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Bangor and Rackerby - Community Meeting Summary
The Butte County General Plan 2030 Community
Workshop for the Bangor and Rackerby communities was
held on June 18, 2007. This meeting is one of 20
community meetings scheduled to take place in all of
the unincorporated parts of Butte County. The
meetings are designed to take input directly from
community members about their area’s assets, issues,
and community vision for consideration of land use
changes by the General Plan 2030 process. This
information will later be used in the development of
plan alternatives and policies for Butte County
General Plan 2030.
About 45 people attended the meeting. Also in
attendance were 4 members of Butte County's Citizens
Advisory Committee (Bruce McClintock, Sue Seropian,
Tony Rushing and Bill Black). Butte County
Department of Development Services staff Chuck
Thistlethwaite and Dan Breedon gave an overview of
the Butte County General Plan 2030 process as an
introduction to the evening. For the next 90
minutes, they facilitated a discussion about the
area's assets, issues, and areas for potential
future change. The following summarizes the assets
and issues discussed at this meeting:
This meeting was located in Bangor and discussion
revolved mainly around this community, although one
person was present from Rackerby. Rackerby is
located in Yuba County, and is described by the
current Yuba County General Plan as a community with
about 57 residences a post office, bar and church.
Rackerby is near enough to the Butte County line
that a small number of people live in Butte County.
The first store in this area was built in 1855 by
L.C. Hyland, who had plans for an extensive town,
which was never built. That same year, the Lumbert
brothers built a store about ¼ mile away and called
the site “Bangor” after their home town of Bangor,
Maine. By 1856 Bangor had 4 stores, 4 saloons, 3
blacksmith shops, and a Wells Fargo Express Freight
and banking office. There were also 4 working mines
in Bangor around this time, with the first school
beginning operations in 1856 (Source: Bangor Bar-B-Q
News, May 2007). Although there are fewer people
living in Bangor today, the community is still home
to many businesses, two stores, a community hall,
post office, church and approximately 610 residents.
This meeting took place in the Bangor Community
Hall, which was newly re-built after a fire
destroyed the previous Community Hall. Meeting
participants identified the people who reside in
this area as a key asset. The successful
development of the new meeting hall and the
surrounding park is a prime example of this asset
and reflects this area’s community spirit and
independence.
Participants were interested in ways to maintain and
enhance their rural lifestyles, while protecting
aspects of the area such as ranching and open
space. Concern was expressed about “leapfrog”
development, parcels of 1 – 5 acres in size
developing in areas historically left in larger
parcels. Zoning was identified as the appropriate
way to eliminate the development of smaller parcels.
Much discussion also revolved around Butte County’s
Deer Herd Regulations, as they are now administered
through the General Plan. Community members wanted
the County to use better information in developing
these regulations, and to more accurately reflect
General Plan policies in the zoning ordinance. Many
present felt that deer populations in the Bangor
area were historically low and that some areas were
not important range or habitat as shown in the
current County maps.
Road Conditions were also discussed at length, with
many participants making suggestions for
improvements as well as reductions in speed limits.
It was suggested that design standards needed to be
upgraded and that shoulders needed to be provided
for bicycle travel on the main arterial roads.
Community members wished to protect the rural
lifestyle and isolation which makes the Bangor area
an enjoyable place to live, but see room for
improvement in services such as water supplies,
Internet service, cell phone coverage and other
government services. Abandoned vehicles and
roadside dumping is an issue that many felt could be
addressed through either a County transfer station
or other program that would assist people in getting
rid of unwanted junk or vehicles. Recognizing the
wild land fire danger of this area, the use of a
“reverse 911” system for area-wide emergency
notification, and the implementation of a site visit
program by CAL-Fire for suggestions and guidance to
property owners in reducing fuels, was suggested by
several meeting participants.
Community members expressed the need to keep
agriculture and open space zoned appropriately and
they wanted to protect these resources into the
future. Lastly, community members voiced support
for the Community Hall and Park, and wished to
protect this valuable asset into the future for
continued use by the Bangor community.
Assets
1.
People
2.
Open Space and Agricultural areas
3.
Ranching/Cattle/Grazing operations
4.
History/Rock walls/ LaPorte Road follows original
Stage Route
5.
Post Office
6.
Fire Department
7.
Community Hall and Bangor Community Park
8.
Historic Church
9.
Water Treatment Plant
10.
Elementary School
11.
General Store
12.
Feed Store
13.
Commercial uses and Businesses
14.
Isolation
15.
Bangor Cemetery
16.
Upham Cemetery
17.
Honcut Cemetery
18.
Water supply
Issues
1.
Road Conditions
a.
Swedes Flat Road has been improved
b.
LaPorte Road has never been re-surfaced
c.
Widen shoulders on LaPorte Road and Oro Bangor
Highway for bicycles
d.
Road maintenance on all county roads is needed and
standards need to be upgraded
e.
Pleasant Grove Lane and Grimy Gulch Road need
maintenance for fire protection and access
f.
Bangor Rock Quarry truck traffic is having a
negative impact on LaPorte Road
g.
Speed limits on LaPorte Road should be lowered from
55 to 45 MPH.
h.
Speed is an issue on Los Verjeles Road
2.
Deer Range
a.
Deer Range and Migratory Routes have a big impact on
property owners and their ability to plan for the
future
b.
Does the current Deer Range Study that is being
prepared for the new General Plan use reliable and
factual information? What are the sources?
c.
Deer Range Restrictions and minimum parcel sizes
must be reflected accurately in the zoning
designations for the area.
d.
Use deer fencing that will allow deer to traverse
areas as a way to address impacts of development
3.
Development
a.
Leapfrog Development, such as 1-acre parcels are
inappropriate for this area
b.
5-acre lots degrade agricultural uses and cause
impacts from run-off, septic systems, cause impacts
in the form of additional traffic on poorly
maintained roads and threaten area water quality
c.
Keep area in larger parcels that support
agricultural uses
d.
Protect Oak Woodlands and develop ways to prevent
harvesting of hardwoods
4.
Abandoned vehicles need to be abated
5.
Junk on properties needs to be cleaned up
6.
More public input is required for changes and needs
in the area
7.
Provide more reliable water supply through South
Feather River Water and Light for domestic and
agricultural uses
8.
Better regulation and zoning for mining permits and
operations
9.
Lack of resident deputy sheriff
10.
Protect private airfields
11.
Cellular phone service
12.
Internet service
13.
Address issues taking place now, instead of planning
for 2030
Future Vision and Change
1.
Reverse 911 call systems for notification during
area-wide emergencies and fires.
2.
Ensure that the many Williamson Act Contracts in
area are protected for future agricultural use
should the contracts be non-renewed or in the event
the Williamson Act program is discontinued.
3.
Provide a transfer station or similar staging area
for junk to have a centralized area for residents to
use.
4.
Provide and advertise an amnesty day (similar to
tire amnesty day run by the Public Works Department)
for junk to alleviate road-side dumping problem.
5.
Preserve area’s open space with zoning.
6.
Continued enhancements of Community Center and
Bangor Community Park with more amenities and
development of empty areas.
7.
Implement Cal-Fire Program that includes site visits
for fuel reduction.
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