Keep Chico Affordable
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As the cost of living goes up and Chico continues to grow, we need more diverse and affordable housing options. The good news? Chico’s 2030 General Plan already outlines how our City can grow and stay affordable long-term!
However, the Council majority has routinely deferred decisions on development and maintenance, so the City has fallen behind on meeting our housing and sustainability goals. After annexation into Chico, many District 2 neighborhoods were never updated with sidewalks and storm drains, and the roads are especially in need of resurfacing. Smart growth principles prioritize infill development over new sprawl communities, reducing the need to expand City services and thereby reducing the financial burden on the City’s budget of maintaining infrastructure. We need City leadership that will follow through on the 2030 General Plan.
I support upholding the vision of the 2030 General Plan and will work to pass pro-housing measures that encourage a variety of housing types, such as:
Allowing single-family home conversion to multi-family units, duplexes, and ADU’s
Eliminating minimum lot size requirements in existing neighborhoods
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We must protect seniors, renters, and neighbors on a fixed income. Alongside building more housing, we need to keep people in their current homes.
The City of Chico currently has zero protections for renters. To prevent people from becoming homeless, the City should pass measures that protect renters and neighbors on a fixed-income so no one is priced out or illegally evicted from their home.
I support passing rent stabilization measures that keep people in their homes, such as:
Reducing the maximum rent increase allowable per year
Supporting the creation of a local rent board
Establishing a City office dedicated to enforcing tenant rights
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Keeping people housed also means keeping people employed. Last year alone 12 businesses closed in Downtown Chico, and several commercial properties have remained vacant for multiple years. If we want a thriving local economy that supports small businesses and a thriving job market, we must change course.
What if we could invest in our City’s existing infrastructure, build new affordable housing, and support small businesses all in one-fell swoop? Deputy City Manager Jennifer McCarthy said it best while discussing the ‘Get It in Chico’ campaign to shop local:
“...when you’re spending your dollars locally, you’re helping out your neighbor who might own a hardware store, they might have a car dealership, they might have an appliance store. These people in turn are hiring local people, so they’re hiring your students, they are hiring your neighbors. In addition to that, these businesses are creating sales tax revenue, and those revenues go back into the city to fund things like infrastructure,"
Mixed-use developments encourage community spaces where people can gather, shop, and live. Imagine, apartments above businesses and close to small grocers, more housing near parks and transit corridors, and more affordable housing options for a range of incomes all in one place, bringing neighbors closer to resources and creating natural high-traffic areas where businesses can succeed. Instead of building further out into Chico’s surrounding green spaces, rezoning key areas, like North Valley Plaza, for mixed-use development could solve two problems at once: it creates more housing and saves the City and taxpayers money by using existing sewer and road infrastructure. North Valley Plaza is already listed as a designated opportunity site in the 2030 General Plan because it has the potential to become a midtown core neighborhood in District 2. We don’t have to let these opportunity sites sit under-utilized. By utilizing smart growth principles, we can plan for a city that stays affordable, walkable, and well-maintained.
I support measures that encourage a thriving local economy.
Re-zoning for mixed-use development
Don’t Let The Shelters Close
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We cannot allow shelter options to be slow-closed. The City’s first priority when it comes to homelessness should be preventing it; and, its second, should be working with service providers to expand shelter options.
Mayor Kasey Reynolds has been open about her belief that cities should not be responsible for providing shelter services; however, under her leadership Chico treated homelessness like a criminal issue, and was sued for it. The Warren v. Chico settlement declared that the ruthless enforcement of anti-camping laws was inhumane, and required the City to provide shelter options for individuals and ensure there were spaces available. This lawsuit is what forced the creation of the Pallet Shelter. However, now that the settlement period is coming to a close, the Pallet Shelter is losing its lawful protection. If Chico doesn’t elect new leadership, the current Council majority intends to return to the same illegal actions that brought the Warren v. Chico lawsuit in the first place.
I support working with service providers to expand shelter and service options.
Create more low-barrier emergency shelter options, like the Pallet Shelter
Approve infill developments that meet the demand for low-income housing, prioritizing access for individuals working with social workers to acquire long-term housing
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Warren v. Chico made it clear that it is illegal for the City to criminalize homelessness. We must utilize a focused approach to law enforcement’s involvement in addressing homelessness.
