The County has worked in partnership with the Town of Paradise, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) since the Camp Fire to help provide housing options for residents displaced by the fire. The County Board of Supervisors took immediate action by passing urgency ordinances for housing and expanding the number of properties where Camp Fire survivors may place temporary housing both inside and outside the Camp Fire area. All of these actions were taken with the best intentions and in an attempt to balance public health and safety with the need for temporary housing.
The County, Town, State, and FEMA have determined that allowing survivors to reside in temporary dwellings on their property if there is fire debris from a structure 120 square feet or larger may impact the justification for Private Property Debris Removal (PPDR) activities and federal reimbursement of PPDR costs as the justification for the reimbursement of PPDR costs is based on the State and County’s identified need to eliminated immediate threats to life, public health, and safety. The County must remedy this situation by removing language that allows temporary dwellings on properties with fire debris to ensure that the State and County remain eligible for the PPDR reimbursement from FEMA.
A Special Meeting of the Butte County Board of Supervisors is scheduled for Monday, February 4, 2019 at 3:15 pm for the Board to make these amendments to the County’s temporary housing regulations in the Camp Fire area.
The County and State are working together to identify options for residents impacted by these changes. Listed below are some of options available for people currently residing in a temporary dwelling on a property with fire debris who have to move off the property due to these changes.
- Work with a property owner outside of the burn area that will allow you to temporarily reside on their property, while you wait for your property to be cleaned. All properties outside of the burn area and in the unincorporated area of the County that allow residential uses, including agriculture zoned parcels, are allowed to have up to two temporary dwellings on them for fire survivors.
- Work with a property owner within the burn area who has a parcel with no fire debris from a structure 120 square feet or larger and ask to stay temporarily on that property.
- If you registered with FEMA, contact FEMA to let them know your housing situation has changed.
- Inside the burn area, work with a local permitted church/religious facility to establish a Temporary RV Park in a parking lot with the approval of an Administrative Permit.
- Inside the burn area, work with property owners in the Commercial zones and Planned Development zones to establish a Temporary RV Park.
- Outside the burn area, work with property owners in Commercial, Industrial and other approved zones to establish a Temporary RV Park.