Community Development
The Community Development Department consists of the Planning Division, Building Division, and Engineering Division.
- General: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Building Window: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM (closed 12-1 for lunch)
The City of Atwater Building Division has implemented Cloudpermit, an advanced permitting software system designed to streamline the process of electronic submittals, plan reviews, payments, and the issuance of building permits. This upgrade is expected to deliver substantial benefits to our community.
Engineering
The Engineering Division provides for the administration and management of a full spectrum of activities including capital planning, engineering and design of public facilities and utilities, and public improvement inspection.
This division is responsible for plan preparation and specifications for the various city capital improvements and expenditures and to ensure compliance with state competitive bidding and construction quality compliance. It is responsible for right of way management and for issuing encroachment permits.
This division also coordinates the review of plans or various maps for compliance with state and local standards and ensures engineering of such projects comply with state and local standards and legal requirements.
Traffic Counts
The City is contacted by interested parties regarding traffic flow – traffic counts. This data is often useful for commercial – retail site selection decisions.
At the bottom of this page are links to a traffic count map which contains identified data collection points as well as a data sheet with the traffic count measurements. The data is aggregated as 24 hour pass by trips from both directions.
If you have additional questions regarding this information, please contact Engineering Division at engineering@atwater.org or by calling 209-357-6233.
Business
Considering locating or expanding a business in Atwater?
The City of Atwater has several programs to assist local businesses in being more prosperous, including:
Local Revolving Loan Fund – administered by Merced County
Entrepreneur Training Program – administered by the Alliance SBCD
Access to business counseling and customer service training programs – administered by the Alliance SBCD
The City also has adopted as part of its mission to continuously work to improve local economic development conditions by being proactive and helpful to our business partners.
If you have any questions or need specific assistance please contact the City.
Contact
Community Development Department
1350 Broadway Avenue
Atwater, CA 95301
209-357-6349
planning@atwater.org
Economic Development Strategy
The City of Atwater participated in a comprehensive review facilitated by Chabin Concepts of the Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities for economic development in Merced County.
The end result is a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) which is required by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for several forms of grants and other resources.
The document is available for download on this page:
Business License
All businesses operating within city limits must apply for a City Business License.
The City of Atwater has partnered with MuniServices, LLC for the administration of the City’s Business Licenses. MuniServices provides Taxpayer Support for both new and existing businesses who need to obtain a City license. For information about obtaining a copy of your City of Atwater Business License, please contact MuniServices at (866) 240-3665 or by emailing them at bizlicensesupport@muniservices.com or by contact the City of Atwater at (209) 357-6239.
Online Filing is Available for Business Licenses!
Businesses who need to purchase their City of Atwater Business License may do so online by filling out the application at the link below and submitting it in person to the Planning Department or via email to planning@atwater.org. If you wish to renew your business license, please contact the Finance Department at (209) 357-6312.
Additional Information:
Projects
For information about the Ferrari project, please click here.
Forms
General Plan
- General Plan Section 1
- General Plan Section 2 – Land Use
- General Plan Section 3 – Circulation
- General Plan Section 4 – Conservation and Open Space
- General Plan Section 5 – Seismic and Public Safety
- General Plan Section 6 – Noise
- General Plan Section 7 – Economic Development
- General Plan Section 8 – Glossary
The City of Atwater General Plan was adopted in 2000. It was developed to anticipate the needs of the physical development of the community through the year 2020. The City of Atwater General Plan is now available for download. The document has been separated into eight sections.
Copies of the most current General Plan Map and Zoning Map are also available for download from this site. These are located on the City Maps Page.
The City also has copies of the General Plan Document, General Plan Map, and Zoning Map available for purchase at City Hall, 750 Bellevue Road in Atwater.
Redevelopment Agency
The Atwater Redevelopment Agency is a separate entity within the City of Atwater. However, the Board of Directors is composed of the Mayor and City Council Members. The Agency is focused on issues in the project area which was created in 1976 for the purpose of remedying physical and economic blight.
The Atwater Redevelopment Agency is the primary provider of business assistance and support under the various state and federal programs administered locally. These include the Enterprise Zone, Foreign Trade Zone, local Revolving Loan Fund, and Recycling Market Development Zone. In addition to business support the mission of the Agency is to stimulate new private investment, job creation, and market the opportunities available in the community.
An emphasis of the Agency is to recruit and retain businesses so that local citizens have job and shopping opportunities, provide housing opportunities to low- and moderate-income residents through the use of Agency funds for low- and moderate-income housing, assist in providing a viable downtown business district, and facilitate capital improvements and investment to improve the Redevelopment Project Area.
Housing
Through the contributions of the Atwater Redevelopment Agency and by way of grant writing the city has developed a housing program. Currently, the city provides assistance to low- and moderate-income residents under the first-time home buyers program and the housing rehabilitation program. The combination of agency funds, Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG), and Home Funds establish a strong local base to provide quality and affordable housing.