Commission Impossible

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June 29, 2007

Another Blogger Becomes International Sensation!

I was interviewed yesterday by Jon Weinbach of the Wall Street Journal for an article in their Weekend Journal. Weinbach was writing about parks and how they are being designed by public forums. He wanted to clarify that the disc golf issue in Chico is contentious because of contrasting desires by two user groups. Personally I think it's a contrast between a user group and a "do not use"er group. He also asked if it was correct to describe it as "conservationists vs. frisbee golfers", to which I said "no, it would be correct to describe it as preservationists vs. conservationists, with most disc golfers supporting conservation". I also let him know that the city was close to spending $500,000 on the park Master Management Plan without making any park improvements. To which he said "oh your kidding?". I'm not. Weinbach's overall response was along the lines of "I really find all of this interesting, but I just need clarification for a single line in my story". Unfortunately, due to the evils of capitalism I can't view the article online to find out if my comments were included. I would have to pay for an online subscription. That would eat into my Slurpy Fund, and a man without a Slurpy is hardly a man at all. On a more positive note, because of Anthony Watts' new found celebrity I'm expecting the WSJ Weekend Journal report to cause me to be swept up in a flurry of international press coverage. I foresee hard hitting coverage like that by CNN's Nancy Grace , perhaps a spread in Mother Jones , or maybe the pinnacle of international news, a live interview with Action News 24 star reporter Nicole Shanafelt. Who'd have thought that Norcal blogging was the ticket to the big time. I promise to remember all of my readers (3) when I'm looking down on you from the heights of the international blogosphere. It's funny, you all look like ants from up here.

Posted by Lon at 07:37 AM | Comments (6)

June 27, 2007

The Trial Run

Years ago when "the wash out" was washed away, Scotty's fell into disrepair and became a trailer park magnet, and I became less concerned about tubing and more concerned about paying a mortgage, time I spent at the Sacramento River all but ended. It's odd to live so close to a vast natural playground and not spend much time there. A few months back I decided to un-wedge our old fiberglass canoe from between a fence and a tree in our backyard. This effort was directed at providing a day of adventure on the river for my son. It hadn't been used in nearly a decade, and had become the home for many a black-widow. One was so fat and "leggy" that I felt bad splatting her, but my location on the food chain required I do that. A few days of fiberglass repair, sanding, and paint got the canoe back in shape. Then came regular conversations on safety with my son followed by testing the canoe in our pool. That's when we found out that putting a 200 pound blogging engineer in the back of a canoe, and a 60 pound 6 year old in the front allows you to do "water wheelies". Yesterday that process culminated in our first trial run on a river inlet that heads east from Scotty's. Of course I added 100 pounds of sand ballast to the front of the canoe before launching. When we launched I realized that all of the safety talks and emergency scenarios we covered might have laid pretty heavy on the mind of a 6 year old. The wiggle and weave that the canoe went through as I settled into my seat was enough to create near panic at the front of our vessel. It was a replay of the Titanic sinking, interspersed with cries for mom. But that settled as the canoe calmed down and we started paddling like we'd practiced. We spent an hour on the river chasing ducks, watching fish jump, and seeing cranes and eagles fly by. A fisherman on shore informed us that we had just missed some beavers and otters, but we were not able to track them down. In the coming week or two we'll be taking our official trip down the river from Irvine Finch to the same inlet at Scotty's. We'll stop places to swim and explore, and have a few root beers. Heck, we might even spit and scratch ourselves like outdoorsman are supposed to. It was nice to get back out on the river. We're lucky to have one so close.

Note: When I was a kid my dad planned a boat trip on the Russian River for me and my two older brothers. I got sick before the trip and couldn't go. It was, as I remember, a crushing blow. The blow had a more lasting impact when my brothers returned with stories of eels, turtles, and naked "hippies" on inner-tubes with their "ninners" showing. I'm not expecting to see hippie mermaids on our upcoming trip, but I think the expedition might provide some Marshall McLuhan to the boat trip I missed (that's "closure" for those of you not married to a communications major).

Posted by Lon at 08:29 AM | Comments (1)

June 26, 2007

Grand Jury Reports on Chico

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog about the fact that the Butte County Grand Jury was investigation Chico's planning apparatus. Well, the report is out and can be downloaded from this web site. In the report there was another "Chico" issue of interest that I found enticing. That was an investigation into the City Plaza project that uncovered some minor irregularities in some of the no-bid contracts handed out for the project. But more striking to me were a series of comments attributed to Park Commissioners on the subject. The Grand Jury report reads like a soap opera, or at least a really good blog. I've pulled out some of the more "interesting" comments as examples of what's in the report. The sections I've pulled out are not the "summaries" on each topic, which are generally more benign. I recommend everyone read this report, it's pretty much what a reporter would write if they never had to worry about naming sources.

Regarding the Planning Staff Morale and New Planning Director: Several staff members expressed concern that the current Planning Director “dismisses professional opinions,” is “condescending and disrespectful,” and “lacks a sense of teamwork.” Other comments indicated that communication within the PSD has become “difficult” and has “diminished in quality and effectiveness.” While the Grand Jury generally does not become involved with personality issues, the frequency of such comments from all levels of the PSD and the city at large led us to be concerned for the efficiency and overall well-being of the entire department. We learned that due to the current conditions within the PSD, several of the most experienced city planners have applied for jobs with other departments or possibly plan to leave the city altogether. The previous loss of “ institutional memory” caused by the retirements of key planning managers earlier in the year coupled with the loss of several experienced planners could prove to be a heavy blow to the PSD and the City of Chico.

Regarding the Planning Commission: In the beginning of its investigation into the planning process, the Grand Jury consistently heard many complaints about the Planning Commission. Both the development community and planning staff had concerns about “being caught in the middle of politics.” Several staff members suggested that the commission was “overzealous” and “did not understand all the ramifications involved in the work of planning.” Another issue concerned the qualifications, expertise and training of members of the Planning Commission. A final concern, as stated earlier in this report, was the high number of appeals resulting from decisions of the Planning Commission.

