Paradise rebuild taking shape
Town seeks outside business
PARADISE » A third year of recovery after the Camp Fire has begun, and town staff in Paradise say they’re excited for what’s coming next to rebuild the ridge and create something new.
As the sound of construction opens every morning on the ridge, the question is often on the minds of those living in it, watching their house go up or waiting for the chance to break ground. What will be here in three or five years, as more houses rise and new neighbors appear?
Town Manager Kevin Phillips acknowledges that as so much is rebuilt and reconsidered, of course the town is going to look different. The town is also hoping to begin ”catering to people from out of town looking for a more affordable place to live and work from,” he said.
“We’re starting to see some contractors coming in looking to do multiple homes up here and for resale, checking who is buying multiple lots,” he said. “We’re in the infancy stages of that after watching the rebuild process.”
Phillips and the city’s business team are hoping to point new business to different parts of the town which could attract more people and more businesses. Drawing in business interests from far away, even from the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley, will be crucial to creating a new look and community for the ridge and giving people rebuilding more options, he added.
Race for development
Community Development Director Susan Hartman said it isn’t easy for the city to gauge or track how many permits for properties are being issued, to identify what types of developments could soon be taking place. What is known is that single family residences are the focus for the majority of applications, as nothing related to the sewer can begin to go forward.
Infrastructure as well as compensation from the fire could really drive most rebuilding activity, she said.
“The hopes are that some of these PG& E payments might start to be paid allowing people who have been waiting to see where that places them,” Hartman said. “We totally understand for those for whom insurance wasn't enough.”
It seems most building their homes now are able to do it on insurance alone, while “another segment might be needing more to supplement the insurance and don't want to incur additional debt if possible,” Hartman said.
She doesn't think the price of new housing should increase at a higher rate
than in the valley, even while building up to current state standards. And homeowners can still benefit from new grant funding for rebuilding and a recent state legislature change which modified solar requirements for wildfire victims. Those rebuilding a destroyed structure during the current code cycle only have to replace solar which was already on the home when first built. New homes need to be built according to current code.
A changing landscape
According to the Butte County Clerk Recorder's Office, numerous properties in Paradise with completed surveys have been resold, or were back in the bank's hands since before
the Camp Fire took place. Based on the Rebuild Paradise survey map online, surveying has been done in large portions within the town limits. Hartman said anywhere surveying has been done, development can begin or is underway.
The records also show there are multiple properties being purchased by outside developers as much as deeds being sold to new families.
Could these lots being surveyed and purchased by developers shape into new, large scale real estate development on the ridge?
Phillips' assistant Colette Curtis has become the main liaison for coordinating new business interests for the ridge's development. She says there has so far been “relatively light” interest from residential developers.
“What we're seeing is
developers coming in and making plans and not quite yet involving the town in what they're doing,” Curtis said. “I think they're doing pre-planning before involving the town. We're getting questions and such, but not many submittals yet.”
The city is working with developers on more commercial properties like business parks, expected more in the next year. Besides Tractor Supply, these
businesses have not yet announced official interest in a future on the ridge.
But there is “a lot of interest bubbling up,” she added.
“Before the fire, it was pretty rare to sit down with companies like Tractor Supply and have them interested in relocating in town. Now there's a lot of interest like that. There really is a lot of interest in the business community in investing in Paradise. It's the location, but also being a part of the town's recovery story.
Yet the town's timeline for reconstruction can make plans difficult as everything is different from what the average city faces.
“We're having to replace infrastructure as people are rebuilding their homes and opening businesses,” Curtis said. She described the timeline for a town sewer, currently at three to five years until completion, as a “big fork in the road for developers.”
“Sewer affects property values and what it could be used for,” she said. “They're probably waiting to see more steps completed.”
But it's true multiple developers are buying residential properties all over the town, before submitting plans, Curtis said. It will take time before the town can be sure what those plans for building are as the new ridge starts to take shape.