HomeMy WebLinkAbout3-20-13 El Medio Fire District3 / 1912013 BUTTE COUNTY
ADMIMSTRATION
Butte County Board of Supervisors MAR Z 5 Z0~3
25 County Center Drive
Oroville, CA 95965 oRavu.l.~, CALIFORNIA
Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors:
The El Medio Fire District is pleased to support Butte County's application
for an Environmental Justice Planning Grant for the South Oroville
(Southside} area.
The El Medio District is located in the Oroville Urban area, just south of
Orovilie City limits. The district is approximately two square miles and
responds to calls that include medical calls, vegetation fires, refizse fires, and
hazardous materials accidents. Serving a population of over 6,000 and
receiving approximately 1,500 calls per yeaz, El Medio Station 3 is on
average the second busiest station in Butte County.
El Medio shares with Butte County the goals of safe and effective local
evacuation routes and adequate access for fire prevention and suppression.
The project area generally lacks sidewalks that would promote safe and
effective evacuation routes. Few bicycle paths connect through the project
area. A redesign of local streets using the "Complete Streets" model would
result in proper street connectivity, giving citizens a route to safety that does
not involve walking in the street. The district also supports community health
efforts associated with urban agriculture, farmer's markets, community
gardens, and nutrition education. We host the cChaos neighborhood farmer's
market and cChaos community and educational garden program on our site.
El Medio also host tours from the nearby located grammer schools to teach
fire safety to children. A redesign would give citizens better access to these
events.
The proposed planning effort would address these shortfalls by assessing
opportunities for improvements to the street network and addressing them
through a "Complete Streets" approach. Given this foundation, we believe
that the proposed plan will succeed in achieving the Environmental Justice
Program's objectives.
We look forward to working with the County to make this planning effort a
success. We view this plan as a key opportunity to improve mobility and
accessibility, increase connectivity, enhance public safety and security,
promote economic opportunity, and enhance our environment in a way that
reflects the unique values of our local community.
Si cerely,
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