Affordable Chico

No one should be struggling to afford rent or choosing between decent food and air conditioning. 

The failure of fixed incomes to cover the basic essentials of life is the primary cause of our current mass scale of homelessness. 

The City Council should not sit idle while Chico becomes less and less affordable. The time has come to try new things: 

  • City enforcement and expansion of protections for tenant and mobile home owners, including rent stabilization, just cause eviction protections, and support for a commercial vacancy tax to even the unequal relationship between business tenants and commercial landlords.

  • Follow through the plan identified in the Ad Hoc Growth and Community Development Committee I co-chaired. All of these policies would support a range of housing options in walkable communities for every stage of life.

  • Advance long-range plans for public ownership of utilities like power and water.

Beautiful Chico 

When I entered Council in 2022, Chico had been underfinancing infrastructure for decades. Streets, trees, and sewer were all neglected. Then the voters of Chico approved Measure H, a new sales tax. Regardless of what anyone tells you, the primary selling point of the tax was to fix the roads. 

Within 3 years the city budget for streets fell below what is required to sustain overall improvement of the Chico streets. The core neighborhoods with frequent gaps in storm drains and sidewalks received the least improvements and have the most to gain from sustained, dedicated investment in Chico’s streets and infrastructure

    • Dedicated consistent funding for city infrastructure will get us our basics: good roads and safe sidewalks. In 2026, I asked for 51% of Measure H to be dedicated to streets. The motion failed 3-4. 

    • The City should also dedicate small creative investments supporting neighbors making better places everywhere in Chico.