Regarding Park Commissioner Comments on City Plaza: With regard to the City Plaza project, overwhelmingly, the Park Commission indicated that it approved the City Plaza project “in concept” but after that, all of the details were left to city staff and their hired consultant. When asked about the escalating cost of the City Plaza project, one commissioner commented, “We were never told prices. When things were brought up and we asked, we were told it was secret, ‘not for public knowledge.’” Other comments made by commissioners included: “They allowed too many ‘conceptual approvals.’ There should have been more public involvement.” “They were not publicly vetted decisions.” Another commissioner felt there should have been a better estimate of costs up front. Likewise, the Park Commission was advised in a “’benign way’ regarding the rising costs, but that cost was never made an issue.” On a positive note, one commissioner stated: “As for its purpose it [City Plaza] is an unqualified success.” Another commissioner commented “the process that brought the artist of the chess table stinks.” The last comment referred to the fact that the artist who proposed the chess tables to city council was awarded a no-bid contract for the project, at a billing rate of $125 per hour to a maximum of $68,000.

Posted by Lon at 09:00 PM | Comments (2)

June 25, 2007

I've Got Good News, And I've Got Bad News

I've written a few blogs about the need for the city to build parks with amenities like recreation components and restrooms. Unfortunately, in order for the city to do this neighborhoods need to form "lighting and landscape districts" and assess themselves an annual cost to pay for these parks. A "basic park" like Baroni Park scheduled to be built adjacent to the Doe Mill development, will have grass, a picnic area, and a children's play structure. But the neighborhood said no to a basketball court and restrooms, which was the "enhanced design". The annual cost for the basic park was $64, and it was $119 for the bigger, better park. Recently the Ceres/Highland Neighborhood Park design was completely rejected by residents. They decided that they wanted to pay for neither a basic, nor an enhanced park. The city is looking into options that might reinvigorate interest in a park, but the decision by neighbors can be seen as nothing short of disappointing. Where will those kids play? Roughly 40% of the available ballots for the vote were returned. That's a pretty good rate of return, so you can't blame indifference for the decision not to build Ceres/Highland Park. That's the bad news. The good news is that some anonymous member of the community recently donated $40,000 to the city earmarked for Baroni Park. It is to be used to build a basketball court. I guess that makes Baroni an enhanced basic park. It also makes the donor a local hero. The donation was made one year after the Baroni neighborhood voted not to build an enhanced park. The contrast between people unwilling to part with $60 per year to turn a vacant lot into a place for families, and someone donating $40,000 to close the gap on an already funded park, is stark to me. For the record I live in a lighting and landscape district that maintains an enhanced park. Frankly, I'd pay more to have tennis courts added to the park, and I don't play tennis. I hear people complain all the time about developers not paying their fair share for parks. Maybe they could chip in a little more money, and probably will as part of Nexus fee increases. But some citizen's in our town are electing to pay even less than their fair share. They're electing to pay nothing. Note: I think most of the parks built in the last several years were actually paid for by developers as part of developments. I don't think these include "neighborhood parks", but I could be wrong.

Posted by Lon at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2007

Planning Department Retreats

In his first step towards solving a desperate morale problem at Chico's Planning Department Assistant City Manager Dave Burkland ordered all planning staff to a retreat in Humboldt County. "We traveled to the Moonbeam Terrace Commune at great taxpayer expense for a number of reasons" Burkland said. "First, the staff needed to let their hair down and relax. Second we felt if we could walk a few steps in the Planning Commission's shoes we'd be better suited to meet their needs." Moonbeam Terrace Commune is a dude ranch. Not the cowboy kind of dude, but the 60's kind of dude. Owner-operator Butterfly Rainbow Trout Persimmons Caterpillar had this to say about the Chico immigrants, "Dude." One city staffer that refused to be identified said that letting their hair down was made complicated by the general lack of hair of some of her fellow workers. She also complained that the lack of organization at Moonbeam Terrace, and a general over-abundance of tie-dye, was making her nauseous. Another staffer was overheard saying that he was looking forward to another round of naked high-fives (a camaraderie building exercise shown below), and that he always felt better after the Butterfly served the "brownie-brunch". As the retreat came to a close Burkland gathered the group together for one last pep talk and he put many of the skills learned at Moonbeam Terrace to work. "I hope we all learned something this week. As city planners it's important for us to chill and spend less time worrying about details. Life's too short, man. The vibe I get from you cats is definitely more hep to my jive than before. Now pass the chronic!" Burkland said.

Note: There is no Moonbeam Terrace Commune, Dave Burkland did not spend taxpayer money to take planning staff to a hippie dude ranch, and may never have asked someone to "pass the chronic". Most Planning Commissioners are not hippies. And if you're on the City of Chico planning staff, and are reading this, I dare you to do naked high-fives in the office.

Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (10)

June 22, 2007

Watts Up E-R

Fellow Norcal blogger Anthony Watts recently embarked on an effort to evaluate surface temperature measuring stations to see if they are in disrepair or poorly located. Some scientists and global warming advocates have said that all bias in the measurements have been accounted for. But as it turns out many of the sites are poorly located and in disrepair. Experts on global warming clearly have little data on the various problems associated with each measurement site, and so the "bias" that is supposed to be accounted for could be called into question. Anthony's efforts have been picked up in the national media and tens of thousands of people have visited his E-R sponsored blog. In fact he's had ten times as many visitors in a single day than most Norcal blogs get in a month. His efforts have been detailed in a major newspaper, a leading internet news site, and a top national cable news channel. I only read the online paper, so I could have missed something. But so far no front page story in the E-R. Isn't this newsworthy? A nice old lady hits a hole in one, big news. A local weatherman, who is regularly raked over the coals in our political left weeklies, finds problems worthy of evaluating in the data collection that underlies much of the global warming data set, no big deal. As I said, I could have missed an editorial or some other article that wasn't online. But when someone local tilts a windmill as big as the billion dollar global climate change market, that ought to be on the front page. Somebody must be on vacation. Update: I received a note from someone at the E-R that they are paying attention to Anthony's newfound celebrity status and will be reporting on it soon. In fact they just found out that Anthony has been seen checking temperature measurement sites with none other than Paris Hilton, who has been released from jail on good behavior and has decided to devote her life to science. BTW, I think there are a couple of people at the E-R who are on vacation. I'm pretty sure now that they're also checking little temperature huts across the USA.

