Four roundtables will be open to residents only. The first is scheduled for April 26.
Chula Vista wants residents to share how the city can cultivate a community that feels more connected and respected as it develops its Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiative.
The city has scheduled four roundtable discussions, the first of which will take place on April 26, open to residents of all ages and backgrounds.
Last year, the city stated that it was proud of the diversity of its communities and the “significant strides toward equity,” but that there was room for improvement.
“As a city, while we have done a good job of promoting equity, we still have work to do as employers and as evaluators of how we are serving our entire community,” city manager Maria Kachadoorian reiterated earlier this year.
The five-year JEDI action plan is what Chula Vista plans to use as a guide to address “structural and systemic disparities in our community and municipal services, focusing on health, housing, education, employment, public safety, environmental justice, transportation and economic opportunity,” according to a city staff report.
“This effort will bring all of our previous work together, evaluate it and bring it under one umbrella as we move forward and identify additional growth areas,” said Miranda Evans, the city’s special projects manager.
Last July, the city took its first steps by hiring a consulting group to develop the action plan over nearly three years. The group has assessed the current organizational practices of city departments and their level of awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion. It will now seek community input. Plans also include the creation of an internal “JEDI Guidance Council,” in which employees from various city departments will develop a statement of intent. Once the five-year plan is developed, long-term goals include training city staff and evaluating the progress of the initiative.
The scheduled roundtable sessions come as a special city committee explores whether Chula Vista should seek recertification as a “welcoming city” for immigrants and refugees.
Chula Vista earned the designation in 2019, but ended it in December 2022 without public notice or efforts to renew it. City officials said it was instead focusing on developing the JEDI program, which they said will incorporate its ongoing immigrant inclusion activities.
The JEDI roundtable sessions will be held:
- April 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in District 1 at Montevalle Recreation Center, 840 Duncan Ranch Road;
- April 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in District 2 at the Civic Center Library, 365 F St., Montevalle;
- April 29, 9-11 a.m. in District 3 at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, 2800 Olympic Parkway;
- April 29, 12-2 p.m. in District 4 at South Chula Vista Library, 389 Orange Ave. This session will be held in Spanish with English translation.
The city says RSVP is encouraged, but not required. To register for a workshop, visit surveymonkey.com/r/8P6RKMC.