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Chico council backs downtown revitalization work: opportunity-zone application and entertainment-business zone effort approved

Chico City Council · March 17, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Council directed staff to pursue an Opportunity Zone application and explore an Entertainment Business Zone framework and referred broader downtown revitalization work to the Internal Affairs committee; the opportunity/entertainment authorizations passed 6-0 with one recusal.

Councilmember Ryan introduced a request for focused, short-term action to revitalize Chico's downtown, highlighting parking and public-safety measures and asking for immediate, actionable steps. Multiple downtown business owners and organizations urged quick, practical fixes: Leanne Powell, who owns a Main Street business, asked the council to consider limited free parking and stricter controls on event street closures that she said compete with brick-and-mortar stores. "Free parking would be great every day," Powell said, adding that street-closure policies can harm Saturday brick-and-mortar…

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