Town of Paradise Weekly Recovery Update 4-22-2020

Meetings

Tues. May 12th, 6 pm

Paradise Town Council Meeting

Virtual: https://livestream.com/townofparadise

Events

No Scheduled Events at this time

Current Statistics:

Building Updates

925 Building Permit Applications Received  

761 Building Permits issued

115 Homes Rebuilt (certificate of occupancy issued)

Some Good News

Great news! We are rounding the corner on the race to the 1000th Building Permit Application. Who will it be? The Building Resiliency Center is buzzing with residents ready to rebuild. While open by appointment only, enthusiasm is high. 

With nearly 1,000 permit applications less than two years after the Camp Fire, Paradise is far exceeding expectations in recovery. This is another great example of the pioneer spirit that has always defined Paradise.

Weekly Spotlight

The Rebuild Paradise Foundation, in conjunction with the Town of Paradise, Butte County, and Residential Design Professionals, are proud to present the Residential 

Floor Plan Library! Accessible NOW on the Rebuild Paradise website – https://www.rebuildparadise.org/building-plans/.

The Residential Floor Plan Library is designed to help you save money and time in designing a home. This library allows you to view and get access to low-cost residential floor plans, their corresponding elevations, 3-D renderings (when available), and virtual reality walkthroughs (when available). The homes have been created by Paradise Design Group and master-planned to the standards set forth by the Town of Paradise. Thank you to Rebuild Paradise for this fantastic resource!

Building Resiliency Center Open by Appointment Only

The Building Resiliency Center is open by appointment only. Walk-ins will not be admitted; you must call first to schedule an appointment. We ask that you practice social-distancing policies, wear masks and gloves when coming in to protect yourself, Town staff and your fellow community members. Please only bring those necessary for your task as we strive to keep all safe and healthy. An additional benefit is less wait time!

• To schedule an appointment, call (530) 872-6291 x411

• For building or septic, questions call us at (530) 872-6291 x411 or email us at rebuildquestions@townofparadise.com

• Rebuild Advocates are available by phone at (530) 872-6291 x429 or x430.

Town Hall

Town Hall remains closed to the public, with services available by phone or email.  

• General Questions (530) 872-6291

• Finance Department (530) 872-6291 x121

• Code Enforcement (530) 872-6291 x124

• Housing Loans (530) 872-6291 x122

News This Week

• The Butte Strong Fund committed a $1 million grant that will continue to help pay permit fees for primary residences in Paradise as well as provide new incentives for rebuilding rentals and multi-family housing. The Town Council has approved the grant to include: 

  1. Pay 50% of building permit fees (excluding plan check fees) for a single residence, up to $3,500. 

  2. Grants for Rebuild Paradise Master Planned residences up to 100% of permit fees (excluding plan check fees) up to $3,500 

  3. Grants for garages (up to 700 sq ft) associated with MH Advantage Manufactured Homes for 100% of permit fees (excluding plan check fees) 

  4. Gives priority to rebuilding primary residences, with $250,000 used for second residences or multi-family structures, and 750,000 for primary residences. 

  Individuals can learn about the Rebuild Incentive Program by contacting the town’s Development Services Department at the Building Resiliency Center in Paradise or calling 872-6291, ext. 411. Thank you to North Valley Community Foundation Butte Strong Fund for this generous contribution!

• The May Community Information Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5th at 6 pm. It will be broadcast live via the Town of Paradise, Ca Youtube Channel, and Facebook Live so everyone can be present from afar. The focus of this month’s meeting will be on Fire Safety Preparation as well as an update from the Paradise Police Department. 

• The Planning Commission met Tuesday to consider approving a log storage and processing operation on Skyway and a permit for a cat kennel facility on Edgewood Ln. The Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 to approve the log storage operation, while the cat kennel facility withdrew their permit application. The log storage operation will be temporary, only operating until the end of the Urgency Ordinance on December 31, 2020.

• The Paradise Recreation and Park District board approved an agreement to lease the Paradise Lake facilities from the Paradise Irrigation District. PRPD says it will offer classes on kayaking, guided hikes, fishing, camps, art, and other programs, once the Coronavirus restrictions are relaxed. PRPD District Manager Dan Efseaff said “Adding recreation opportunities at Paradise Lake to the PRPD suite of properties and recreation opportunities aligns with our vision of becoming a destination recreation district.”

• Camp Fire Shed Project: A $150,000 grant will provide funding for another round of the highly successful volunteer effort. Members of Paradise Adventist Church will partner with Maranatha Volunteers International to build and deliver 400 high-quality, secure storage sheds to selected recipients who live throughout the Camp Fire burn scar. The project directly benefits people who lost their homes, are living in RVs and who intend to rebuild.

• Butte County has established a COVID-19 information line to keep the public as informed as possible. The call center will be staffed 8 AM-5 PM, seven days a week.  Members of the public with questions regarding COVID-19 in Butte County are encouraged to call 530.552.3050.   Butte County residents may also dial 2-1-1 (24/7) or text their zip code to 898211 for information and updates. The text line is available Monday-Friday 7:30 am – 6:00 pm.

• Adventist Health announced it has launched its on-demand virtual services, allowing doctors to meet with patients remotely. These virtual visits will allow for health workers and their patients to keep that safe distance but still receive the care they need. Providers will use the visits to screen for coronavirus cases, handle routine visits, and the chronically ill, all while calming nerves of having to come into a clinic during the pandemic. To participate in a virtual visit, a patient just needs a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a working camera and microphone. The doctor will send an email with a link for the scheduled visit and patients will just view the link and log on. Adventist Health said they are reaching out to patients to reschedule appointments as virtual visits, if possible. If you have a scheduled in-person appointment and would like it to be virtual, you can make that change by calling your office.

• We are looking for residents who need additional financial assistance to help with the reconstruction or repair of their home in Paradise. Currently, there is $2.3 million in local, state, and federal funds available to assist eligible households, who were under-insured or not insured, with their housing reconstruction and repairs. These funds are offered as deferred loans. They can be applied towards a variety of housing rehabilitation needs, including reconstruction of a home damaged or destroyed by the Camp Fire, correcting unsafe or unsanitary conditions, eliminating code violation, and weatherization and repairs to ensure handicap accessibility when combined with other repairs. For more information please reach out to our Rebuild Advocates at 530-872-6291 ext. 411 to speak with someone directly. At this time we are only taking over the phone appointments until further notice. 

• During this time of social distancing, we still want to show love to our local businesses that are being flexible to stay open and support our community. For the most up-to-date list of open businesses please visit http://www.paradisechamber.com/. 

• Housing Urgency Ordinance:  After the fire, Paradise Town Council passed an urgency ordinance which allowed displaced residents to temporarily live on their property in an RV.  This urgency ordinance expires on December 31, 2020. That means starting January 1, 2021, you must have an active building permit to live on your property in an RV.

• Many private roads in the Camp Fire area are eligible for public assistance funding to remove Hazardous Trees through the State Hazard Tree Removal Program. The Paradise Town Council and the Butte County Board of Supervisors passed ordinances requiring the removal of hazard trees damaged by the Camp Fire from private property that may fall into public roadways. Property owners may enter the Government Tree Program to have the trees removed by the State at no out-of-pocket cost. Enrollment in the Government Tree Program requires a Right-of Entry form. Property owners may also identify and remove hazard trees themselves but must submit an inspection form so an inspector may verify the removal of the hazard trees from the property. Property owners may also call the Tree ROE Center directly at (530) 552-3030 or submit Tree ROEs by email at TreeROE@buttecounty.net. The Tree ROE is available for download online at www.ButteCountyRecovers.org/treeremoval.