Brawley DMV to move to bigger office
BRAWLEY – Not only is this city going to keep a Department of Motor Vehicles office, it is going to get a bigger one.
Officials, led by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia and Mayor Norma Kastner-Jauregui, held a press conference Wednesday in front of City Hall to confirm the DMV office, which has been at 1175 Main St. for decades, will be relocating to the former Aaron’s Rent-to-Own site at 173 W. Main St.
The move is expected to be completed sometime in summer 2021.
“The DMV is here to stay,” Garcia, D-Coachella, told the audience.
That wasn’t a foregone conclusion until recently.
DMV’s lease at its current location, which it has occupied since at least the early 1980s, was set to expire in
2021. The location, which currently pro
cesses about 109,000 transactions annually, had parking concerns, crowding issues and accessibility problems.
Officials said the change of facility is necessary to improve the quality of service for Imperial County residents by accommodating additional transaction terminals, increased parking
access, and to ensure Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
Kastner-Jauregui said she and the city manager’s office have been working on the problem for about two years and enlisted the Garcia’s office for help.
“The last thing we wanted was for them (DMV) to shut down,”
she said. “We wanted to make sure they weren’t going to leave the city.”
The city presented a number of options for a new location, and the former Aaron’s store turned out to be an ideal choice, as it overcomes the limitations of the current facility and allows room for growth.