Posted by Lon at 12:27 AM | Comments (2)

June 21, 2007

The Fixer

In today's E-R article on a second city planner leaving the Planning Department some of Mayor Holcombe's comments are reported as... Holcombe said the close-together resignations are part of a natural turnover. He said a turnover is part of a normal evolution of any office or city... I've been told that Assistant City Manager Dave Burkland has been dispatched to the 2nd floor of the municipal building (where the Planners live) . He's been given a few months to try and fix the department. That kind of response to natural turnover would be pretty extreme. I think there's more going on, and I think people at the city are more concerned about this than the Mayor's public comments would lead you to believe. It would be unfair to lay all difficulties planning staff are facing at the feet of the Planning Commission. But the disregard shown to some of the staff work by some of the commissioners probably doesn't help. Planning Director Steve Peterson is a recent hire by the city. And, assuming my information is correct, it can't bode well for him that the Assistant City Manager will now be looking over his shoulder.

Posted by Lon at 06:05 AM | Comments (7)

June 20, 2007

"No Growth" No More

Meriam Park, the largest development proposed in Chico's recent history, was approved on a 5-1 vote last night. Councilor Mary Flynn was absent, and Councilor Larry Wahl was the sole vote against the proposed development. Approval of the development was basically a forgone conclusion, with the typical "no-growth" crowd remaining sidelined or co-opted by New Urban Builders as supporters. Gone were the agitated neighbors typically organized by local left activists to bash the evil developer. The hyperbole often aimed at stopping development seemed to be aimed at supporting this one. The City Council deliberations and staff groundwork laid for this project were well reasoned. But some arguments in support of this development could be used to support any development. Councilors often said "we're going to grow, and we need places for people to live", or stated that the increased growth would fuel funding needs. It was acknowledged by our leaders that building west of the foothills and east of the greenline was the right place to grow. In fact, except for the public support and a very dense development plan, it sounded like a lot like proposals to develop Bidwell Ranch.

I think Meriam Park will be an interesting and valuable addition to Chico. It will serve housing needs and provide economic development for our future. But some of the arguments against the development are entirely valid. And some of the arguments supporting the development didn't seem to make a lot of sense. In the roll of devil's advocate I'm going to cover some of these discussion points. Too Dense: Larry Wahl voted against the development because of it's density. He said that we're basically building another town inside of Chico. Furthermore, when compared to other North State towns of the size Meriam Park will be (like Gridley) this development will put the same number of people in 1/8th the land area. Wahl said that no area of Chico matches the developed density of Meriam Park, and that it is by no means an example of the historic lifestyle Chicoans lay claim to. He said it would be more appropriate for a large city. Walkability: One citizen said that there's no reason to expect people living in Meriam Park will walk to stores to shop. She said people don't choose things like a dentist because of how close they are, they choose them based on how good they are. I think this argument could be expanded to groceries (price vs. proximity) and a number of other commodities. Scott Gruendl used his "I walk the dog and meet my neighbors" story to exemplify how wonderfully walkable Doe Mill is, and therefore how wonderfully walkable Meriam Park will be. What is interesting to me is that I also walk my dog , and I also know my neighbors, and my neighborhood was built in the 1980's. In fact I have 2 convenience stores in my neighborhood, and a built park with restrooms, neither of which currently exist at Doe Mill. Those amenities might make my neighborhood more walkable than Doe Mill. I think "walkability" can be as much about the person as the place. Global Warming: A couple of the citizens that spoke in support of Meriam Park felt that it would help combat global warming. Last year's signing of the Mayor's climate treaty committed Chico to reducing green-house gas generation to 1994 levels. Denis Hayes, high priest of Global Warming, recently visited Chico and warned against drawing false boundaries when fighting green house gas emissions. To meet Hayes' goals (which are also the goals set by our last mayor) any new growth in Chico would need to not only have zero green-house gas emissions, but should actually absorb emissions. Meriam Park does not do that.

Summary: Meriam Park and New Urban Builders represent a new way of doing business in Chico. They deserve credit for "selling" their building ideals to a diverse group of supporters. Even so people do need to be realistic about what will be built. Meriam Park is dense, with building heights only found in downtown Chico, narrow streets, and acres of off limits preserved open space. People living in Meriam Park will not spend all day walking dogs. They'll drive, and they'll drive a whole bunch. A huge new development is not a step forward in reducing green-house gas emissions, but this development is a step forward in sustainable building practices. All that being said I trust that New Urban Builders will continue to create high quality livable space in our community. They believe in what they are doing, and believe they are making Chico a better place to live. Another side effect of this decision is that 4 of our 5 liberal councilors are now on record supporting massive high density development. And 1 of our 2 conservative councilors is now on record opposing massive high density development. Some people who voted in the last election may have expected the opposite.

Posted by Lon at 07:47 AM | Comments (4)

June 19, 2007

Quaint, Quixotic, or Quazy

I read a letter-to-the-editor today expressing angst over the "planners" in Paradise wanting a Wal-Mart to move into that town. I kind of doubt that planners want that, but who knows. Maybe they do want additional sales tax income. More than likely they have no control over who owns the property, and probably little control over if it's developed, only over how it's developed. It's not very American to prevent land exchanges between private parties. In fact it's quite the opposite, we have laws saying you can't be discriminatory when selling your property. I think a lot of people would like to support local business over retail giants. But how to do it? A small town in Massachusetts has developed it's own currency (actually a paper "scrip"). The currency is accepted by local small businesses that can handle the irregular payment method. Large box stores and chains can only work in dollars, so if you have local currency you can't spend it there. The currency, known as the Berkshare has a standard conversion rate of $0.90/US dollar (9 Berkshares = 10 dollars). That means if you're converting from dollars and spending Berkshares you get 10% more spending power. Unfortunately , somebody down the road would take the 10% hit, probably the merchant or bank. The bank that manages this scrip is considering setting up Berkshare based checking and credit card systems as well. On a side note, states cannot print their own money but local groups can print paper "scrips". As long as the scrip does not look like the dollar, and as long as no coinage is used, this kind of economic exchange is legal. The town that started this new payment method sounds a little "new-age kooky". It sounds like a rural version of Berkeley. I think Chico's super-majority liberal council is too moderate to buy into this concept, but who knows. Regardless, it's a fun idea to play with. What would we name our own currency? Who would be on the bills? It's unfortunate that you can't use coins, because the "Bear Buck" would be an easy transition for some of us. I think I still have some in my change jar. I'm sure some people would want to name it after Annie Bidwell, but I'd be more for naming it after the forgotten general. "Johnbacks" or "General Currency" would work for me. As far as the different designs for the various denominations, I think we should just lift the colors and images from Sierra Nevada brewery's beer selection. The higher the alcohol content the higher the bill value. That would put Bigfoot Ale at the top. Or we could use images of famous Chicoans, like the guy in the yellow tank top that dances when Spark 'N Cinder plays. Or perhaps the guy who used to paint political slogans on his bus and park it downtown. I would love to see Marge the "now retired" parking meter enforcement officer on a bill. Tim Bousquet and DNA would need to be on one as well. We could put Tom Gasgoyne on one, but I'm not sure he'd be comfortable getting that close to money. Maybe we should have our own currency, it might increase tourism, and since I brought the topic to local attention I'll get on a bill as well. And one last thought, with our own currency we could just print enough money to balance our budget. That works doesn't it?

