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December 04, 2006
Living By The Code
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| Lately I've been concerned about what my city is doing for me in case there's a nuclear war. I was secretly hoping the downtown plaza was actually hiding a very thick concrete bunker where we could all escape the radiation and wait out the nuclear winter playing chess. But after reading the municipal code section 9.60 I realized how wrong I was. It says clearly in our city code that a nuclear war can't be won, and preparation to survive one would just egg-on the war mongers. At first I thought this was a pointless ideological stand, but then I realized that there hasn't been a nuclear war since this section was added to the code. It's really hard to mock success. I wonder if we could build a giant bunker, and stock it full of food and water in case a giant meteor strikes the earth. There's nothing in the city code against doing that. And I'm sure we can all get together and promise not to use it if there's a nuclear war. |
| This is a timeless favorite from the municipal code for Chico. In addition to telling us how many dogs we can legally house, and how we must all license our bicycles, the City of Chico makes a bold stand on nuclear war. 9.60.010 Declaration of purposes. The city council finds and declares as follows: A. That the possibility of nuclear war is a clear and present danger that threatens not only the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Chico community, but also their very existence. B. That the use of nuclear weapons in the event of war, whether for the purpose of self defense or any other purpose, is totally unacceptable. C. That even participation in preparation against nuclear war is inappropriate in that it lends credence to the belief that such a war is survivable when in fact it is not. D. That by reason of the foregoing, the interest of the citizens of the Chico community will be best served by making the city a nuclear free zone in which the production, testing, maintenance, and storage of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems is prohibited and in which the appropriation or use of city funds or property for participation in or preparation against nuclear war is also prohibited. E. Nothing in this chapter is intended to preclude or hinder the preparation or response of city personnel and resources in preventing or mitigating radiological emergencies other than nuclear war. (Ord. 1564 §2 (part), Ord. 1676) 9.60.020 Definitions. The definitions hereinafter set forth in this section shall govern construction of the words and phrases to be used in this chapter. A. Nuclear Weapons Component of a Nuclear Weapon. “Nuclear weapon” shall mean any bomb or other weapon designed to explode as a result of a chain reaction caused by nuclear fission or fusion. “Component of a nuclear weapon” shall mean any material or device produced or manufactured for use in a nuclear weapon. B. Nuclear Weapon Delivery System - Component of a Nuclear Weapon Delivery System. “Nuclear weapon delivery system” shall mean any equipment designed to transport, propel, or guide a nuclear weapon. “Component of a nuclear weapon system” shall mean any material or device produced or manufactured for use in a nuclear weapon delivery system. (Ord. 1564 §2 (part)) 9.60.030 Prohibition on the production, testing, maintenance and storage of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems. No person shall produce, test, maintain, or store within the city a nuclear weapon, component of a nuclear weapon, nuclear weapon delivery system, or component of a nuclear weapon delivery system. (Ord. 1564 §2 (part)) 9.60.040 Prohibition on appropriation and use of city funds and property for civil defense against a nuclear war. No city funds or property shall be appropriated or used for civil defense against a nuclear war or other preparations for nuclear war, including but not limited to those civil defense measures which address the physical or social aftereffects of a nuclear war. (Ord. 1564 §2 (part)) 9.60.050 Remedy for violations. At the direction of the city council, the city attorney shall file an action in a court of appropriate jurisdiction to enjoin any violations of this chapter. Such action for injunctive relief shall be exclusive of any other remedies whether civil or criminal, provided for by this code. (Ord. 1564 §2 (part)) |
Posted by Lon at December 4, 2006 05:21 PM
Comments
Chico actually has a nuclear bunker that few people know about, and I'm not talking about the old missle silos north of Chico Airport.
On Bruce Road at the Picholine Way stoplight, are two radio towers. These are the former KHSL-AM radio towers. Back in the day, KHSL-AM (1290 then, KPAY used to be 1060 but took over the frequency allocation) was the designated CONELRAD station for the north valley. The distinction that came with that was that your radio station had to survive a nuclear attack.
KHSL Chief engineer Russel Pope was charged with building a nuclear bunker so that the station operator could go underground, live, operate, and broadcast important CONELRAD public emergency information to whomever was left to hear it.
The bunker was equipped with an air filtration system, emergency power, emergency water and rations, a bed, a desk, a reading lamp, a geiger counter and dosimeter, plus an emergency telephone ( I don't know if it was red) connected to Sacramento. Word also had it that a shotgun and ammo was part of the provisioning.
The bunker survives today. And you can see its above ground entrance and air filtration snorkel to the left side of the fenced property enclosing the radio towers.
For those interested in the old CONELRAD network, which was the precursor to todays Emergency Broadcast System/EAS you might like to visit this nostalgic website:
There you can watch a young Gene Hackman tell us how to put our head between our legs and kiss our a** goodbye.
And, if you want to get a glimpse of what bunker life looked like in our now defunct Titan missile base near the airport visit this web page:
Posted by: Anthony Watts at December 5, 2006 10:37 PM
Does it have chess tables?
Whew! That means I can stop digging that giant hole in my backyard. I can also stop framing my bunker out of a that pressure treated lumber I keep finding strewn across Neal road.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at December 6, 2006 09:37 AM