There are two issues important to the residents of the greater Redding area that will be addressed by the City of Redding starting in August: Riverfront Specific Plan on August 14, and the new Draft General Plan on August 8 (although the comment period ends August 28). In addition, we have recently been made aware of a housing project for which the biological surveys are completely inadequate
Riverfront Specific Plan
Last year, a consortium of four groups—Populous, K-2 Development, the McConnell Foundation, and Turtle Bay—brought a proposal to the Redding City Council to purchase public lands at Turtle Bay to develop an outdoor arena for public concerts, rebuild the Civic Auditorium, and build walkways over the water, as well as restaurants, boutique stores, a zipline, dog park, and beer gardens. After an outcry of opposition by the public (and a letter from a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) law firm retained by Shasta Environmental Alliance (SEA), Wintu Audubon Society, and Sierra Club), the City agreed to develop a Riverfront Specific Plan for the area extending from the Cypress Street Bridge to Turtle Bay. They said the public will be involved in developing it and SEA and Shasta Chapter CNPS has been invited to meet separately with the consultants. Watch for an Action Alert in the coming days.
Draft General Plan
The City has also finished up its Draft General Plan and Environmental Impact Report, which will direct the direction, growth, and development of the City through 2045. The Draft plan proposed is very weak and needs some changing. For example, throughout much of the document, the City has inserted language like “strive to” and “consider” prefacing elements of the old General Plan relating to various environmental issues (such as, “Strive to preserve and protect…”). See SEA’s August 2023 Newsletter for more details. The General Plan will be on the agenda of the Planning Commission meeting of August 8, but the public comment period doesn’t end until August 28.
Proposal for Low-Income Housing
Recently a proposal came to the Planning Commission for the development of some low-income housing behind Lowe’s. While the development of low- and moderate-income housing in Redding is important, we have no way of assessing the biological impacts of this project. A grossly inadequate biological study was completed in 2020 and supposedly updated in 2023, but the City has not made the update available for review.
And More!
Please check out SEA’s August 2023 Newsletter for more conservation issues such as nominating this year’s Environmental Champion, watering our oak seedlings, obtaining free shade trees, voting the Sacramento River Trail into the Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame, and more! ~David Ledger, Conservation Chair
