Robin Huffman for Butte County Supervisor

Working with the town council and town staff on behalf of the citizens of Paradise has been my privilege for over three years. With less than a year left on my first term as council member, I continue to work toward these and other goals:

* establishing upgraded roadway standards

* promoting traffic calming and pedestrian safety

* supporting area parks, trailways, and scenic corridors

* coordinating planning between the town, county, and other agencies

* helping our local economy by supporting redevelopment and tourism efforts

* taking steps to improve our air quality and to clean up Paradise

* keeping the town in good shape financially by being fiscally conservative

* implementing policies that make Paradise a more sustainable community

With around 26,000 people living in Paradise, living up to the town's motto "in harmony with nature" requires many considerations.

Watch events calendar for fundraiser events.

The Paradise Community Village will include a Skate and Bike Park. With input from design workshops held with youth and adults this year, there is an awesome design for the Paradise skate and bike park.

In coordination with the Paradise Community Village the Skate and Bike Park Task Force is looking for grants and fundraising for this project.

The park's preliminary design is posted at http://www.paradiseskateandbike.com/siteplan3d.pdf

A large, unique, professionally designed skate and bike park will benefit Paradise. Parks like these are desgination parks that families plan to visit when they go on trips. Exhibition tournaments will be held. These activities will bring regular visitors to Paradise who will stay overnight and contribute to our local economy.

The Task Force meets monthly at Mountain Mike's Pizza in the shopping center at Clark and Wagstaff. These meetings are open to the public. For more information call me at 877-0672 or Diane Graves at 872-3078.

I helped establish regular ad-hoc meetings between the town and county. Since then, about three years now, the Ridge Area Ad Hoc Committee has met bi-monthly to discuss various ideas and issues for the Ridge area.

Discussions include coordinating development standards, such as common roadway standards for development in Paradise's sphere of influence.

We have discussed extending the Paradise Memorial Trailway. Two community meetings were held in 2007, one in Magalia on the Historic Sawmill Trail and the other at Town Hall on a plan to extend the trail to Chico with a Class 1 trail near Skyway. Efforts continue outside of the ad hoc committee to plan for these bikeways.

The committee also discussed establishing an expanded scenic corridor for the Skyway between Paradise and Chico. The Paradise Town Council sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors in May of 2006 in support of taking measures toward conserving the Skyway scenic corridor. The Board responded early in 2007 that they will take the Skyway scenic corridor into consideration during their General Plan Update process currently underway.
 

Two Butte County Supervisors and two Paradise Town Council members serve on this committee. Key staff members from the town and county support the effort.

Agendas and recaps of the meetings are posted at http://www.townofparadise.com/town_govt/ad_hoc_min_ag.html.

The public is welcome to attend.

Paradise has changed the way we review Tree Permits for large development projects. The Planning Commission will review tree removal and replacement as part of their review of projects. The Town will soon be asking the newly established Tree Advisory Committee for advise.

There are still two openings on the Tree Advisory Committee. Town Hall is taking applications for the unfilled positions for individuals licensed for onsite waste management or in the construction trade.

The Butte County Air Quality District is considering new measures to improve air quality by encouraging residents to burn efficiently. Three workshops have been held on the ridge this year. The workshops are for public information about the health dangers of poor air quality, and several ways to reduce pollution emitted from wood stoves. These workshops are also an opportunity for public comment.

Several ideas are under consideration, such as "Don't Light Tonight" when air quality exceeds acceptable limits. Another measure could be the removal or replacement of uncertified wood stoves when a home is sold. The EPA certified wood-burning stoves are 50% more efficient than older models.

District staff recently been working with local fire agencies to develop a one-stop permitting program for open burning of yard wastes such as leaves and prunings. Information on open burning developments will be available at a later date.

Call the District office at 891-2882 to get more information, and visit http://www.bcaqmd.org/ 
 

The Historic Sawmill Trail Group began working on establishing the trail in 2002, and they continue to support this effort in coordination with multiple agencies.

The Town of Paradise has added the extension of the trailway (uphill and downhill) to the regional context of our Master Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The idea to extend the Paradise Memorial Trail in both directions following the old railroad grade is also included in the trailway's Master Plan. Butte County is considering including this non-paved multi-use trail into their General Plan update. Additionally, Paradise Parks and Recreation District will be considering adding this trail to their Master Plan.

The Skyway Plaza received voter approval in 2004, but the project had legal setbacks. Recently a firm, on behalf of Wal-Mart, submitted a preliminary development application to the Town. The Council will be considering a development proposal after new CEQA studies and a development agreement are complete. I am interested to see what the project will include.

This entrance to town has a view of the valley and surrounding landscapes. It is on the Skyway Scenic Corridor, our main route to and from Chico. This entrance to town is a special place that deserves very thoughtful review before changing the current land use and zoning that have been set in both the town and county's general plans.

The study areas the County is considering for growth along major ridge corridors are Pentz Road, Clark Road, Neal Road, and Skyway. Study Areas 10 and 14 include the Skyway between Paradise and Chico.

Study area 5 includes all of Magalia. This area spans from Paradise's northern town limit up past Paradise Lake, east to include Coutolenc Road, and west roughly until the canyon gets steep. The area coincides with the Paradise sphere of influence.

What happens in the county areas surrounding Paradise affects all of us. The cities, town, and county should work cooperatively in establishing plans for growth.

The General Plan provides the "constitution" for growth and development in our county. The project completion date for the General Plan Update is September 2009. It is very important that the supervisors make wise choices for the county.

Butte County's population is projected to increase nearly 50% in the next 25 years: that's about 100,000 more people, about as many people as live in the Chico area now. Most of that growth will likely be from migrations from metropolitan areas south of Butte County.

There are three proposed land use alternatives for growth for each study area:

Alternative 1: Existing General Plan or Character. This option generally keeps the existing general plan's land use designations.

Alternative 2: Concentrated Growth. This option uses concentrated growth directed to existing urban areas.

Alternative 3: Rural Extension. This option uses a combination of 1 and 2, with higher density growth areas spread about the county and lower densities around those urban areas.

See http://www.buttegeneralplan.net/ for detailed information on the process, for dates of public meetings, and the online forum where you can make comments.

The Town of Paradise web site posts upcoming agendas for Council and other public meetings. See http://www.townofparadise.com. Council meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 5555 Skyway.

The Butte County web site is http://www.buttecounty.net.

The Butte County Association of Governments is found online at http://www.bcag.org/
BCAG designs routes for and manages the B-Line buses. They are key planners of transportation projects. They are coordinating a Habitat Conservation Plan and Blueprint studies (a.k.a. Butte Regional Conservation Plan) for the county http://www.buttehcp.com/. These will be useful in the county and city Master Plan updates.

The Butte County Air Quality Management District's website is http://www.bcaqmd.org/
BCAQMD is providing air quality elements to the county and cities for use as they update their general plans. The air district staff is working with the county and cities to help keep Butte County's air healthy for all of us.

My e-mail is rhuffman@townofparadise.com. You may reach the Town of Paradise at 872-6291. The town's mailing address is 5555 Skyway, Paradise, CA  95969.

Robin Huffman

Paradise Town Councilwoman