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Butte County Planning Commission discusses buffers between houses, land used for agricu... - 1 views

  • Oroville >> The Butte County Planning Commission has delayed making a recommendation on altering how a 300-foot agricultural buffer applies in residential areas.
  • The county’s current rules call for the agricultural buffer to apply next to properties with agricultural use, which may include properties zoned as residential. The proposal would limit this buffer to development next to agriculturally zoned properties, although an amendment would allow people to use their residential, commercial and industrial properties an acre or larger for farming and grazing.
  • John Scott said the proposal was a violation of the public’s trust as eliminating the buffer could expose residents to sprayed pesticides that drift onto their properties. He said the Development Services Department was working to bring in money from development at the risk of others. “Inappropriate development should not drive this ordinance,” Scott said.
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  • Robin DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council said the changes don’t alter the green line, but increases the potential of development on the farming side. “It is in fact directly contrary to the goals of the General Plan and the green line,” DiFalco said.
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Courthouse News Service - 0 views

  • SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - The U.S. government owes more than $210,000 in legal fees to environmentalists opposing residential developments they say will destroy vernal pools near Sacramento.     The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers met with local landowners and agencies in June 2004 to design a conceptual strategy that would guide development in the area according to a set of specific principles.
  • California Native Plant Society joined the Defenders of Wildlife and Butte Environmental Council in a challenge against the conceptual plan in June 2007. Among other things, they claimed the government failed to assess the conceptual plan under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and failed to follow NEPA guidelines in the environmental assessments. They also claimed the agencies failed to issue permits without studying the projects' impacts to endangered species in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
  • When the plaintiffs won an injunction in July 2007, the court maintained that the groups were unlikely to succeed on their first, third and fourth claims. It nevertheless ruled that the government failed to address cumulative impacts of development projects to vernal pools, which would be permanently destroyed.
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  • During a three-year stay of litigation, the government prepared an environmental impact statement that ultimately reduced impacts to vernal pools from 48.95 acres to 46.35 acres. After the stay expired in 2011, the parties entered settlement talks and agreed to dismiss the case in March 2013.
  • This past June, the groups moved under the Equal Access to Justice Act for $721,008.56 in attorneys' fees and $3,523.72 in legal costs.     U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton found Thursday that the groups can recover attorneys' fees because they are the prevailing party by way of the preliminary injunction, and the government "failed to show its position was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust."
  •  Instead of the $721,008.56 demanded, however, the groups will take home a total award of $214,569.32.     This amount reflects the maximum hourly rate under the Equal Access to Justice Act the for work done over the case's nine-year lifespan, as well as a 22 percent across-the-board reduction to reflect the fact that the groups found only partial success on their claims.
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Chico News & Review - Development division - News - Local Stories - August 30, 2018 - 0 views

  • Research indicates that California has lost more than 90 percent of its wetlands due to impacts from population growth and agricultural development. This is concerning to Carter, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council. “We have so little wild habitat left that every little bit matters,” she said. “The loss of habitat at all is a step in the wrong direction.”
  • Stonegate would lie east and west of Bruce Road, between East 20th Street and the Skyway. The 313-acre project would bring just over 600 new housing units to Chico, ranging in size from apartments to 3,000-square-foot homes. Other elements include 3.5 acres of parks and 36.6 acres for commercial businesses.
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Letter: Proposed ag buffer change bad for public well-being - 1 views

  • I can not believe that the Butte County Department of Development Services has the audacity to come up with a plan to reduce the agricultural buffer in Butte County, and it is not just along the greenline. The proposed ordinance will allow developers to be able to ask for a reduction to the proposed agricultural setback from farming operations to as little as 25 feet.The long standing 300-foot buffer is there for a reason. It is the minimum setback that hopefully will protect the public’s health and well-being. This proposed ordinance is so outrageous that it prohibits and exempts the homeowners affected from even being able to sue for damages if they are harmed. Where are the Butte County department heads of Public Health and Services that are paid to protect and serve the health and well-being of the citizens of Butte County? They must speak out to protect the people of Butte County for generations to come.This proposed ordinance goes before the Butte County Planning Commission at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.This proposed ordinance is a violation of the ‘public trust doctrine’.— John Scott, Butte Valley
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Butte County supervisors postpone zoning decision along Chico's green line - 0 views

