Town Council to take up urgency ordinance on housing

The Paradise Town Council will meet Tuesday night and on its agenda is an urgency ordinance related to those living on their own properties in recreational vehicles.

The council will be asked to address the controversial ordinance in three ways and will need four of the five votes to do it. One is to keep the ordinance as it which would allow the town to evict property owners, who had a temporary use permit, from their land by the end of June without evidence of a rebuild permit.

They must still comply with health and safety requirements regarding connection to utilities and garbage service. After June 30, in order to stay in an RV on their own property, landowners must have a temporary use permit with evidence of a permit application, permit issuance, contract with a designer/contractor /manufactured home dealer, or show they are working with the town/state regarding a housing program.

By December, landowners will need to show issuance of a rebuild permit to stay in an RV beyond December 2021. The council could also decide to remove the requirement and allow all temporary use permits issued to expire with the remainder of the ordinance on December 31, 2021.

In fact, town staff recommends that all new temporary use permits issued require the issuance of a building permit. According to the agenda, according to recent counts, there are 350-plus temporary use permits issued that do not have an active building permit and/or have not met the alternative thresholds required mid-year.

Staff claims that regular follow-up on this number of applicants is exhausting the Town’s resources. They also said that by potentially adding to this number through the continued issuance of urgency temporary use permits under the authority of the urgency ordinance is not sustainable.

Staff also argues that with temporary use permits expiring this year, if they do not have active building permits, it may prove overly difficult to abate occupied RVs that are not displaying health and safety concerns.

Staff is also recommending council removes the alternative thresholds of compliance until December 31, 2021 when it ends without the additional conditions placed on existing temporary use permits as named above.

On January 1, 2022 the town would then require a building permit for those living in RVs to remain on their own property with a temporary use permit. They say this would allow for additional time to move through the permitting or housing program process ( Town Housing programs or CDBG-DR OOR). It also gives those landowners time for additional PG& E settlement payouts to come in and for the completion of the Hazard Tree Removal Program, and for the gradual lessening of COVID-related impacts.

Staff also calls for the council to remove the initial 180 day time period allowance of dry camping by removing language regarding dry camping, which expired 180 days from the initial date of the ordinance’s enactment.

The council also asked town staff to notice temporary use permit holders no later than 90 days from the expiration of urgency ordinance regarding the necessary steps to maintain occupancy of temporary dwelling after the ordinance expiration on December 31, 2021.