Editor’s note: Click here to watch the entire forum.
Considering all the North State’s world-renowned political upheaval, does Redding’s voting public care about tree ordinances, waterways, walking trails, public transportation, climate change, the Redding Riverfront, protecting riparian waterways and whether they agree with the Jenny Creek Trail project concept?
Apparently so — at least if the large audience that packed the social hall at the United Methodist Church in Redding Monday evening was any indication of the degree of public interest in North State environmental issues.
About 110 people sat in folding metal chairs for more than an hour-and-a-half as six Redding City Council candidates took turns responding to a variety of questions.
A large banner across the stage front identified The Shasta Environmental Alliance as the event’s lead host.
The evening’s co-partners included The Trails and Bikeways Council, Redding Birding Society (Audubon), Shasta Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Shasta Group of the Sierra Club, North State Climate Action, and Friends of Jenny Creek.
Shasta Environmental Alliance organizers invited all eight Redding City Council candidates to attend the forum. Six candidates showed up: current Councilman/developer Joshua Johnson, realtor David Backues, physician Paul Dhanuka, county employee Ian Hill, insurance agent Mike Littau, and retired CHP officer/current Redding City Councilman Mark Mezzano.
David Ledger of the Shasta Environmental Alliance speaks before the crowd who’d shown up to hear the forum that questioned Redding City Council candidates on local environment issues. Photo courtesy of Alan Ernesto Phillips.
Not in attendance were Anthony Spengler and former Redding City Councilwoman Erin Resner.
Early on in the program, the pair’s absence was noted and sharply criticized by Mezzano, who said during his opening statement that he thought no-show candidates were disrespectful of groups that host election forums.
The evening’s questions covered a variety of mostly environmental topics. The program began with all candidates acknowledging the challenges the North State suffers because of climate change.
“I can tell you how it’s affecting us. It was 100 degrees out there yesterday! It’s fall,” Mezzano said. This comment segued to his mention of some of the city’s many bike-lane projects, some of which he said are pushed by the governor.
“Who the hell’s going to ride a bicycle when it’s 117 degrees out?” asked Mezzano, a question that was followed by audience laughter. “They’re not. I don’t see anyone riding on Bechelli.”
Littau summed up Redding’s weather by saying, “It’s hot!” He said that Redding’s temperatures are rising. Littau said he’s doing his part to help the environment by driving electric vehicles.
Redding City Council candidate Mike Littau stands as he answers a question at the forum hosted by several environmental groups Monday. Photo by Alan Ernesto Phillips.
Hill joked that his part of helping the environment was that he walked to the forum. He added that when it comes to environmental concerns, he’s the better candidate because of his education in geology. Hill said he believes the climate crisis is real. He’s an advocate for cooling centers, not just for the unhoused, but for anyone who needs to escape the heat.
Dhanuka also mentioned providing relief in extreme weather for the North State’s most vulnerable populations, such as the unhoused.
One of Dhanuka’s comments about mitigating Shasta County’s extreme heat received one of the evening’s only bursts of spontaneous applause.
“We need to increase tree canopies in Redding,” Dhanuka said. “For the life of me, I don’t understand why the parking areas don’t have more trees.”
When it was Backues’ turn, and told how much time he’d have to respond to the question about climate change, he joked that he was being asked to solve global warming in one minute. He spoke of increased temperatures and decreased rain. He said the city should start working on watershed restoration and water-retention methods.
As an aside, Backues offered a trick for remembering how to pronounce his last name: remove the ‘e’ to arrive at the accurate pronunciation — “Backus“.
Johnson described the North State as a harsh Mediterranean climate comparable to parts of northern Israel, and that Shasta County suffers from hot and cold weather extremes.
Johnson also boasted about some positive City of Redding news, such as how the city is stepping up with worthwhile projects, such as an upcoming community solar farm, which would simultaneously help reduce customers’ rates, and help the city to realize some climate goals.
Tree ordinance?
Candidates were asked for their thoughts about the idea of a Redding tree ordinance that would require developers to pay mitigation fees for the removal of oak trees, for example, but that the fees collected could be used to plant and maintain new trees.
Backues said he supported a tree ordinance. He recalled growing up in Butte County, and his time in Chico, when the city implemented a strict, then-controversial tree ordinance. He said initially developers complained, and claimed that the tree ordinance would interfere with their ability to build houses.