  • Oroville >> The Butte County Board of Supervisors has postponed action on possibly rezoning residential property in Chico’s Bell-Muir neighborhood.The board was considering whether to keep the 33 parcels north of Bell Road and west of Muir Avenue at very low density residential with a 2½-acre minimum lots or revert it back to 5-acre rural residential. The properties lie on the agricultural side of the green line, the 33-year-old boundary between urban development and farm use in the Chico area. The neighborhood may be viewed as a buffer because it is between ag land and residential properties with a 1-acre minimum size.
  • Robyn DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council said very low density residential zoning is a development zoning. “It’s a direct contradiction of the principles of the green line,” DiFalco said. She raised concerns about water quality in the area and indicated smaller lots increases the probability of the land being annexed into Chico.
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Chico News & Review - Toxicity tests - News - Local Stories - October 2, 2014 - 0 views

  • An Oroville group concerned about area ground contamination has made new strides in a bid to test soil around the city for cancer-causing dioxin. The Oroville Dioxin Education Committee (ODEC), whose goal is to “educate and prepare community members, to raise awareness, and to lead the effort to safeguard our community against dioxin,” recently received $3,000 in grants from The Rose Foundation, an Oakland-based organization concerned with environmental health issues.
  • Don Rust, Oroville planning and development services director, said he has met with representatives from the Butte Environmental Council—which formed ODEC last year—to talk about the grants, but warned they may not meet ODEC’s needs. “It can’t go to dioxin testing,” he said. “It goes to brownfield assessment. Basically this is for people to volunteer to help clear their properties so they can be developed.”
  • Mark Stemen, a Chico State professor and president of the BEC board of directors, offered an analogy comparing the EPA grants with those from the Rose Foundation. “BEC’s grant allows them to look for the needle in the haystack,” he said. “Oroville’s grant helps them build a new barn for the haystack.”
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  • Still, he said, the two projects are “compatible and complementary,” and that BEC has received letters of support from both the Butte County Public Health Department and Supervisor Bill Connelly.
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The Big Scrap - 0 views

  • The activist group Move the Junkyard was formed in January 2015, shortly after the City Council directed planning department staff to develop a process for CSM to stay in south Chico. The group is allied with the Butte Environmental Council, which has long supported the Chapman/Mulberry Neighborhood Plan and CSM’s amortization.
  • During an interview several days prior to the Planning Commission’s meeting, Move the Junkyard member Ory and Mark Stemen, chairman of BEC’s board of directors, were certain the commission would reject CSM’s new development agreement. “I think CSM has done a very effective job playing on heartstrings and emotional issues that affect [city] councils, but I think they’ll come up against the Planning Commission and see that’s not what it’s about,” Stemen said.
  • aying on heartstrings and emotional issues that affect [city] councils, but I think they’ll come up against the Planning Commission and see that’s not what it’s about,” Stemen said
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Deals for out-of-region water transfers have some calling for a halt - Chico Enterprise... - 0 views

  • Put a hold on water transfers out of the area. That's the proposal being made by Tony St. Amant, a citizen who follows Sacramento Valley water closely. He's bringing the idea to the newly formed Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Group (www.nsvwaterplan.org). The regional water planning board, with members from six counties, has no authority to make rules on water transfers, St. Amant states in his letter. But it could ask water districts, including two planning transfers this year, to halt those deals until regional guidelines for water transfers are developed.
  • Already, the Butte Environmental Council has drafted a letter (http://goo.gl/gFU5r) to the regional planning group, urging the members to adopt St. Amant's plan.
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Water meeting tonight in Chico - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

