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Photos show what's liked and
not liked about Butte
By HEATHER HACKING - Staff Writer
Chico Enterprise-Record
Article Launched:12/16/2006 12:00:00 AM PST
Most people who have lived in Butte County for a
long time could rattle off dozens of things they
appreciate and enjoy about living here.
Likewise, most residents likely have pet peeves —
perhaps a poorly-planned street where traffic always
backs up or a building left vacant and falling into
disrepair. A special committee had a chance to
view the county through each others' eyes recently
by sharing photographs of things they liked and
disliked. The exercise was the homework
assignment for 30 citizens who have been chosen to
serve on the General Plan brainstorm for the General
Plan Advisory Committee.
The General Plan update is a huge task that is on
schedule to be completed in early 2009. Sometimes
the fact that it has not been updated has made
planning decisions more difficult or drawn criticism
from community members who want policies clarified.
The more than 250 pictures submitted by the
committee members can be viewed at the General Plan
Web site,
www.buttegeneralplan.net. Click on the link for
the Dec. 7 meeting, then click on "slides presented
by CAC members." (or
click here to go directly to the photos)
The themes that repeat themselves in the slide
presentation show the shared values of the diverse
group of participants. Dozens of photos show
the county's open spaces, with views of the
foothills, fields, wildflowers and pastures.
The wildlife that also enjoys the rural landscape
was shown through photos of deer and birds.
Agriculture is another common theme with pictures of
orchards, farms and agri-tourism. Appreciation of
valley trees is expressed through a handful of
pictures of statuesque oaks and forest lands.
The photos highlight amenities enjoyed by community
members, such as Oroville's new Riverbend Park, bike
paths and playgrounds.
Members of the committee also
showed their appreciation for recreation, with
photos of people splashing in one of the many local
swimming holes or biking along trails. Several
photos showed the area's heritage through pictures
of the Oroville Chinese Temple and gold-mine-era
walls and buildings.
The dislikes from the committee
were also clear by repeated submissions of photos of
rusting appliances and mattresses down rural
roadways. Several pictures of cell phone towers were
in the slide show, as were photos of boarded-up
buildings.
The next step is for recommendations by the
committee to be submitted to the Butte County
Planning Commission for discussion Jan. 11. After
that, the ideas go on to the Board of Supervisors
Feb. 13.
March 15 will be the first of eight public
workshops.
Jan. 27 will be a county/city summit that will
gather supervisors and planning commissioners from
the county and Biggs, Chico, Gridley, Oroville and
Paradise.
Development Services director Tim Snellings has
taken a lot of effort to make the General Plan
process very public and accessible. He plans to give
an update to the supervisors each time they meet.
The Web site is comprehensive, with links to what
has occurred so far and what meetings are scheduled.
The site contains what Snellings titled an
"e-binder" with backup documents.
The public can also subscribe to an e-mail list to
receive updates and meeting notices.
The consultant hired by the county — Design,
Community and Environment — is using an outreach
approach that will ask people to come forward rather
than waiting for people to send in comments, a memo
from the firm states. The goal is to target
underrepresented groups that aren't often
participants in public planning.
Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at
896-7758 or
hhacking@chicoer.com.
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