“I can tell you, they built plenty of houses,” Backues said. “And it didn’t kill development. They were able to do what they needed to do.”
Backues said it’s also important to consider a wide range of different tree species and their respective growth rates.
“I believe tree ordinances are a very good thing, and they need to be well thought out, and I have the plans to be able to do that,” Backues said.
When it was Dhanuka’s turn to offer opinions about a tree ordinance, although he didn’t directly state his opinions on a tree ordinance per se, he spoke of the restorative powers of trees and nature, and how being in the shade of a tree brings feelings of solace and peace.
Dhanuka said he’s not an expert on the subject of tree ordinances, so he needs input from different people to receive opinions from all sides of the topic before he can come to an ultimate decision one way or the other.
Hill’s response, on the other hand, was quick and clear.
“Yes, I support the tree ordinance,” Hill said. “We can’t keep having the planet subsidize the cost of everything.”
Littau spoke of the destruction of native oak trees, such as during the new Costco construction.
“I do find the value in protecting the oak trees out here,” he said. “If we replace trees, we need to replace them with the right kind of trees.”
Mezzano said the city of Redding already has a 20-year tree ordinance, but added how recently, approximately 18 people have met many times to create a Redding tree ordinance that’s so new that Mezzano had only seen the draft version.
He spoke of meeting with the person in charge of Chico’s tree ordinance, and how he learned what made Chico’s tree ordinance so successful.
“Look, they charged builders based upon the size of the tree,” Mezzano said. “You either pay that fee, or you plant another tree somewhere for us. They have six figures in the bank, and that money — they use what they collect from the tree ordinance to hire college kids in the summer time to water the trees that don’t have irrigation. That’s why Chico has such nice trees, because they’re using the money that they’re getting from the mitigation fees to foster that program.”
Johnson also acknowledged the existence of Redding’s tree ordinance, which he expected to come before the city council some time in late fall.
“I think it’s absolutely imperative that we have a tree ordinance,” Johnson said. “Otherwise we have a concrete jungle, and we don’t want that in our city. We have a great city for trees, and we need a tree canopy for a number of reasons.”
However, Johnson also said that as a developer, he believes there’s a “common sense way” to have an effective tree ordinance and still work with conscientious developers.
“I don’t think one has to be at odds with the other,” Johnson said. “I’d love to see the new tree ordinance have that, and I think we’re moving in the direction of having proper mitigation and also be able to have development that can exist by planting new trees.”
The crowd laughed when Johnson added that he’d like to see more planted than just crepe myrtle trees.
Jenny Creek Trail controversy
On the surface, the subject of one question — whether candidates supported or opposed the proposed Jenny Creek Trail project — seemed innocent enough. But the fact is that the Jenny Creek Trail is an idea promoted by the city, but fiercely opposed by nearby neighbors. The city’s Jenny Creek Trail concept envisions a wide, paved, lighted trail that would begin along Highway 299, wind down near neighborhoods and end up near the Sacramento River Trail below.
Not one candidate spoke up strongly in favor of the Jenny Creek Trail. And all the candidates expressed concern for the neighbors whose homes would be nearest Jenny Creek Trail.
Even Littau, who’d spoken several times of his love of Redding’s Sacramento River Trail system, pointed out that so far, he’d heard no community support for the Jenny Creek Trail project. He pointed out the possibility of the trail attracting homeless individuals and visitors parking in those neighborhoods, as well as the potential harm to wildlife.
Mezzano agreed, and encouraged those opposed to the trail to show up and speak up at city council meetings about their concerns.
Johnson admitted that the Jenny Creek Trail concept was a contentious issue, one he said was not a partisan issue, or even an environmental issue, but a community issue. Johnson said he was not yet fully informed about all aspects of the project, and would like to sit down and listen to both sides to learn more about it.
“I would say that I don’t have a position right now, because I’m in that early stage of getting the information,” Johnson said.
Backues was more blunt.
“Let’s be honest, nobody wants a trail running behind their house,” Backues said.
“No one wants that. Especially a lighted trail … Unless the city has good data to be able to support that — yes, this will be used by a thousand people a day, or whatever the number is — to show that there really truly is a draw, I don’t see a reason why we need to bother our neighbors who have been quietly enjoying their peace and quiet in that little canyon that has been basically green space, even though it is the city’s land. I don’t see why we need to interrupt that, unless there’s this massive demand for that project to be there.”
