Ridge RV park reopenings come withmore rules
More restrictions for Camp Fire survivors as a permanent living solution remains elusive
PARADISE » While Butte County has extended Paradise’s ordinance allowing Camp Fire survivors to live in RVs for another year, there may be no answer for a permanent living situation for these survivors to come soon.
Ridge residents have been anxiously awaiting the end of the grace period for living in an RV on the ridge which originally approached at the end of 2020. So relief came when the Butte County Board of Supervisors extended the ability to do so until Dec. 31, 2021, as of Sept. 29.
The board also voted to extend the period for the reconstruction of a legal nonconforming structure from one year after the fire debris removal is signed off by the county to two years. The report noted, “Due to the magnitude of the destruction, there is a need to provide for sufficient housing options both inside and outside of the Camp Fire affected area,” and cited the need for temporary housing as many still have obstacles for living on their property in more permanent structures.
Still, those who are waiting for rebuilding permits or a payout from PG&E are concerned about where to take their trailer to a park among those being rebuilt, due to new restrictions.
Former Paradise resident Wendy LeMaster worries her mother, Dinah Coffman, will be out of luck.
Coffman lived on LeMaster’s property for over a year, until it was destroyed in the fire. Although LeMaster has purchased a new home, she does not have the ability to house her mother and Coffman has struggled to secure affordable housing.
Coffman said in January she got a Section 8 voucher from Housing Authority Butte County but said she faced discrimination and no property owners had housing for her need, so her voucher was discontinued. She also says she never got a case worker to help after the fire.
So LeMasters purchased an RV for her to live in on their lot starting in August, until the property’s sale.
“Shortly after, I learned of the new ordinances being passed and quickly realized that this would prevent me from getting any permits for her RV at all,” she said.
Then, LeMaster said she received a notice from the town’s Code Enforcement to move the RV before Sept. 1 or face escalating fines for each notice. As her mother is disabled and low income, options for housing are few.
“They just didn’t want trailers up there,” Coffman said, due to issues accessing water.
The hope was tomove to Quail Trails Park in Magalia, although Coffman said she technically cannot afford the rent at the property. But the park is currently not even ready for any new residents, she said.
“With the time frame they put on us, there’s no way we could I have met them in the time frame,” LeMaster said. “Compassion seems to have escape the minds and agendas of the current Town Council and they do not want to hear anything of thematter or our individual struggles.”
LeMasters was glad to report that Code Enforcement did extend her mother’s eviction until October — “the first bit of compassion we had experienced from the town on this issue.” Yet she worries there will be nowhere for her mother to move to when the time comes.
LeMasters was disappointed in the decisions by some local trailer parks not to allow trailers older than 2005 in their open space, “another jump for people without means to jump through all hoops.” One reason, she said, is trailers can often be too old to match power adapter needs at the parks.
“It feels like it’s pushing them (fire survivors) to the outskirts of Paradise or out of Paradise completely.” She added such rules add to the feeling that the town does not want low income residents who have nowhere else to live due to a lack of affordable housing.
“There’s very cheap property available. … It’s an opportunity for really rapid land grabs and development to occur,” LeMaster said.
Other residents were also being fined before the old Dec. 31 deadline, she said.
“There’s just a lot of hidden agenda fulfilled by pushing people out of Paradise …. and doing this right before the election.”
A manager of the Paradise Pines park in Magalia, Gary Pryde, said he only allows exceptions to his rule about trailers older than 2005 models for fire survivors who have trailers that are newor in good condition.
Otherwise, he could face losses due to potential damage to the park from older units, he said. In the past, he also had to refuse those with code violations like placing an AC unit in the window of their trailer.
“We’re empathetic; we want to see if there is any way we can help,” Pryde said. But, he has been repairing the park and fixing previous code violations since purchasing it fiveweeks before the Camp Fire.
His and other parks are working to rebuild and finish development to have more spaces open soon.
Another park nearby, Paramount Trailer Park accepts trailers made earlier, but only models from the year 2000 and newer, and trailers must be 25 feet or larger, also due to concerns about maintenance.
The county’s decision to extend allowances for temporary residences does ease some of the pressure for people, it is hoped. Town Manager Kevin Phillips has said he does not expect much sympathy from the Town Council for those who have not met all requirements or are staying in an RV for an extended period of time.
Coffman said Thursday she was not told by the town the RV ordinance was extended by the county’s supervisors. As far as what Code Enforcement has told her, she still has until Oct. 15 to move. In the meantime, she said she hasn’t been able to get PG&E to power her trailer as her daughter still cannot get a building permit for the lot.
Until she gets an answer, she may consider moving to Concow.
While he feels for people in RVs in Coffman’s situation, Pryde said it will be hard to address all survivors’ needs.
“There’s more need than there are places for people to stay. There’s nowhere for people to go.
“I lost my home too,” he said. “I’m still trying to figure it out too.”
Paradise Code Enforcement was not available to comment on this story.