The Candidate Nomination Period for the Chico City Council officially opened on Monday, July 18, 2022 and runs through August 12th. The City of Chico Council is comprised of seven members each elected by district. Citizens interested in serving on the City Council need to make an appointment to meet with the City Clerk in person to begin this process. Notice of Election can be found here. Candidate Nomination Period – Press Release
The upcoming November 8, 2022 Election will be for the selection of three (3) members of the City Council to serve four-year terms of office representing Districts 2, 4, and 6. In addition, a vacancy needs to be filled for the original District 3, created in 2020. CANA includes parts of Districts 1, 4, and 5 (see map overlay) so only CANA residents in District 4 will be voting for a council member in the November, 2022 election.
Here is the Final District Map if you want to see the district where you reside and your current city council representative.
The Butte County Board of Supervisors recently approved its district boundary map for the next 10 years in a controversial 3-2 vote. The majority of the CANA area is in District 3 but there is some spillover into District 2. The Chico Area, however, is now a part of 4 out of the 5 county supervisor districts. Part of this is due to the shift in county population after the Paradise Camp Fire but the main controversy involves charges of political gerrymandering by the Board of Supervisors. For now, at least, the approved district overlay map is legal for the next ten years. An inset enlargement focused on the CANA area is also included. Finally, there is a link to the Butte County GIS map site where you can search for the district that you reside and find out which board member currently represents you.
The City of Chico Planning Commission voted to continue its discussion on the City’s draft 2022-2030 Housing Element and to address public comments at its next meeting on June 16. The draft’s first round of public comments was addressed but several commission members voiced concern about the little amount of time to review the document and low amount of public response relative to the large influence the document will have on future housing development in Chico.
“The draft Housing Element updates the city’s projected housing needs, resources and complies with a plethora of new state housing laws passed since 2014 that aim to increase access to housing.
State law requires Chico to update its Housing Element every eight years. The Chico is required to submit its updated Housing Element to the State for certification in June, 2022. The Housing Element is considered the primary policy document to guide the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of housing for all economic segments of the City’s population.
The City Council currently is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 421 Main Street to discuss the Draft.
The city published a website with background information and updates that may be visited at chicohousingelement.com.
If you have not done so yet, you might want to check out the Museum of Northern California Art (monca), located in the Avenues at 900 Esplanade, the former Veterans Hall at the corner of E. Washington Ave. and The Esplanade.
The current show is titled Red Yellow Blue to celebrate monca’s five years at 900 Esplanade and runs from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, August 21, 2022. Each gallery will be filled with works from Northern California artists that are dominant in the colors of red, yellow, or blue, monca’s logo colors. The opening reception will be on Saturday, June 18, 2022, from 6 – 8 pm, where all will celebrate the artists’ and monca‘s 5th birthday with cake, monca cookies, and more.
Besides the exhibitions, monca might be a good choice for your event. Imagine the possibilities for your wedding, party, meeting or conference in the elegant spaces of the Museum. Surrounding exhibitions create an artistic backdrop for event guests, and exclusive access to the exhibitions builds a truly memorable experience.
For more information about the Museum of Northern California Art and their many programs, the web site is at www.monca.org.
On April 5, 2022, the Chico City Council approved its City Council district map for the next 10 years in a controversial 5-2 vote. The majority of the CANA area is in District 4 but there is some spillover in Districts 1 and 5. Included are links to the overall city district map, an inset enlargement focused on a CANA area overlay, and a Link to the City of Chico map site where you can search for which district that you now reside and which current council member currently represents you. Because the districts are newly formed, some of the districts have at-large members who will serve until their district terms expire.
At their October 19, 2021 meeting, the Chico City Council directed staff to begin striping streets and improving signs for parking in the neighborhood around Enloe Medical Center, but did not approve a three phase plan by Dixon Consultants for a preferential parking district.
Phase one of the plan recommended:
Any plan for a parking district, further discussion or approval of the three phase plan will come at a later date.
As of this post, we are told that parking restrictions are not being enforced, no striping or signage has been added, sensors are not in place in the parking garage and there is still no plan to set up a preferential parking district. However, there has been some movement to limit parking times around the perimeter of the hospital, especially near the emergency room.
Avenue Neighbors,
Through the years Avenue residents have become involved in CANA for a variety of reasons. Initially, and probably most importantly, it was because of the Enloe Hospital Expansion, which, by the way, is still not finished.
That said, there many other reasons to stay engaged with CANA. The greater the participation of the Avenue’s residents, the greater the impact that you will have on your neighborhood and its quality of life. As a recognized neighborhood organization, the City of Chico has given CANA a voice so we should use it.
With the goal of improving the Avenues neighborhood, the CANA Board of Directors is open to additional board members who are interested in shaping our future. If you are interested, you can submit your contact information our website or email John Whitehead, CANA Board President, at president@chicoavenues.org.