Chico General Plan Review

The following BEC Byline was originally published in 2001. It is included here for archival purposes.

Meeting Thursday, May 17, 2001

The Chico Planning Commission will meet Thursday, May 17th to discuss the need for expanding Chico’s boundaries. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting in the Chico City Council chambers and voice their views on the concept. If you can't attend, but would like to remain apprised Of future hearings on the topic, contact Tom Hayes in the Planning Department at 895-4853 and ask to be included on the mailing list.

Background

The Chico General Plan was unanimously adopted by the Chico City Council in 1994 and won a 1995 Ahwahnee Design Award from the Local Government Commission and an award of merit by the California chapter of the American Planning Association. Despite the recognition of excellence, significant changes to the density requirements and the Design Element were initiated by the Building Industry Association (BIA) in 1998. The sitting City Council lowered density thresholds to accommodate the BIA request before there had been a long enough period to test the viability of the modest requirements and the Design Element was weakened. Now there is an interest to expand the growth areas for Chico (see map). As you can read in the excerpt from the General Plan Environmental Impact Report below, the 41-member community task force and the 1994 Council believed that urban sprawl was to be avoided and our agricultural and wild lands were to be protected.

DEIR p3-4

Setting Urban Growth Limits:

Much of the discussion that accompanied P1an-preparation has centered on where and how growth should occur [sic]. The General Plan Diagram reflects the citizen’s desire for a compact form, with new development contiguous to existing urban areas [sic]. On the westside, the Greenline is maintained except for the previously identified study area within Bell Muir, where some additional development beyond the current Sphere of Influence is envisioned. On the eastside, the General Plan responds to concerns expressed about the need to limit development in the foothills and establish an urban limit line, based in part on elevation, to protect vernal pools and oak woodlands, and preserve views of hillsides and open space.

Because the Building Industry Association (BIA) could not sway the majority of the broad-based community General Plan Task Force during the 1991-1994 update, they waited until four votes on the Council could give their special interest group its way. Ensuring the six Chico BIA members maximum profit on their land speculation is the BIA goal. Subverting the community's goals as expressed by the 41-member Task Force is clearly inconsequential to the BIA.

For example, they lobbied the 1997 City Council to end the Habitat Resource and Conservation Plan, a General Plan requirement, that would have made developing lands easier for developers while protecting species and habitat governed by local, California, and U.S. laws. After squashing the Habitat Plan's two-year effort, the BIA now whines that they can't secure building permits easily from the state and federal agencies with jurisdiction to protect species and habitats (e.g. why can't we build a high school in wetlands?!”). In addition, the BIA pushed the Council to lower densities in the General Plan in 1998, using the land less efficiently, so now the City feels compelled to consider expanding the Chico planning area. The public doesn't wonder anymore who pulls the strings in Chico!

This column originally appeared in May 2001 in the Chico Examiner.