Posted by Lon at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2007

Father Figures Day

As a dad it's been very important for me to have good roll models. Since I've learned almost all of my behaviour from television and movies, and have very few original thoughts of my own, I thought I'd take this moment to recognize my mentors. Here's a montage of some of my favorite fathers.

Posted by Lon at 08:18 AM | Comments (2)

Sea Monster Invades Local Park

A sea monster invaded Caper Acres on Friday and marked a significant milestone in the Nico Project. In December of 2005 Nico Cardoza passed away in his sleep. He was 16 months old. Family and friends wanted to do something to mark his life, and the Nico Project addition to Caper Acres was born. In 2006 we raised nearly $120,000 with a half-dozen fundraisers, T-shirt sales, and random cash donations. A month and a half ago we began construction on the project, and a completion date between June 30th (our target) and July 4th seems probable. The sea monster sculpture comes in 7 pieces. There is a head that you can climb through and on top of, a tail to climb on, and 5 humps. Artist Robin Indar is adding tile embellishments, and the sea monster will be stained and possibly airbrushed for design accents. The sculpture pieces are designed to give the appearance that the sea monster is coming out of the surface. In a little more than a week a rubberized surface will be poured that surrounds the sculpture and simulates water. In the center of the play area, where a boat play structure resides, the poured surface will look like an island. Here are web pages showing the construction process and sponsors of the project.

Project volunteers put in huge amounts of time and effort raising money last year. Even with that effort we needed professional skills to pull this project together. There are a number of companies that have stepped up in the last 6 weeks to help us keep this project on track and on budget. They deserve significant recognition as we could not have gotten to this point without their help. Guillon Inc Construction - playground perimeter and seating walls New Urban Builders - anchor walls and entrance forming and concrete Northstar Engineering - survey Ed Brown Trucking - trucking and crusher dust Jess Sarrao Construction - concrete pads for sea monster 7/11 Materials - road base Baldwin Contracting Company - top-soil Mathews Ready Mix - concrete Link Engineering - heavy equipment leveling, compacting the play area Mountain Valley Express Co. - time and equipment for "anchor barbs" Alpine Landscaping - poured anchor seat walls, stamped entrance way Universal Precast - donated 5 sea monster "humps"

Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2007

Movies In The Park

CARD is holding its first Movies in the Park event of the summer tonight (Saturday June 16th). These events are free and there's usually a snack bar whose sales proceeds go to some charity around town. Bring blankets to sit on, or chairs. Bug spray and a flashlight are also good ideas "just in case". The movies start after dark, so expect a start time of around 9PM, which can be a little late for the younger kids. The event is on the baseball field at 1-Mile, which is adjacent to Caper Acres. Tonight's movie is the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". My favorite part of the movie is when Grandpa Joe gives Charlie his last cash to buy a Wonka bar. To this generosity Charlie responds "But Grandpa Joe, I can't take your tobacco money!". If only all kids were that considerate. But even with that dated reference it is a good family movie, and watching it on a large screen in the park for free makes it even better.

Posted by Lon at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)

Beam Me Up Scotty

Evan Tuchinsky, in this weeks issue of the Chico News and Review, runs through the City Manager's 54 budget items to reach a budget in the black. I agree with a lot of his suggestions, but think adding a quarter cent tax increase is a bit premature. Another of Evan's suggestions was to not end grant funded jobs unless the employee wants to leave. A grant funded job is one where a single chunk of money is given to the city by some agency, a job is formed, and when the money runs out the city picks up the new annual cost. Considering the fact that most of our budget spending is related to employee costs, taking on new grant funded employees would seem to be a bad long-term idea. But I have a "less government is good" solution to reducing our annual cash shortfall. The city operates a number of "enterprise funds" which perform like a business. They bill customers, and track costs. If they run in the red the General Fund pays the bill. I wrote a blog on "enterprise funds" back in January. The Private Development Enterprise Fund has been an albatross around the city's budget neck recently. Back in January it was estimated to be $6,216,000 in the red by next year. That appears to be a cumulative shortfall. In 2006 it was roughly $1,000,000 in the red. The city's annual financial report describes this fund as "accounts for private development planning and building inspection and subdivision planning and inspection". Since the word subdivision comes up, I emailed City Manager Greg Jones to find out if Planning Commission / developer activity was driving this fund into the red. Jones' response was... "In terms of the Private Development Fund, the running deficit is due to a couple of things. First, from a policy perspective, the General Fund has typically contributed to the Private Development Fund to cover the more general services provided by our staff on the second floor, not attributable to a major development application. A good example would be a homeowner coming in to the counter asking about adding a deck onto their house. The General Fund picks up that cost, rather than charging for the consultation through some sort of fee, since the project may not require any sort of application, permit, etc. The amount of that General Fund transfer has been the topic of debate in the past. Secondly, the City is continually behind in updating the fees upon which various services are based, so the fees are "behind" reality in terms of costs of service. ... Legally, any current deficit will have to be made up from the General Fund, as fees cannot be legally set to recover previous services' costs. So the existing deficit will need to be made up by several years of General Fund contributions, at the expense of other General Fund services (Police, Fire, right of way maintenance, etc.). Basically, in comparison to cost, we are "undercharging" for services being provided." It would seem to me that correcting fee amounts is one possible solution to the problem with the Private Development Enterprise Fund. Another is to reduce inspections or unneeded "consultations". Consultation on construction design does not need to be a "city service". This can, and is done, by private parties. Inefficient government services that duplicate private, for profit, services should be avoided. This is even more true in a mature and skill driven industry like construction. Freeing up city engineers to work on city projects would likely be another side effect of reducing consultation services paid for by the Private Development Enterprise Fund. Balancing this fund could save the city millions each year. I'd rather have better police and fire protection as a result of my tax donation than be assured my neighbor's deck was built really well.

