CHICO — After more than three months, five public hearings, nine council meetings in 11 weeks, six draft maps and four revised maps, Chico has finally chosen its district boundaries.

The Lavender map will draw the official district lines in Chico for the upcoming 2020 election — at which point, the city will need to start the process over again, when the 2020 census provides new numbers. The Lavender map is a variant of the previous Purple map, with changed the northernmost District 7 boundary to follow Big Chico Creek.

In a surprisingly bipartisan display, many of the public comments Tuesday evening were in favor of the publicly-submitted “Goldstein” maps. So many so, in fact, that when Councilor Karl Ory moved to accept the Lavender map, a member of the audience yelled, “Seriously?”

However, the outburst was ignored by the council. Councilor Sean Morgan seconded and the vote proceeded 6-1, with Councilor Scott Huber casting the sole nay vote.

Ory also moved that the sequencing of the district elections be Districts 3, 4, 5 and 7, as they contain the highest population of non-white residents, and he proposed renaming District 4 to District 1, so that the districts that will be voting in the 2020 election are all odd numbers. Huber seconded, and the council voted to approve, 4-3, with councilors Morgan, Kasey Reynolds and Ann Schwab against.

The crowd erupted in boos as Mayor Randall Stone called a 10-minute break.

Councilors Morgan, Schwab, Ory and Stone (though Ory has decided not to run again) are all up for reelection in 2020. Councilors Huber, Reynolds and Vice Mayor Alex Brown are up for reelection in 2022.

That means Morgan’s district, now named District 4, will not have representation on the council until 2022; and Brown’s district, now named District 1, will have both Brown and another yet-to-be-elected councilor on the council from 2020 through 2022.

Though the evening’s decision on districting took up much of the council’s time — and much of the public’s attention — it was other matters buried deeper on the agenda that belied equal, if not more important, city issues.

Those issues included new commercial cannabis regulation, multi-million dollar road reconstruction projects, approval of a grant for a new runway at the Chico Municipal Airport, as well as issues regarding the city’s homeless population, such as installing portable restrooms, summer cooling shelters and the city’s Sit & Lie ordinance.

Comments focus on needle program

Multiple speakers during the public comment section expressed their concern over the North Valley Harm Reduction Coalition’s needle distribution program.

“You’ve heard evidence here tonight from mothers, fathers, people who are concerned about this whole program,” said J. Fumasi, a Chico resident. “Other cities have filed injunctions to stop this, why haven’t you?”

Nichole Nava helped to submit a petition with more than 6,000 names of residents who are against the program.

“The kits include everything you need to use drugs, sans the drug, and I’m sure that’s coming soon the way this city is going,” Nava said.

The coalition’s needle distribution and used needle collection program is funded and supported by the state, not the city.

Road reconstruction grants sought

On the council’s consent agenda were two major items regarding arterial roadway reconstruction. The first item requested the council move $1 million from the city’s Capital Improvement Project Street Maintenance and Improvement Fund to the Esplanade Road Reconstruction Fund.

Chico’s Public Works Engineering Department opened up the Esplanade project to bids from contractors on Jan. 13, and according to city documents, the lowest bid was still “approximately 8% higher than the original engineers estimate.” In order to have enough funds to cover the contract, the city needs to move the $1 million requested to the correct fund.

In the second item, the city sought the council’s authorization to pursue a grant of up to $30 million from the The California Department of Housing and Community Development. The grant would help to reconstruct and widen an approximately two-mile segment of Bruce Road from State Route 32 to the Skyway.

Chico residents Richard Harriman, Addison Winslow, Eric Chisler and Steven Breedlove all spoke against the Bruce Road project, including the cost, environmental impacts and potential conflicts with the city’s General Plan.

The council passed its consent agenda 7-0, which means the two road reconstruction items were passed unanimously.

Cannabis regulation, advertising

The council instructed staff in late November to bring back revisions to an ordinance that would regulate commercial cannabis sales in Chico. That request included direction to further evaluate the fee structure for commercial permits, THC potency caps, and possibly enforcing stricter standards for advertising.

Huber proposed that in addition to the state regulations, the city also enact a prohibition against advertising on sandwich boards, digital signs, handbills, leaflets, flyers, car wraps and “supergraphics” which are large billboard-like advertisements often found on buildings. Brown seconded, and the council voted 5-2, with Morgan and Reynolds against.

Dr. Andy Miller, with the Butte County Department of Public Health, then gave a short presentation on THC potency.

“There is concern about higher concentration THC on a number of levels, but especially in the first onset of psychosis,” Miller said. He recommended a cap of no more than 20 percent THC.

Huber then proposed a maximum of 20 percent THC in flower products, and the motion was seconded by Morgan. However, the local ordinance would only be applicable to Chico storefronts and delivery, and would not apply to businesses operating outside of Chico but delivering inside the city. The council voted 4-3 against Huber’s motion, and ultimately, the city made no vote on potency caps.

Portable restrooms, airport runway

On the recommendation of the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission, the City Council also considered placing a number of portable restrooms in city parks and greenways.

The commission recommended placing five such portable toilets for an annual cost of more than $81,000. The No. 1 location it suggested would be near Comanche Creek at Otterson Drive.

Additionally, the council heard a request from Chico Public Works to support its attempt to secure a grant for the Chico Municipal Airport.

The airport is slated for a runway reconstruction project by 2026, but is eligible for a discretionary grant through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program to speed up that timeline.

The FAA would be able to fund 90 percent of the cost of renovating the main runway, for more than $12.6 million, but the airport can only apply if the city is able to match 10 percent of the grant — for $1.4 million. That money wouldn’t be due until the 2021 fiscal year.

Unfortunately, the council made its decision on those items after this paper’s deadline, in part due to the amount of time spent on the public hearing on districting.

Sit & Lie, other homeless issues

Stone, Brown, Ory and Huber all requested future council discussions on issues pertaining to homelessness and unhoused persons in Chico.

Stone and Brown jointly requested a discussion on rescinding the city’s Sit & Lie Ordinance, and to amend the Offenses Against Public Property Ordinance. Huber also requested a discussion on creating a city committee for the purpose of developing a strategy to reduce homelessness and its impacts in Chico, and Ory requested a discussion on a draft version of the Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan and the cost of cooling shelters to be considered during the next budget cycle.

The next City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the City Council Chambers at 421 Main St. in Chico.