Easy answers
There were some questions that seemed to elicit non-controversial unanimous responses, such as asking whether candidates would be in favor of continued development encroachments into riparian areas, to which all candidates responded in the negative.
Even so, Johnson added that he’d like a definition of riparian floodplains, so developers would have clear ideas of where they could build, and where they could not.
Off the environmental topic, onto cronyism
For one of the final questions, the moderator told the candidates that this particular inquiry was not environmental in nature. Rather, it had to do with the process for individual Redding City Council members to become mayor.
The question: Should mayors be appointed by fellow city council members, or should the position happen through the traditional rotation process?
This was a major elephant-in-the-room moment based upon a heated Dec. 2023 Redding City Council meeting when then vice-mayor Mezzano’s turn to ascend into the mayor’s seat was siderailed when councilors Julie Winter, Jack Munns and Tenessa Audette — all Bethel Church members, by the way — decided that Audette, not Mezzano, should leapfrog prematurely into the mayor position.
Dhanuka said that if he gained a seat on the city council, even if his “worst enemy” was in line to become mayor, Dhanuka said he would want the rules to be followed, and therefore, that person should become mayor, if it was their turn.
Hill agreed, and said that the mayor-rotation method is best, because it’s the “most bureaucratically efficient,” a line that elicited chuckles from the audience.
Littau said the rotation method respects the process.
Mezzano enthusiastically said, “This is about me!” and proceeded to explain the traditional progression for city council members to graduate into the mayor’s seat. He referred to what happened to him as “politics”.
Backues said tradition and fairness matters, which is why he favored the rotation method of councilmembers becoming mayor.
Johnson said that to ensure that a tradition remains intact, it should be written into the policy as a rule.
Minor bumps
There were a few times where candidates poked at one another, such as when Backues recounted a statement he claimed Johnson made; to sell a particular piece of surplus land, something Backues said Johnson wouldn’t say at the forum because Johnson would assume it would be an unpopular position.
As Backues spoke about Johnson, who sat beside him, Johnson smiled slightly. Later, Johnson readdressed Backues’ allegations and explained it wasn’t as Backues described.
Mezzano took a few verbal swipes at Resner, who wasn’t there to challenge Mezzano.
Littau made a slightly veiled criticism of the current city council when he characterized the city of Redding as “a mess”.
“That’s why we clean house sometimes,” he said wryly.
Way off topic, but interesting nevertheless, Dhanuka mentioned his troubling personal observation as a physician that he was seeing an increase in pancreatic cancers, bile duct cancer and other cancers in an increasingly young patient population. He said he had no proof, but his observation made him wonder if there were some harmful chemical anomalies in Shasta County’s water or soil that contributed to the increase of those cancers.
He also mentioned the shortage of healthcare providers, and his dream to build a medical school in Shasta County.
And in one of the most awkward moments that drew murmurs from the audience, Dhanuka suggested to a room of environmentally savvy folks that perhaps a small nuclear reactor would be a good way to reduce Shasta County’s carbon footprint.
Unique ideas
There were several ideas posed by the candidates, such as Johnson’s suggestion that the city provide landscaping plans, much as it provides ADU plans.
Dhanuka wondered why RABA’s buses were so large, and the ridership so small. One solution, according to Dhanuka, was to offer smaller buses. He also suggested RABA offers connector rides to places like the Sacramento Airport.
Johnson suggested the city incentivize residents with rebates for environmentally friendly things like mini splits and additional insulation.
All the candidates offered promises to represent the citizens in a transparent way. All recited their website addresses.
With that, the meeting concluded.
About the Redding City Council race
Three Redding City Council positions are available in Shasta County’s November election: two four-year seats, and one two-year term, the latter of which would fill the vacancy created when health issues prompted former Redding City Councilman Michael Dacquisto to unexpectedly step down early.
After Dacquisto retired early, by a 3-1 vote the City Council majority filled Dacquisto’s empty seat with Johnson, a move approved by councilmembers Audette, Winter and Munns.
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- Redding City Council Mayor Tennessa Audette
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- Councilwoman Julie Winter listens to testimony.
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- Council members Jack Munns, left, and Tenessa Audette.
Mezzano voted against Johnson’s appointment.
Mark Mezzano
Johnson, Backues, Dhanuka, Littau and Hill are running for the two four-year terms, while Mezzano, Resner and Spengler are running for the single 2-year term.
Redding voters can select their three favorite Redding City Council candidates in the November election.