  • CHICO — Water exports and the Sacramento Valley will be the topic of a discussion tonight, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Chico Branch Library, 1103 Sherman Ave. Guest presenters include: * Ashley Indrieri, executive director of the Family Water Alliance, in Maxwell, a coalition that focuses on private property rights, agriculture, and "a balance between man and nature." * Carol Perkins, water policy advocate for Butte Environmental Council, whose mission is "to protect and defend the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region."
  • The event is part of Code Blue, a series organized by the Butte Environmental Council to generate discussion about water issues developing in Northern California.
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Earth Day festivities scheduled for Sunday at Wildwood Park - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

  • CHICO — Kite flying, Frisbee throwing, face painting and live music will be a part of Earth Day festivities Sunday at Wildwood Park, put on by Butte Environmental Council. The free event for families will go 3-7 p.m. with music starting at 5 p.m. with Lisa Valentine, followed by The Railflowers. Picnic areas and barbecues will be available, and food trucks will be onsite for those who wish to purchase a meal. This year's celebration has been moved from its traditional location in lower Bidwell Park, to Wildwood Park at the entrance to upper park, a place that offers a wide view of Bidwell Ranch property, land that BEC took part in protecting from development decades ago. Tours of the adjacent property will begin at 3 p.m. at the east end of Wildwood Park, guided by biologist John Aull and Park Commissioner Mark Herrera.
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Final draft of Climate Action Plan gets Chico council's vote of approval - Chico Enterp... - 0 views

  • councilors voted 5-2 to approve a final draft of the Climate Action Plan
  • Sustainability Task Force and the Chico State University Institute of Sustainable Development
  • goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 2005 levels in the next eight years.
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  • One of those clapping was Mark Stemen, representing the Butte Environmental Council. In public comment, he told the board the plan is well-written and has all the components to be successful.
  • the plan has been updated by staff, it has gone before the Sustainability Task Force, and been reviewed by the Planning Commission.
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Plastic bag ban redux: Restrictions on single-use bags gain committee approval - Chico ... - 0 views

  • Committee members voted 2-1 Tuesday to recommend that the Chico City Council develop restrictions on "single-use" plastic bags.
  • Robyn DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council and Sustainability Task Force said she thinks plastic bag bans represent a shift in society moving away from disposables. "We will look back and say I can't believe we used to do it that way because it doesn't make sense to give out that many single-use bags," DiFalco said.
  • Tammy Wichman of the task force said to get more community input on the ban, and she thinks the council should move forward with the proposal.
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BEC tackles general plan - News - Local Stories - June 28, 2012 - Chico News & Review - 0 views

  • advocacy consultant Nani Teves
  • Butte County General Plan, new zoning ordinances and their environmental impacts.
  • county representatives: Tim Snellings, director of development services, and Dan Breedon, principal planner.
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  • Butte Habitat Conservation Plan
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Chico City Council to consider law that cracks down on underage drinking - Oroville Mer... - 0 views

  • Also Tuesday, the City Council will hold a public hearing on the Draft Housing Element Update and consider authorization to submit it to the state for review and comment. The housing element is one of seven required elements in a general plan, and must be updated every five to eight years.
  • The element has six basic components: a housing needs assessment, a site inventory, a constraints analysis, housing programs, quantified objectives and public participation. The proposed actions are designed to meet various housing needs, including affordability for low-income residents, production of affordable housing for all income groups, and improvement and investment in existing residential neighborhoods.
  • Also Tuesday, the council will consider a resolution approving a one-year license to the Butte Environmental Council to operate a temporary community garden at West Eighth Avenue and Highway 32. The vacant, one-acre city-owned site is eventually planned for development as a fire station, but an interim use of a garden with no permanent structures would not interfere with that plan, according to city staff.
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  • All costs associated with the garden will be sustained by the Butte Environmental Council. The lease would be eligible for renewal.
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Central Valley Business Times - 0 views

