Community Development assists customers throughout the development process, including pre-development meetings, building permits, and final inspections, to achieve a desirable outcome for both the customer and the residents of our community.
Community Planning’s Division of Historic and Design Review, works with developers and property owners to ensure that historic structures are renovated in a manner that preserves the character of the various historic districts within the City.
Planners within the Long Range Division consistently work to ensure that new development does not negatively impact the economic pillars of our community, including agriculture and military operations.
The Mesa Heights neighborhood has been the focus of revitalization efforts for the past several years. These revitalization efforts have included, housing rehabilitation, infrastructure improvements, and the construction of the Mesa Heights Apartments.
New and improved! The City recently upgraded the online permitting portal, Citizens Access Portal (CAP). The new upgrade features the addition of many new user-friendly tools, including an interactive map and the ability to pay for multiple invoices in a single transaction.
Community Development is committed to enriching the quality of the natural and built environment for existing and future residents, in partnership with community, through proper planning, development and building practices. The Department strives for responsible, responsive and creative solutions to meet the current needs of customers and the City, while planning for future generations.
Community Development is made of two Departments that work closely together – The Department of Building Safety and The Department of Planning and Neighborhood Services, each with multiple divisions. Community Development is a one-stop shop for all your building and development needs.
Community Connect
The City of Yuma recently launched Community Connect, an interactive map that displays information and the location of development related functions within the City of Yuma, such as permits, plans, inspections, and business license cases.
Community Connect allows you to create email alerts for new applications that have been submitted. You can create an alert for a particular area by creating an account, then entering an address or selecting an area. You can also decide how big you want to make your alert area and the frequency of the alerts.
Users are able to download data directly from the tool and compare trends over time. Community Connect gives users greater access to the development information the City collects, while helping users to see trends within the community.
The City of Yuma’s Permitting and Land Use Management System recently underwent a major upgrade. Commonly referred to as the City of Yuma’s Development Portal, users will now experience an enhanced tool, including an interactive map and the ability to pay for multiple invoices in a single transaction. Through the Development Portal, users can apply for building permits, planning applications, business licenses, inspections, and so much more.
The Mesa Heights Visual Improvement Program, “VIP,” provides financial assistance to business/property owners who wish to make enhancements to the exterior of commercial buildings in the Mesa Heights Neighborhood. A component of the Mesa Heights Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy, this program is intended to revitalize the commercial corridor, stimulate private investment, and improve the visual aesthetics of the neighborhood, which will, in turn, entice customers to the locally owned businesses.
The City of Yuma Neighborhood Services Division will provide a grant to eligible business/property owners for 80% of the cost of the exterior building enhancements. The business will contribute the remaining 20% of the cost. The grants are provided by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As such, certain federal requirements will apply.
