BRYCE’S PLATFORM

I envision a community where all the things we love about Chico are preserved for future generations. I will work toward a vision of a Chico where everybody can afford to live, where kids can bike to school safely, where everybody can access fresh groceries without having to own a car, where our unique arts and music scene is thriving, and where our trees, parks, and creeks are protected.

Better Streets and Transportation

We need to fix the damn potholes. We also need to make our streets safer and more accessible for everybody, regardless of whether they drive, bike, walk, use a wheelchair, or ride transit. With increasing insurance and gas costs, private car ownership is no longer affordable to everybody, and to meet our City’s Climate Action Plan goals we need to increase walking, biking, and transit. I will use my transportation planning expertise to plan for accessible, sustainable, safe, and smooth transportation through planning, budgeting, and partnerships.

  • Use City funds wisely to prioritize road repair.

  • Build curb ramps, bikeways, and trees when we repave our crumbling streets.

  • Install better lighting for safety on streets, crossings, and paths.

  • Build safe routes for kids biking and walking to school.

  • Create safer, more accessible downtown streets with wide sidewalks, bike parking, and traffic calming.

  • Plan for walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented neighborhoods.

  • Establish an Accessibility Committee for community members experiencing various needs and disabilities to review projects and provide input that informs our transportation planning.

  • Work with BCAG to make the B-Line buses more frequent and reliable.

  • Work with BCAG to get an intercity bus (and eventually train) to Sacramento and the SMF Airport.

  • Work with Caltrans to calm traffic on 8th and 9th Streets (Highway 32) and improve pedestrian safety.

Housing and Homelessness

We are in a housing crisis. Chico already faced homelessness and a shortage of affordable housing before 2018, but the Camp Fire left us in a crisis. For too long City Council has refused to address the root causes of homelessness and struggles of renters. On Council, I will advocate for removing barriers to building the housing our community needs, keeping people in their homes, and supporting shelter solutions.

  • Proactively address homelessness. Support transitional housing, shelters, and managed campgrounds.

  • Vote for rent stabilization for mobile home parks to prevent residents from being price-gouged by corporate mobile home park owners.

  • Enact renter protections, because renters should be able to live in their homes without fear of unjust evictions and outlandish rent increases.

  • Houses are for people to live in - we need to disincentivize leaving homes vacant for short-term rentals and tax loopholes.

  • Change restrictive zoning policies to allow for more missing middle housing like cottages, townhomes, and triplexes.

Community Development and Smart Growth

We can build sustainable, affordable, and beautiful communities in Chico. Smart Growth is an approach to development that encourages diverse housing and transportation options and reinvesting in existing neighborhoods, otherwise known as infill development. It rejects the status quo of sprawling single-family homes, but it’s not all high rise apartments either. Smart Growth principles incentivize walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented developments that use less land, power, and fuel, and require building and maintaining less infrastructure.

  • Support the vision of a thriving Park Avenue corridor that stays cool during summer with trees, hosts mixed-use housing with local businesses, is connected by protected bike lanes and crosswalks, and better connects surrounding neighborhoods with Downtown.

  • Leverage and expand Corridor Opportunity Sites to create mixed-use infill developments featuring both housing and businesses.

  • Reduce excessive parking minimums that take up valuable space in our City’s core to allow for more infill housing.

  • Apply lessons from the Strong Towns movement (www.strongtowns.org): Prioritize economical, incremental infill development over expensive sprawl.

Environmental Protection

Chico’s urban forest, parks, creeks, and surrounding environment are at risk from sprawl development and poor planning. I will advocate for the land, air, and water of our region using the knowledge I’ve gained in my education and my 5 years as a board member of Butte Environmental Council.

  • Protect our trees by strengthening the Urban Forest Master Plan, which was gutted by the current city council due to corporate development interests.

  • Incentivize walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented smart growth development patterns that use less land, power, and fuel.

  • Work to implement Butte Choice Energy to provide sustainable energy at lower rates.

  • Plant native species in parks and greenways.

Arts, Music, Livability, and Whimsy

I’ve lived all over the North State, and there’s nowhere quite like Chico. I usually say I moved here for work, but it was really for the music scene. We may not be the biggest city with the biggest name shows, but we are a unique place where musicians and artists can actually afford the rent. We need to recognize the arts as a significant piece of the soul of our city and support them.

  • Work with the Arts Commission to identify opportunities for more murals and other public art.

  • Work with local artists, musicians, nonprofits, and the Arts Commission to identify ways to support arts and music venues.

  • Allow more outdoor dining Downtown and plan for curbside parklets and pedestrianized streets to encourage a lively Downtown culture.

I pledge to bring more whimsy and joy to our community by supporting local music and art, beautifying our roads and neighborhoods, and doing my best to make local politics engaging and fun.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I will advocate for a managed campground and support shelters and transitional housing, while working to ensure we build the housing that our community needs. I'll also fight to help keep people in their homes via renter protections and mobile home rent stabilization. We need real solutions that proactively address the root causes and realities of homelessness.

  • City Council can enact tenant protections like just cause eviction protection, which prevents landlords from removing tenants without cause when intending to flip a rental for a higher price. Rent stabilization can also be enacted to prevent outlandish rent increases.

  • Smart Growth is an urban planning framework that prioritizes investing in existing infrastructure, rather than sprawling and expanding resources further outside the urban core. It offers mixed-use developments and multi-family housing as solutions to our housing crisis. Read more here: https://smartgrowthamerica.org/

  • Yes! We can build apartments in Corridor Opportunity Sites and leverage our Special Planning Areas to build a variety of housing.

  • Election Day is November 5th, 2024, but you can vote-by-mail as early as October 7th. Register to Vote or Track Your Ballot here:

    https://covr.sos.ca.gov/

    https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/wheres-my-ballot

  • We’ll find out!

  • We can only win with grassroots support from my neighbors, friends, and broader community! If you’re interested in helping, check out the “Get involved” page. Thanks!

  • Yes! Let's fix the damn potholes.