  • Opponents of a Wal-Mart “supercenter” store planned for Oroville have scored a partial victory with the California 3rd District Court of Appeal in their legal battle. The project is a relocated and expanded Wal-Mart Supercenter to replace an existing Wal-Mart of traditional dimension and retail offerings. In their legal action, Friends of Oroville and two individuals are challenging Oroville’s approval of an environmental impact report.
  • The appellate court agrees with two issues: whether the environmental impact report approved by the city inadequately analyzed the project’s greenhouse gas emissions and whether the new store might put too much traffic on Oroville Dam Boulevard, where the nearly 200,000-square-foot building, supermarket and garden center with its 24-hour retail and grocery services is to be located. “We reverse the judgment to the extent it denied plaintiffs’ petition for writ of mandate — and we remand this matter to the trial court to grant the petition,” the appellate panel says.
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Chico News & Review - Water fight - Feature Story - Local Stories - August 15, 2013 - 0 views

  • But in the northern half of the Central Valley, most people want the tunnels stopped. They say it will suck the Delta dry, destroy farming business in the Delta and the Sacramento Valley, devastate the river’s ecosystem and lead to overuse of groundwater supplies. “This is one of the rare times when farmers and environmentalists can agree that a project is going to be devastating for both their interests,” said Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council. DiFalco notes that the tunnels will not only increase Southern California’s dependence on Northern California’s water, but “they will also make it easier for [Southern California] to get it.”
  • Many critics of the BDCP have described the tunnels as a means of transferring away the wealth of Northern California to powerful water agencies to the south, which will be paying for a great deal of their enormous cost.
  • John Merz, executive director of the Chico-based Sacramento River Preservation Trust, says he has little faith in the components of the BDCP intended to restore the Delta’s health. He recognizes that there will be legal limits to how much water the tunnels can remove from the river. “But we don’t think those limits will be enough to protect the river,” Merz said. He added, “Frankly, when it comes to restoring the health of the Sacramento River, we just don’t trust the Brown administration to do the right thing.”
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  • Vlamis, of AquAlliance, echoed him. She said that calling the BDCP a “conservation plan” is deceptive. “The way this plan is crafted it will have no benefits for the Sacramento’s ecosystem,” she said.
  • Barbara Vlamis, the executive director of Chico-based water-watchdog group AquAlliance, says groundwater depletion in the northern Sacramento Valley is one of the major potential impacts of the BDCP that its proponents have failed to consider. AquAlliance is among a coalition of environmental, fishing and farming groups suing to stop the BDCP, which it charges violates the California Environmental Quality Act and the Delta Reform Act. She also believes that further development of the river’s water-export system—if carried out recklessly—could spur the extinction of the chinook salmon.
  • DiFalco, at the Butte Environmental Council, says the conscious choices of farmers in the San Joaquin Valley have brought troubles upon themselves and the rest of the state.
  • “They’re planting permanent crops, like fruit orchards, in a desert,” she said. “Annual crops would make sense. That way you can fallow the land—grow when you’re able to and let the land go fallow in dry years. But they’re being foolhardy. They’re setting themselves up to need more water every year, and we shouldn’t sympathize with them for consciously making these decisions. “We need to retire some of that land,” she said.
  • By some opinions, the BDCP and its tunnels are just a scheme of selling away Northern California’s wealth, and losing an ecosystem in the process.
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Letter: Butte County supervisors must act on fracking ban - 1 views

  • Butte County supervisors must act on fracking banThousands of Butte County citizens joined members of Frack-free Butte County, Butte Environmental Council and the Sierra Club to demonstrate our desire for a ban against fracking in our petition to the county last year.
  • Since then, numerous health, water, air, disposal, climate, transport, soil, seismic and other problems with fracking were described in letters to the editor. In April, the Butte County Board of Supervisors asked the Planning Commission staff to develop a ban; it was tighter than our own ban. Now the time has arrived for the board to sign onto the staff’s excellent ban.
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Forum explores relationship of local housing, climate change - 0 views

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    On Wednesday, Butte Environmental Council hosted a listening session designed to educate the community about the role housing plays in climate change, while allowing discussion to examine the possible solutions.
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