City of Riverside names Patricia Link as new building official

Riverside has named Patricia Link to the position of building official, the city announced Tuesday.

Link has been with the city’s building department administration staff for 22 years, with experience that includes permit processing, plan check and inspection services, officials said. For the last four years Link held the title of assistant building official, including a recent 10-month assignment as acting building official.

Previously she served as the building safety manager for the city of Fullerton and permit services supervisor for the city of Santa Ana, both stints combining for a total of eight years. 

Link began her public-sector career in the city of Corona, where for over 10 years she worked as a permit technician before advancing to the position of building inspector.

“I am honored to be selected for this important role,” Link said in a statement. “I look forward to putting my experience and passion to work for the residents and business community in Riverside, my hometown.”

Riverside officials noted that “Link has multiple state and national code certifications including Building Official from the International Code Council and is an active member of California Building Officials (CALBO) serving on the Membership and Outreach Committee to enable workforce development and growth industry-wide. More recently, she successfully completed the CALBO Building Officials Leadership Academy (BOLA).”

Projects that Link has led include: One Stop Shop and virtual permitting software implementations in Santa Ana, Fullerton, and Riverside; facilitating large-scale residential mixed-use development projects in downtown Santa Ana including Prisma, The Marke and One Broadway; various restaurant revitalization projects in downtown Fullerton; and Main & Ninth and the Mark in Riverside.

“Tricia is an incredible leader and thoughtful practitioner. Her goal is to help every project move through the building process efficiently and resolve any problems encountered quickly. She is an industry leader with her approach to Code interpretation, implementation and streamlining efforts,” Community & Economic Development Director Jennifer Lilley said in a statement. “We are so fortunate to have her continue her career in her hometown of Riverside.”

Link also has a lot of experience and a track record for “delivering high quality customer-centric development services for large-scale agencies including Riverside,” officials said. “She understands the importance of ensuring a robust, high performing workforce, facilitating local investment, and bringing innovation and vision” to real estate development in Riverside.

“As a recent graduate of the CALBO Leadership Academy and through her current leadership role in CALBO, Patricia Link has demonstrated her ability to represent the City’s interest statewide,” Assistant City Manager Rafael Guzman said in a statement. “Her experience as the acting building official only demonstrated what already was becoming evident: she is the most qualified person for this important job in our organization.”

Link has a bachelor’s degree in history from California State University, San Bernardino, and received a certificate in construction technology from Norco College, according to Riverside officials. She was born, raised and currently resides in Riverside with her family.

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