Posted by Lon at 09:00 AM | Comments (2)

June 15, 2007

Tru-Dat

I wonder which one is closer to the truth?

Posted by Lon at 06:30 PM | Comments (2)

June 14, 2007

Mis-Paraphrased (not misquoted)

Unfortunately I was mis-paraphrased in today's E-R story on the Bidwell Park Master Management Plan environmental impact (EIR) story. Laura Urseny wrote, "If the disc golf course is erased, which is a possibility, the same treatment should be ordered for the bike and hiking trails in the area, said disc golf representative Lon Glazner. That would also trigger changes in the trails manual, he said. " Which was not what I said. I can't blame Laura, she's attended so many disc golf meetings that she'd probably rather eat a bowl of broken glass than hear one more diatribe on the joy or destruction of disc golf. And speaking in public certainly allows for all sorts of interpretations of your comments. But since I have the opportunity to clarify my comments I will. They were specific to the EIR and not any kind of policy recommendation. The meeting was only about the EIR's characteristics. There are four project EIR's addressing specific areas of the park. 1. Cedar Grove 2. Horseshoe Lake 3. Disc Golf / Trailhead 4. Trails Plan The Trails Plan project EIR actually extends over all of the other project EIRs. For example the Trails Plan addresses mountain bike and hiking trails at the disc golf site. Here were the main points of my argument. Only the disc golf/trailhead project EIR has a “restoration alternative”. If the restoration alternative is selected all recreations except disc golf that currently exist at the site would continue. Trailheads and parking would be built, but instead of building a disc golf course, the city would probably pay environmental consultants to restore the area to some previous unknown state. That’s on top of the $300,000 already spent on consultants. The disc golf/trailhead project EIR never distinguishes between impacts from disc golf and other recreation at the site. There are mountain bike and hiking trails there. So there's no way to quantify which impacts from which recreation are to be “restored”. Neither trails nor a disc golf course in the “new addition” or BLM property (added to the park in 1994) have been officially approved. Proposing a restoration alternative for a specific recreation while ignoring others is discriminatory. The city has not separated the impacts by recreation type. They've never identified which trails belong to which recreation, or which impacts are shared. The city should remove the restoration alternative from the disc golf/trailhead project EIR. This is especially true since the trails plan project EIR, which has no restoration alternative, includes the same area as the disc golf/trailhead EIR. Additionally, the EIR states that the "restoration alternative" does not meet the disc golf/trailhead project objective.

Summary: My comments had nothing to do with removing hiking or mountain biking. They were directed to specific CEQA options within the EIR, and a lack of delineation of impacts by recreation. They spoke to the lack of information available to apply the restoration alternative to the disc golf / trail head project. They also attempted to point out to the city that all recreation activities existing in the 1400 acres added to the park in 1994 should have similar EIR alternatives. Speaking publicly provides an opportunity to get your point across as well as be misinterpreted. I'm lucky that I have this avenue to clarify comments I made in public.

Posted by Lon at 09:08 AM | Comments (5)

June 12, 2007

Park Zoning Never Updated

Chico's General Plan defers to the Bidwell Park Master Management Plan on issues of park use and park facilities. If the Master Plan allows something like disc golf off of highway 32 then it's okay. All of Bidwell Park is zoned as OS-1 (open space). That means that the zoning designation for Caper Acres, Sycamore Pool, Hooker Oak Recreation Area, Bear Hole, and Browns Hole are all the same. Additionally, at the time of the last General Plan update, all of Bidwell Park had a zoning overlay as a Resource Conservation Area (or RCA) applied to it. At the same time areas adjacent to Bidwell Park were designated as Resource Management Areas (or RMA) which have a lower threshold for preservation. The 1380 acre "New Addition" and the 40 acre BLM property (where disc golf resides) were also added to Bidwell Park in 1994, and apparently the RCA overlay was never extended to those new properties. The black and white image above shows the RCA and RMA designations and they follow the park boundary as it existed before the new properties were added (this map can be found on page 12 of the Open Space chapter of Chico's General Plan). The color image below shows the current park boundary and is from the new draft Master Plan. Note: In the BW image the dotted pattern denotes oak woodland, and the whitish color underneath designates the RMA overlay. The RMA zone extends east of highway 32 (the vertical eastern boundary of much of the park).

So what is the effect of these areas being an RMA versus an RCA? From a purely technical standpoint it would mean that building a disc golf course at the existing location (an RMA) would be the more desirable than building it in an area designated RCA. People that oppose disc golf at its current location have also used the assumed RCA designation as an argument not to improve the site. That argument was made in a recent Chico Beat editorial, and an article written by the Friends of Bidwell Park in the recent BEC newsletter. Those arguments now seem to have less merit. The reality is that RCA or RMA designations don't have that much bearing on this discussion. If a playground is appropriate in an RCA zone (Caper Acres is appropriate right?) then a disc golf course or a mountain bike trail can be as well. An RCA designation doesn't preclude recreation facilities from being built. At the end of the day the Chico City Council will make the call, and the RMA designation of the disc golf site might make a positive decision easier for some of them. But regardless of that decision they should probably update the zoning on their maps.

