Robin Huffman for Paradise Town Council

Working with the town council and town staff on behalf of the citizens of Paradise on Paradise Town Council was my privilege for four years. As citizen, I look to our current Town Council Members to work toward these and other goals:

* establishing upgraded roadway standards
 
* developing programs to implement traffic calming and pedestrian and bicycle safety

* assisting the development of the Paradise Skate and Bike Park

* coordinating with the county and other agencies for improving Ridge evacuation routes and other health and safety projects and programs

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 fundraising for this park. More information along with 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 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 in Paradise's sphere of influence. 

The committee 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 trailway to Chico with a bike trail near Skyway. The county has so far included the Historic Sawmill Trail in their transportation planning; however, there are no plans for a trail parallel to the Skyway.

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.

February 11, 2009, the committee will meet again to discuss Ridge fire safety.
 

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, mostly currently affecting people using residential wood burning devices. Upcoming opportunities for public comment will be at the Paradise Town Council meeting Nov. 18 and at the BCAQD Board meeting Dec. 11.

Additionally, a Nov. 4 press release announces a meeting Monday, Nov. 10, 5-7pm at the POA in Magalia (14211 Wycliff Way) to discuss proposed new rules for residential wood burning devices. View the press release at http://bcaqmd.org/forms/Wood%20Stoves%20and%20Fireplaces/Rule%20207%20208/press%20release%20rule%20207-208.pdf

The new "Check Before You Light" program encourages citizens to check with the District to see if air quality exceeds acceptable limits. New programs are necessary because Butte County's air quality is not meeting the State's air quality standards. For detailed information please see http://bcaqmd.org/html/Wood%20Stoves%20and%20Fireplaces.htm

EPA certified wood-burning stoves are 50% more efficient than older models. The Board and Town are looking for more incentives for people to replace their older models. If you have ideas, please call me at 877-0672 or e-mail me at rhuffman@townofparadise.com

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

Paradise and Magalia residents have few safe evacuation routes in the event of a catastrophic fire. This situation has existed for a long time, and the fires this summer elevated the public realization that current evacuation routes are insufficient.

The planned paving of Forest Highway 171 from Inskip to Butte Meadows is a partial answer if and when it gets fully funded and built. An estimated additional $8.4M are needed. This route was made the "most feasible" route when the possibility of Federal funding was realized in 1999. Nearly 10 years later, the route has yet to be paved. If State and Federal funds are not realized in the near future, the public may need to decide if we want to invest local funds in the paving of that route. Currently there are enough funds to pave up to the Humbolt Summit, and that stretch is expected to be paved in 2009. There is a possibility that the Federal Economic Stimulus Package of 2009 will contribute dollars for FH171; however, the available funds for our region may not be sufficient.

Several other existing routes have been proposed to be improved. In October the Town Council unanimously passed a Resolution in support of multiple Ridge evacuation routes.

The Butte County Association of Governments is passed the 2008 Regional Transportation Plan in January. The RTP includes only one Ridge evacaution route, FH171. The Skyway widening over the Magalia Reservoir is mentioned in the report, but it is not part of the plan, nor is any other internal route toward increasing circulation between Paradise and Magalia and other parts of the county.

BCAG has completed several studies, collectively identifying the most viable routes. It remains a matter of priority and funding for improving Ridge evacuation routes.