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Butte County Upper Ridge Community Plan

PlaceWorks worked with the County to develop a plan for the Upper Ridge community in the wake of the massive damage caused by the 2018 Camp Fire.

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Client

County of Butte

Location

Butte County, California

Services

  • Urban Design
  • Climate Action & Resiliency
  • Community Participation
  • Comprehensive Planning
  • Economics

Awards

  • 2022 Vernon Deines Award for Outstanding Comprehensive Plan for a Large Jurisdiction, National APA, Small Town and Rural Planning Division
  • 2022 Comprehensive Planning Award of Merit: Small Jurisdiction, California APA, Sacramento Valley Section

The 2018 Camp Fire brutally exposed the Upper Ridge’s vulnerability to wildland fires and changed the population, landscape, and priorities in this area for many years to come. The Camp Fire destroyed 2,158 homes in the Upper Ridge, along with many other nonresidential structures, especially in the lower Paradise Pines subdivision. The Upper Ridge Community Plan serves as an extension of the County’s general plan, addressing land use planning, fire safety, evacuation routes, community and economic development, affordable housing, infrastructure, recreation, and quality of life.

The Upper Ridge Community Plan establishes a land use blueprint for post–Camp Fire recovery and provides important policy direction for future growth and development; develops a vision for the community’s future; plans for a vibrant, youth-friendly town center with needed commercial services; explores the use of an innovative transfer of development rights program that would encourage a variety of housing types, including affordable housing; and identifies best practices for developing a resilient and fire-adapted community.

PlaceWorks also helped the County implement a robust and creative community engagement process to ensure meaningful input from the area’s residents, property owners, and businesses.