Posted by Lon at 11:35 PM | Comments (4)

June 11, 2007

BEC Angels

The latest edition of the Butte Environmental Council's (BEC) Environmental News has a couple of interesting , and welcome, letters to the editor. Chairman of their board, and disc golfer, Peter Hollingsworth writes a reasonable letter seeking compromise on disc golf. Jennifer Oman, BEC's education and outreach coordinator, also makes a number of solid points on behalf of disc golf. Both Oman and Hollingsworth deserve a lot of credit for being environmentalists willing to speak out in support of this valuable, low cost, recreational opportunity. It's not unusual that they support disc golf and are environmentalists, that happens all the time. It's unusual that they stepped forward so publicly when disc golfers are sometimes portrayed as uncaring, earth wrecking, thugs. All park users are artists, engineers, teachers, construction workers, journalists, democrats, republicans, independants, moms, dads, kids, and a whole bunch of dogs. That's true whether you're a disc golf park user, or some other kind of park user. Since there are now two self described environmentalists at BEC who support disc golf I thought I'd give their letters a wider audience, and have reposted them below. NOTE: The letters shouldn't be construed as a position held by the organization BEC, just opinions from some members

BEC Environmental News letter - Peter Hollingsworth As the discussion of disc golf in Chico begins again, I hope that cooler heads will prevail and that some kind of compromise can be reached. The fact that there are now 2,348 disc golf courses in the U.S. (111 in California) suggests to me that 1) it is a very popular form of recreation and 2) a lot of communities have found a way to include disc golf in their park systems. Here in Chico, hundreds of people play disc golf regularly on the undeveloped course off of Highway 32 in Upper Park. For many it is the primary way that they enjoy the park and most players are very conscientious. But some park users argue that the course should be removed because the soil there is too fragile and the plant life too vulnerable. Others don’t want a disc course anywhere in the park. But surely, in one of the largest municipal parks in the country at 3,618 acres, we should be able to accommodate a 30-acre disc golf course somewhere in Bidwell Park. Like most disc golfers, I consider myself an environmentalist. One of the reasons I play is because it is a form of recreation that utilizes the land as it is—no bulldozers, irrigation systems, pesticides, or herbicides. The terrain is altered as minimally as possible. The people that are opposed to disc golf in Upper Park should come forward with support for another site. Disc golfers should also be open to compromises. (I personally think a disc golf course on the north side of 5 Mile, in the part of the park where most of the recreation facilities already exist, would be a great choice.) In any case, let’s come to some kind of agreement and move on. We should be allies working together on the many other important environmental issues that confront us here in Chico. Peter Hollingsworth

BEC Environmental News letter - Jennifer Oman As a former classroom teacher, and now an environmental outreach and education coordinator, as well as the Aunt of two young nephews, I approach the disc golf course issue in Bidwell Park as an excellent opportunity to provide outreach on the concept of environmental stewardship through recreation. There are groups that exist who work toward conservation of natural resources, and also see disc golf as a means toward that end (The Save Our Canyons group in Utah has seen the wisdom and benefit of this combination.) Many people do not experience nature unless it is through sports or other outdoor activities. Our City park is an amazing place that we can share and enjoy in our many different ways. It’s important to remember that Bidwell Park is a park, and not a preserve, or a reserve. It’s an amazing gift for the City, and is the place where we do need to compromise and share. We are lucky to have 2,724 acres preserved through the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, as well as 750 acres of Bidwell Ranch land. I was the curator of the museum exhibit on the Bidwell Park Centennial, which was an honor. While researching the history of Bidwell Park, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the various ways over the years that Chicoans “played” in the park: water skiing, archery, Boy Scout camps, etc. The chance to give people who play disc golf (or ride mountain bikes, or ride horses, or do exercise courses, or swim, or take nature hikes , or play on playground equipment, or play baseball, etc.) the experience to enjoy nature and be out in it, is something that can and does benefit our community. Protecting nature while people enjoy it, so that future generations can do the same, is important. People who take up that cause in a balanced and inclusive manner, are exceptional, and deserve our thanks. Following through with the viable compromise for both sides of the disc golf issue is important and needed. Much public money has been spent, and extensive planning has occurred to try to allow a permanent disc golf course at its current location. The ideal would be to go ahead with the plan, providing all of the mitigations are consistently followed, and we can make our disc golf course one of the best examples of environmental respect and beauty. However, if it turns out that there is a better location in our park, or an additional location that would help lessen the impact on the current location, then we need to identify it in an expedient manner and make it happen. We can’t discriminate against one group of recreators and not others. That makes for low public moral, and a feeling of unfairness in the community. We owe it to each other to accommodate one another’s needs in the most intelligent and fair manner possible. Out of 3,600 acres we can find a good spot for disc golfers to enjoy the park too. Here are positive opportunities to keep in mind: • Help create a positive model for other public lands, of recreational and environmental planning working together. • Provide an example of a project that environmentalist ideology can use as a model for other outdoor sports projects. • Generate increased mainstream interest in ecological issues, by exposing citizens to nature in way that they can connect to it. • Develop better social habits, sportsmanship and etiquette with those who may most need them. • Expose youth to more mature influences. “Pack it in, pack it out.” “ Leave only footprints.” •Promote healthy lifestyle habits with low income and at risk groups. • Offer relatively lower impact recreation alternative to other outdoor sports; hunting, dirt biking, four wheeling, etc. • Give an incentive for more community inclusion and stewardship of public lands. •Encourage more civic participation and voice in the public process. •Support the efforts and expense of years of hard work by progressive citizens, volunteers, councilors and commissioners. •Invite environmental group oversight with project maintenance and improvements. • Work with environmentalist players to insure City plans are followed properly. Thanks to all who care about promoting better ecological awareness, Jennifer Oman

Posted by Lon at 10:20 PM | Comments (2)

June 10, 2007

Camping In Bidwell Park?

