Residents urge county to address flooding, evacuation and noise as Orchard Crest hearing continued

The Butte County Planning Commission opened a public hearing March 27 on the Orchard Crest Estates map extension and modification and heard sustained objections from neighbors who said the subdivision has already worsened flooding, endangered evacuation routes and produced disruptive construction impacts. The Commission closed public comment and continued the item to April 24 without taking final action.

Residents described repeated flooding and safety risks around Middlehoff Lane and Bridal Boulevard. "I'm personally, my family and our property is being impacted negatively in several ways," said David Goyer, who lives at 1165 Middlehoff Lane and provided the Commission with a packet of concerns. Daryl Buis, of 830 Feather Avenue, warned that adding new housing would strain evacuation routes: "92 minimum of 92 new additions living in that area having to egress out onto Bridal Boulevard." Darla Meekan, a property owner and former Butte County sheriff's jail division employee, said, "This development, whenever the rain happens, we get flooded," and raised health and infrastructure worries including mold odor and road slurry.

Other speakers described noise and erosion tied to earth-moving, concerns about storm drainage and mosquito breeding in new basins, and limited roadway access that could bottleneck emergency response. A resident who identified as a communications reserve officer for the governor's office of emergency services recounted helping with senior evacuations during a dam incident and said the local roads would not accommodate large-scale egress. Speaker Radbotano reported, "It's no drainage the water and the mud running over the state very dangerous and very noisy," and asked the Commission to enforce noise and erosion controls.

Planning staff and the chair said the hearing would be reopened in full on April 24 so the public and staff could return with more information. No formal action was taken on March 27. The Commission encouraged residents to attend the continued hearing and noted any formal appeals or actions on the item will follow the Board of Supervisors' procedures once the Commission makes its recommendation.