Town of Paradise Weekly Recovery Update 4-29-2020

Meetings

Tues. May 5th, 6 pm

Community Information Meeting

Virtual Only

Facebook live: www.Facebook.com/townofparadise

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCahySuEER2uUrqJ6G5ET-Xg

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

942 Building Permit Applications Received

771 Building Permits issued

128 Homes Rebuilt (certificate of occupancy issued)

Some Good News

Paradise Welcome Sign

The Butte Strong Fund has granted $50,000 to help with the rebuilding of The Welcome to Paradise sign, an iconic landmark to our great town, which will use more resilient materials and locally harvested timbers. We are excited to see this landmark rebuilt!

Katie Simmons Hired as Disaster Recovery Director

The Town of Paradise is pleased to announce the hiring of Katie Simmons as the Disaster Recovery Director. Ms. Simmons will be responsible for the Town’s Camp Fire recovery and will coordinate projects and activities as outlined in the Town’s Long-Term Recovery Plan. She will work closely with Cal OES, FEMA, Town Staff, and residents as we navigate the rebuilding process to build a vibrant, resilient community in Paradise. You can read the entire press release here

Weekly Spotlight

The Paradise Unified School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $135 million master facilities update. The two-phased update includes:

The renovation of Paradise High School.
The construction of Ridgeview High School right across from the senior/junior high school on Maxwell Drive.
Improvements to Cedarwood Elementary, Pine Ridge School, Ponderosa Elementary, and at the Paradise Intermediate School, which is currently the Paradise Ridge Elementary school site.
A rebuild of the maintenance and operation site on Pearson Road.

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

Recovery Fact vs. Fiction

Q: I heard you can’t rebuild on a property that is smaller than 1/3 of an acre. Is that true?

A: No, that is not true. Any residential property can be rebuilt upon, as long as the proposed structure complies with all necessary setbacks and easements and septic requirements.

Q: I heard no one can rebuild after December 31, 2020, is that true?

A: No that is not true at all, there is no deadline for rebuilding. What you may have heard is that the Town’s Urgency Housing Ordinance, which temporarily allows residents to live in RV’s on their property, expires on December 31, 2020. This means that as of January 1, 2021, you must have an active building permit to live on your property in an RV.

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