The Chico Area Parks and Recreation District (CARD) held its annual Community Campout last night. The campout was sold out with more than 50 families attending. The families set up camp on one of the baseball fields at Hooker Oak Recreation Area. Included in the campout were a barbeque, pancake breakfast, and activities like kid's skits organized by CARD volunteers and roasting marshmallows around a campfire. A short 6-hole disc golf course was put in place for the 3rd year of the campout. The course layout was determined by 6 year-old Becket. The highlight for me was being asked back this year to lead a night hike from the camp site to the Kiwanis Chico Community Observatory. 85 people made the hike this year which is about a mile each way. Anita Berkow manned (or should I say womaned?) the observatory, and targeted Saturn and the Sombrero Galaxy for the campers to see. The image of Saturn below is not from the observatory, but is similar to the view their telescopes provide. And I need to thank Ken, Dave, and Hans for helping make the hike a safe one. The campout was organized by CARD employee Ann Willmann, along with CARD staff help. It was an inexpensive way to enjoy the park setting and have some summertime community fun. Ann also organized the "Swinging Under the Stars" dance at the Downtown Plaza, and will organize the "Movies in the Park" adjacent to Caper Acres again this summer (which are fast becoming a favorite Chico tradition).

Posted by Lon at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2007

Free Paris

It's rare that I feel the need to delve into national issues. But there comes a time when silence can no longer serve the betterment of mankind. I've reached that threshold today. Paris Hilton, long known for her generous and altruistic nature, has been unjustly imprisoned. This culminates the long evolution of national policy where the beautiful and wealthy are targeted by discriminatory practices. These practices have negatively impacted national leaders such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, and one can expect that Hillary Duff's comeuppance is not long in coming. As a nation we need to adjust our laws so that the comely do not have their internal light dimmed by such base and common experiences as incarceration. Paris' long work in rescuing chihuahua and converting them to "dog-ccessories" should not be forgotten. Without her more of these tiny canines would be forced into the degrading world of fast-food advertising. Let's not forget that our friends the French have even named their capitol after her. This is further evidence of her global impact and far reaching charity. It's time we, as a people, stand up for the rights of our most important citizens. Most of us are not rich. And most of us are not beautiful. So few of us are both rich and beautiful. Without people like Paris Hilton we would have no idea just what life really truly has to offer. It's time we pull together for the betterment of society and free Paris Hilton!

Posted by Lon at 07:41 AM | Comments (1)

June 06, 2007

A Letter From Andy

For the second time this year Chico's Mayor has sent a letter to the Planning Commission clarifying their role in city government. My question to those people that think the Planning Commission is running smoothly and not agitating city employees is why would the Mayor have to send two letters in less than six months clarifying their role if nothing's wrong? It's doubtful that if the complaints were coming solely from project applicants that the Mayor would bother to write this letter. In fact he states that specific project proposal complaints don't concern him. Other pressures must be mounting to force the Planning Commission to focus on their "official purpose" and not their "beliefs". It's my opinion that those additional pressures are coming from city staff. I've been told that city attorney David Frank expressed some concern over emails like those sent by Commissioner Luvass, and the Brown Act, at a meeting attended by the Mayor and the City Manager prior to this letter being penned. But in this letter Holcombe seems to recommend more behind the scenes communication, not less. The main thrust of the Mayor's letter seems to be to remind the Planning Commission that they are not to veer away from the General Plan requirements in their deliberations. The Mayor also points out that professionally prepared staff reports should be the centerpiece of Planning Commission and public discussions during hearings. I think that portion of the letter is a clear indication that planning staff are not happy with the Planning Commission's opinion of their work. Below is a section of the letter where Holcombe states that he takes the concerns regarding the Planning Commission seriously. The entire letter is an interesting read, and here is the pdf file if you'd like to review it.

Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (6)

June 05, 2007

Vandals 2 - CI Super Action Adventure Team 1

The CI Super Action Adventure Team swung into action this morning to vandalize the vandal's work. Unfortunately, the vandals had thrown trash cans about Oak Way Park, to impede our progress. Above are photos of the vandalism, and later images of the removed vandalism after a little hard work by the CI Super Action Adventure Team. Below you can see the CI Super Action Adventure Tracking Dog (with super invisible leash) tracking the hideous rampaging vandals. With the new trash can vandalism the current count is... Vandals 2 - CI Super Action Adventure Team 1 (note: yes that's a swear word above, I figure if it's been seen by the kids at Emma Wilson the rest of the community might as well see it too; also, images of the graffiti were taken and forwarded to the Chico PD for their graffiti database prior to cleaning; finally, being on the CI Super Action Adventure Team is complicated, but well worth the adventure)

Posted by Lon at 07:35 AM | Comments (3)

Vandals

Not all vandals suck. The East Germanic tribe known as the Vandals that sacked Rome in 455 were actually quite successful. In fact their pillaging of Rome was really no more destructive than other invasions of that era. Since Roman culture was idealized during the Age of Enlightenment the Vandals were derided as barbarians and "vandalism" took on its current meaning. Then there is the American punk rock band "The Vandals". Once you look past their anarchistic and abusive lyrics, their songs are actually quite catchy. The Vandals album Peace Through Vandalism was a favorite of mine when I rambled through the Seattle music scene. But the vandals that spray-painted swear words and hieroglyphic "boobies" on the toddler play area at Oak Way Park do suck. It sucks that hundreds of little Emma Wilson kids, some who are just learning to read, might take a lesson from this. It sucks that the vandals were probably just teenagers acting out meaningless "wannabe" gang ramblings learned in Junior High. Maybe I'll get up early and vandalize some of their vandalism. That would be another example of a vandal that doesn't suck.

Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

June 04, 2007

All Day Budget Party Tomorrow!

