PARADISE — For more than five years, the town of Paradise has had its sights aimed squarely on recovery after the Camp Fire, and, while the effects of the blaze are still throughout the town, a large part of recovery is looking forward.
The Paradise Town Council held a special meeting Monday morning to discuss the future of downtown and whether or not to ultimately cease single-family residential zoning for the area. Unanimously, the council voted to bring forward an emergency ordinance to temporarily halt new residential buildings downtown.
“All we’re saying is we’re putting a pause on building single-family homes and multi-family homes in our downtown area just so that we can research exactly what we want to do and do it right the first time,” said Paradise Mayor Ron Lassonde.
While the vote on Monday was unanimous, the ordinance itself won’t come before the council until its first meeting in May. But once it is voted on then, it will give the town an additional 45 days to come up with a tighter permanent plan or add an additional extension of 10 months.
“It gives us some breathing room and allows us to do the deep research that needs to be done so that we can do what the residents have asked us to do and build a walkable downtown that’s attractive to all residents and also visitors,” Lassonde said.
During the presentation provided by Paradise Community Development Director Susan Hartman, multiple options were provided, but the council favored the 45-day extension. Much of the discussion surrounded how residential zoning would eventually play a part in downtown with some enthusiasm for having living spaces built above businesses.
Vice Mayor Greg Bolin expressed some skepticism regarding the longevity of having residential units above downtown businesses stating that he didn’t want to see the apartments staying empty after tenants moved out, though Councilor Steve Crowder said he would like to see the option to also have offices in these units as well.
In her presentation, Hartman noted that the town will also need to provide opportunities for 7,000 new housing units town-wide to meet state requirements, adding that these homes don’t need to be completed, the town will just have to create opportunities for completion down the line.
Additionally, Hartman said fewer than 10 single-family units have been approved for downtown since the fire and all were with special-use permits, meaning that even if the town does decide to end new single-family homes downtown, those houses will be protected.
Downtown Paradise, according to the town’s zoning map, spans along Skyway from Pearson Road to Elliott Road and east toward Black Olive Drive.
The discussion was part of a much larger one regarding what the downtown area will look like in the future and how to begin planning for it. The council will return to vote on the urgency ordinance on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
An interactive zone map of Paradise can be found at www.townofparadisemapping.com.
The Paradise Town Council generally meets at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at its chambers located at 5555 Skyway in Paradise. Meetings are free and open to the public.
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