In the last two years, the Council majority has approved an unchecked number of new hires and salary increases for law enforcement. Coupled with the close of the Warren v Chico settlement agreement in early 2027, and Mayor Kasey Reynolds’ interest in closing the Pallet Shelter, the current Council majority is setting the stage for another disastrous handling of Chico’s homelessness crisis, and potentially another lawsuit. As the settlement agreement period comes to a close, the City cannot return to the same inhumane enforcement of homelessness that got it in trouble in the first place. The City can choose to deploy a more focused approach to dealing with the most disruptive individuals, involving law enforcement where appropriate, while still prioritizing long-term strategies to address homelessness.
I support reducing the burden of policing homelessness on our law enforcement agencies, while taking proactive strides to improve the impacts of homelessness in our community.
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Our bike paths and green spaces are for everyone! We must prioritize the health and safety of our parks and waterways by offering shelter to unhoused individuals.
Rio Lindo Channel in District 2 is a hotspot for litter and encampments, but sending more law enforcement doesn’t solve the problem of lack of shelter space and inaccessible services. The current Council majority has stated that they cannot solve homelessness with the limitations of the settlement agreement; in other words, the only solution they see to solving homelessness is criminalization. The City doesn’t need to jail every homeless person in order to reduce the risk of fire and waste in our green spaces. Everyone should be able to enjoy walking, biking, through their neighborhoods, and spending time near the creek. Our streets, bike paths, and green spaces are for everyone, and therefore the City must be proactive in addressing homelessness.
I support keeping our green spaces clean and safe by continuing to abide by the agreements in the Warren v. Chico settlement, even after it expires in 2027.
The City cannot enforce anti-camping ordinances if adequate shelter is not available
Maintain responsibility for providing a low-barrier, emergency housing site including toilets, bathing facilities, common areas, and security personnel (i.e. Pallet Shelter)
Expulsion from the housing site shall only apply to occupants’ behavior within the site, such as behavior that puts the health and safety of staff and occupants at risk
Before relocation and enforcement, homeless individuals must be offered voluntary case management with Outreach & Engagement staff
Fund Our Roads
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Infrastructure maintenance is easy to defer in the short-term, but has long-term impacts on Chico’s affordability. As road conditions decline, the cost to repair will only increase.
The 2023 Pavement Management Program Update found that 45% of Chico’s roads are in poor or very poor condition. Additionally, some City sewer lines have not been updated since there installation 100 years ago, and now the City is considering debt-financing sewer repairs, which would cost taxpayers $20-40 million in interest alone over the next decade. The City cannot afford to continue deferring maintenance of our sewers and roads. And yet, instead of funding roads with the Measure H sales tax initiative that Chico voters passed in 2023, the current Council majority has routinely approved the use of Measure H to pay for the expansion of law enforcement. Funding law enforcement should not be at the expense of maintaining critical infrastructure.
In District 2’s single-family neighborhoods some roads have never been resurfaced, and due to the use of Measure H to increase police funding, they are not on the schedule to be resurfaced until the 2040’s. Not to mention, the neighborhoods without sidewalks and storm drains have not been updated since their annexation into the City. South Chico’s Chapmantown neighbors will also miss out on having their roads repaved this year because of the shuffling of funds away from infrastructure and into law enforcement expansion. In other words, the poorest neighborhoods in our town continue to be deprioritized. It’s worth a mention that several of the Council majority’s roads in front of their homes and businesses have been repaved in recent years, despite not being on the repavement schedule.
I support using Measure H funds for infrastructure as voters intended and fully fund our roads.
Approve Councilor Winslow’s request to lock-off 51% of Measure H funds for streets and roads
Prioritize roads in high-traffic corridors and low-income neighborhoods
Reject proposals that leverage Councilor’s status to prioritize their own neighborhoods on the repavement schedule
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I love that Chico is a vibrant and close-knit community, and we deserve proactive leadership that delivers on the issues that matter to us.
Fund Our Roads! isn’t just a statement on maintaining existing infrastructure, it's a demand that the City Council listens to the will of voters and the voices of their constituents. The use of Measure H funds is not just an infrastructure and budget issue, it's a transparency issue.
Mayor Kasey Reynolds supported Measure H during her 2022 campaign with the express intent of using the tax to fund our roads, but since then she has voted to approve every funding request by Chico PD to take monies out of the fund for new hires and salary increases.
Chico voters should be able to rely on their representatives to follow through on their promises. In addition to the issue of Measure H funds, the current Council majority has repeatedly axed the power of City Commissions. In March 2023, the current City Council majority eliminated all Commissioners’ ability to agendize their own items, leaving them without an avenue to escalate the issues they were appointed to represent.
I support pro-democracy policies that increase transparent decision-making and public input opportunities.
Restore the agendizing power of City Commissions
Increase public input opportunities
Increase public outreach surrounding new development proposals