Eastvale looks to get its own ZIP code

There were 41,683 ZIP codes in the United States as of last year, according to the Federal Congressional Research Service.

For years Eastvale has been asking the U.S. Postal Service to add one more, strictly for Eastvale’s benefit, but the answer has always been no.

Three pieces of proposed federal legislation didn’t change anything, any more than the requests to the postal service have.

But that doesn’t mean Eastvale, which incorporated in October 2010 and has since grown to a population of 71,000, is giving up the fight.

“We will keep pursuing this until we get what we need, which is one ZIP code exclusively for Eastvale,” said Councilman Clint Lorimore, a nine-year council member.  “If we don’t get it now, we will keep pushing. “We’re going to take every bite out of the apple that we can until we get this resolved.”

Eastvale has two ZIP codes: 92880, which it shares with Corona, and 91752, which is also used by Jurupa Valley.

That might not seem like a problem, but it is.

Having two ZIP codes – neither of which identifies as Eastvale – has created a number of negative issues, the city’s Independent ZIP Code Advocacy Project has found.

First, it has made it difficult to get businesses to expand, because businesses typically base their expansion plans “on trade areas that are analyzed by ZIP codes,” according to the advocacy project, which started last year.

It also makes mail deliveries more difficult, because addresses in Eastvale are often listed as Corona, Jurupa Valley.

The confusion is so deep that some Eastvale residents don’t know what city they live in.

“I’ve seen this when I’ve been out campaigning, knocking on doors,” Lorimore said. “I’ll talk to someone who believes they live in Corona or Jurupa Valley because that’s what their mail says. I have to tell them they live in Eastvale.

“Some people also don’t know where they’re supposed to go to vote. Both of those things have been true at least as long as I’ve been in office.”

The double ZIP code also makes life difficult for Eastvale businesses, said Hari Dhiman, president of the Eastvale Chamber of Commerce.

“We have two mixers every month, and I hear about ZIP codes at every one of them,” said Dhiman, who started the chamber seven months before Eatstvale incorporated. “We get about 40 to 60 people, and at least one person brings it up. They’re missing deliveries, or they’re not getting deliveries because they went to the wrong address.

“One ZIP code would solve that problem.”

Having two ZIP codes might also have caused Eastvale to pay more for insurance because it’s grouped with two other cities, and it could also lengthen response times should a major emergency happen.

Not having its own ZIP code has also made it more difficult for Eastvale to develop its own identity, but that is not something that concerns the postal service.

“The U.S. Postal Service only cares about delivering the mail,” said Alex Fung, Eastvale’s economic development manager. “There are some other cities that have the same ZIP code issue we have, but it doesn’t matter. Everything is secondary to getting the mail delivered.”

The postal service began using the Zoning Improvement Plan codes in July 1963, as a way to make mail delivery quicker and more efficient, according to the research service.

It replaced a system in which a piece of mail could pass through 17 sorting stations before reaching its final destination. That system, which used two digits, was used only in large cities and was replaced after the volume of mail in the United States doubled between 1943 and 1963.

Unfortunately, for Eastvale, ZIP code borders don’t always conform with a city’s borders. They are based on mail routes and delivery points, not geography, and they can be changed only following a review by the postal service.

To change a border, or establish a new one, it must be shown that the proposed boundary is “cohesive and manageable” for mail deliveries, the research service states.

Also, a new border must not duplicate addresses within a ZIP code, existing postal facilities must be able to accommodate the new borders, and it must show how the change will affect mail delivery.

Regarding a ZIP code change the postal service “will reasonably consider factors related to community identity, particularly if the request is from an undeveloped or newly developed area,” the research service states.

Although it hasn’t worked in the past, there are two pieces of proposed federal legislation, both introduced in February in the House of Representatives, that would give Eastvale its own ZIP code.

H.R. 696, co-sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, and Norma Torres, D-Pomona, is specific to Eastvale.

H.R. 860, sponsored by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, would give exclusive ZIP codes to seven communities nationwide, including Eastvale.

In the meantime, Eastvale is preparing to hire a consulting firm that would help educate residents about the need for an exclusive ZIP code. It’s also asking those residents to fill out a letter of support, available on the city’s website, that will be submitted to members of Congress.

“It’s almost going to be like a separate political campaign,” Lorimore said. “But we’re dealing with the federal government, which moves slowly, and the postal service is having financial difficulties. Those could be our biggest obstacles.”