Valley's Edge Issues and Updates

Legal Actions Taken Against Valley's Edge Approval

Referendum to Overturn City Council Approval

A coalition including Smart Growth Advocates and Valley’s Edge Resistance successfully gathered and submitted enough valid signatures to the City of Chico for a referendum which protests the City Council approval of the Project.  The majority of Chico voters rejected the Valley's Edge project in the March 5, 2024 Primary Election. The project's approval has now been overturned.  

• Litigation against approval of project in Wildfire Zone without properly assessing or mitigating wildfire and other environmental risks

Center for Biological Diversity, AquAlliance and Sierra Club filed a lawsuit in Butte County Superior Court in February 2023 against the City of Chico for violating the California Environmental Quality Act when approving of Valley's Edge. 

Climate Impacts 

Since excessive GHGs from Valley's Edge could NOT be mitigated, the City had to approve a Declaration of Overriding Consideration to approve the project under CEQA. The project would exacerbate climate change impacts and obstruct the attainment of GHG reduction targets in local planning documents and state policies (e.g. City of Chico Updated Climate Action Plan; EO B-55-18).

Climate Change poses severe threats to the health and safety of Chico residents.  The negative impacts Chico residents will face from Climate Change are well documented in the City’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. Local climate impacts pose various threats to the birds, people, and ecosystems of our region.

Wildfire Hazard 

Many argue this land is poorly suited for housing development due to the fire danger. This land has burned multiple times in the past 19 years and served as a fire buffer to protect homes in the City of Chico during the Camp Fire. The project site is in the current Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and thus, developing this land would extend the WUI further into the foothills where it will be harder to create a defensible fuel profile zone to protect the City of Chico. Extending the defensible zone into the foothills will increase risk of coniferous forest being destroyed; which is important habitat for even more species of birds.

Bird & Biodiversity Decline - Habitat Loss

The Valley’s Edge site contains substantial habitat for birds species (some special status) including the burrowing owl, Swainson’s hawk, other raptors, bats and nesting birds. This development would cause large-scale habitat loss for birds and other wildlife whose populations are already declining. Wildlife habitat needs to be protected and enhanced to address the biodiversity crisis.

Click here to download PDF of Altacal's FULL Valley's Edge Habitat Loss Factual Summary.

See shortened web version of Habitat Loss Factual Summary below.