Jenn Klein writes a story in today's paper about tomorrow's all day budget work session. At the session the City Council will attempt to iron out the city's long term deficit, which has grown from an estimated $40,000,000 to $56,000,000 in just six months. At the top of the list of solutions is a tax increase, and in a previous blog entry I listed all 54 suggested proposals for reducing the deficit. The two council conservatives have some interesting decisions to make. As a distinct minority they are not needed to pass the bond issues that require a 2/3 vote. In fact all of the council decisions could be made without their input. If the City Council appears to be leaning towards an emphasis on raising revenue through taxation or borrowing (bonds) the conservatives could just vote against any budget proposal that doesn't have significant cost cutting associated with it. From a recent history perspective most of the councilors have weighed in on this budget issue in the last 6 months. There are two, Bertagna and Schwab, who I don't recall making statements. But I'm sure I just wasn't around when it happened. Of the remaining councilors Larry Wahl was the most obvious in his concern over the budget. In fact he was publicly thumped for being severe in his critique of spending decisions at a "State of the City" discussion in January. Wahl's concerns have been proven true. Council candidates that didn't make the cut last November also expressed concern over the budget, and were derided as crying wolf. Unfortunately, the wolf is not only real, but a bit meaner than expected. Councilors Holcombe and Flynn both made statements about the budget deficit being more a matter of changing accounting methods than an immediate concern. Holcombe wrote an editorial in the CNR suggesting that the budget problem was fiction. Flynn, in a candidate interview, emphasized taking a "wait and see" approach to see if the budget was of genuine concern. Gruendl and Nickell had the most realistic impression of the current budget crisis of the 5 left leaning councilors. Gruendl, in a candidate interview, said the community needs to have a discussion about which services it desires, and whether or not it is willing to pay additional taxes. These comments acknowledged the budget as a looming crisis. Nickell, at the first Chamber sponsored "debate", suggested raising taxes to deal with the budget shortfalls. I did not hear Nickell mention taxes again during the campaign, but he should get credit for giving what was probably an unguarded and honest opinion at the outset. As the 2007 campaign moved on the recognition of the budget shortfall from the left gave way to rhetoric that it wasn't a short term problem. From the right there was a concern that it was an immediate problem, and the left was the cause.

Summary: Chico's revenue increases over the years have probably come on backs of new members of the community. The left's desire to stop growth, an inability to consider selling assets like a portion of Bidwell Ranch, and dramatic increases in public spending , have all contributed to the budget problem. It's not correct to blame "saving Bidwell Ranch" as a cause of today's budget problem. It's just an obvious example of a valuable asset taken off the economic table. Recognition that all budgets to-date have been unanimously supported by the right and left should also move the discussion away from polarization. Councilor's historic positions on the budget deficit should be known by the public, but are of lesser concern than the decisions they make in the coming months. They shouldn't be pigeon-holed by previous opinions. In my opinion, the budget should be solved with equal parts increased revenue and reduced spending. The reduced spending should be implemented first. I don't believe a sales tax increase is a good idea in the short term. This is mostly because reducing spending requires discipline, and discipline should be exhibited before any taxpayer should agree to pay more money into the system. Perhaps a bond issue for a specific and popular community need would serve as an alternative revenue increase. For example, passing a Park Bond could free up some General Funds and could be specific enough in application to gain public support.

Posted by Lon at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)

June 03, 2007

A Tale of Two Cities

I mentioned (in passing) in a previous post the fact that huge homes have been built along the Skyway leading up to Paradise. This is no big secret. The homes aren't visible from the road, but I've seen them from adjacent property. Taken as a whole they are not very attractive, but this stems from the fact that they all have discrete and different design styles. When lined up and seen from a distance they are a hodgepodge of colors, sizes, and heights. Seen individually they are large and well designed. Seeing the proliferation of expensive homes in the county made me realize that many of our local "movers and shakers" must be moving and shaking out of the Chico to have a freer hand in developing their dream home. It also made me wonder what discrepancy of income might be developing between Chico citizen's and our neighbors that live large in the nearby canyons, and the cliffs looking down on nearby canyons. While reading BCAG's 2003 regional housing plan I ran across a discussion that identified this demographic shift as a policy. Butte County also presented an argument that the income distribution in the December 18th RHNP for unincorporated Butte County was unfair, since the unincorporated area currently has a comparatively low percentage of very low and low-income units and should not be assigned a higher percentage of these units. The unincorporated area does not have the infrastructure capability (sewer system) to support the densities required to economically build lower-income units and, in addition, lower-income households should not, as a policy matter, be located in areas where access to public transportation services and social services is difficult. The other participants in the meeting agreed with Butte County in principle, and BCAG stated that they would examine the possibility of modifying the distribution of units by income group to each jurisdiction. The argument makes sense. High density populations that need additional social services should be built closer to those services. It's the same argument that caused the City of Chico to embark on its annexation explosion. The annexations intended to result in more efficient delivery of city services, but unfortunately have also caused a dramatic increase in unanticipated service needs (cost). The majority of growth in Chico has come from annexation in recent years. No development impact fees are generated with annexation, so they don't pay their own way, or even a portion of it. Our various local governments and agencies seem to support a distinct separation of income levels based on geography. I find it interesting that our poorest neighborhoods can't seem to shake loose any significant redevelopment money (Chapmantown), and our richest neighborhoods are relocating out of the city limits. Watching the endpoints of our housing/income demographic can be an indicator of where the mid-range (most of the population) is going. Today the endpoints seem to be stretching in different directions.

Posted by Lon at 08:27 AM | Comments (1)

June 01, 2007

The Balancing Act

City Manager Greg Jones recently submitted the 2006-2008 Mid Cycle Budget Message (2.4MEG pdf file) to the City Council. Gone are the glory days when $40,000,000 city budget shortfalls could be explained away as "a change in long term accounting methods" or due to conservative income estimates coupled with aggressive spending forecasts. Last November's explanations of the budget problem facing Chico from some of our left leaning leaders have turned out to be wrong. As Jones puts it there is a structural budget problem caused by the City spending more money than it takes in. The City Manager has put together a list of possible options for addressing this problem. Essentially there are three possible solutions to fixing our budget problem; raise more money, spend less money, or find some combination of the two that works. The first item listed on the "raise money" list is a sales tax increase. I'm sure we all love that idea, just think of how many chess tables we could buy with the extra income. Other options include raising other taxes or issuing bonds (borrowing money). From the list of spending less money there are simple suggestions like cancel fire stations 7 and 6 (fire protection is overrated). And of course there's reducing union benefits and even lay offs of city employees. For some reason I picture some of our council standing outside of City Hall demanding democratic labor negotiations from themselves.

There's a fourth option that could save the City of Chico. It's a bold and daring move that only the bravest of councilors would attempt. But it may be our only option. That option is to hold a charrette. A really good one. The kind that lasts 4 or 5 days, and has cookies and punch. Something with flow charts where the consultant stands up and circles things on maps and what-not. It's times like these that bring out the true leaders in our community. Times like these and a $200,000 charrette. And now without further ado, here is appendix H of the Budget Message. The first column is the option, the second are staff notes, and the last is the money saved. For the whole document, and a more easily read appendix H see the link above.

Posted by Lon at 04:49 PM | Comments (2)