find some organization they can volunteer with – whether it’s a non-profit, a sports activity, a library, or as a Community Preservation Volunteer with Redwood City. Everyone can and should do their part to help their community during this tough economy.”
For volunteers or those community members who would simply like to learn more about how Redwood City’s Code Enforcement program works, the City will be conducting quarterly information/education workshops on subjects such as the City’s business sign ordinance, nuisance trash, and more. Scheduling information will be available online at www.redwoodcity.org.
Visit Redwood City’s award-winning website at www.redwoodcity.org for information about the City and its services, the community, recreation programs, education, and local business. Subscribe to Redwood City’s email newsletter and other City documents by visiting www.redwoodcity.org/egov.
— Steven Solorio
— Redwood City Code Enforcement
— 650-780-7351