Palo Cedro Update: Maintaining a rural lifestyle, Shasta County supervisors weigh in

REDDING, Calif. — From all outward appearances, Palo Cedro seems like a small, pleasant community in Shasta County. And, it is, but there's an undercurrent of unrest regarding how to maintain that "rural" lifestyle.

Unrest among some Palo Cedro residents spread briefly to the board of supervisors who are trying to chart a course forward for a divided community.

Everyone seemingly wants the same things: protecting a rural lifestyle, no big box stores, no 24/7 businesses, no additional gas stations, and no low-income, high-density housing.

The disagreement is how to accomplish that. At issue is a Palo Cedro Town Center Specific Plan: some are for it; some against.

"Everyone wants it to be rural, everyone wants less crime in their town, everyone wants their kids to prosper. How we get there is where we argue and it's massively important. So it's not easy to just say we want the same thing and decide. And loaded questions are being asked that if you want more specific plan, you're against Palo Cedro. It's flat not true," saidPalo Cedro Resident Lani Bangay during public comment.

"I support the creation of a legally enforceable community designed plan that will provide us maximum protection against the ever increasing threat of commercial and residential developers whose principal interest in the town is making money and not the quality of our life," said Palo Cedro Resident Erik Jensen.

"If you can, basically, determine your destiny by having a better zoning, better planning...I like the idea, personally, of design review. It maintains the character of your community," said District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert.

Supervisors voted 3-2 to have staff come back with a resolution to rescind a previous plan, work on forming a steering committee to work with county resource management and get community input.

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