Realtor and property owner Kory Hamman presents data for the proposed development on Sixth Street in Biggs. Photo by Lynne Spencer

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Realtor Kory Hamman, the guest speaker at Gridley Rotary on Thursday, Sept. 26, provided details on the controversial 42-unit apartment complex and 18 residential single-family homes planned for the Sixth Street property in Biggs. Hamman is a joint owner of the property.

Hamman began by explaining that the City of Biggs approached him and the joint property owners about the project. He shared that because California Governor Gavin Newsom has mandated that the community build low-income housing, 20 percent of the proposed apartment complex must be low-income. The complex will be similar to the Ford Oaks apartments in Gridley.

Hamman said that the city can either comply with the state mandate or face the consequences, which could result in the state suing, with fines of $50,000 per month for non-compliance.

Biggs does not have the revenue to fight the state, according to Hamman. Other California communities are facing similar challenges.

Yet Biggs residents have raised strong objections to the development. An online petition was initiated at Change.org asking for infrastructure concerns to be addressed before bringing in additional residents and transparency from elected officials. Hamman maintains that Biggs has no money to fix the problems.

Major potholes in the roads, sewer blockages and improving city services are some of the residents’ concerns.

“More people lower the cost for everybody else. Costs of city services will go down with more people. Blocked sewer lines are often caused by owners’ large trees, not infrastructure,” Hamman said, placing the responsibility on the homeowners.

Hamman stated that the yearly budget for the City of Biggs is $5 million and is already insufficient. Forty-two apartment units, which are anticipated to bring in $20 million in tax credits, and $1.2 million in impact fees to the community, according to Hamman.

CAL FIRE Station 73 is in desperate need of a new fire engine and more firefighters for the area. The engine alone has a price tag of $1 million, which was discussed at a recent council meeting. Biggs has only $200,000 available for the expenditure.

A few residents have indicated that they favor a low-income senior complex but “Biggs does not have sufficient amenities for that,” Hamman said.

Others have objected to the problems that commonly attend low-income housing, such as crime and poor upkeep of the buildings. Hamman reassured that for the 6th Street complex, each applicant will be subject to credit and background checks. Furthermore, Hamman clarified that the state has improved the subsidies for such developments with yearly tax credits to be applied toward maintenance.

Some Biggs residents say that the increase in traffic will put too much stress on roads that already need repair.

However, Hamman said, traffic studies have shown that Biggs could easily handle an additional 2,500 vehicles and this project will bring in 300 vehicles. Again, the potholes could be repaired with the additional revenue, whereas now there is not adequate funding to do so. All the data was corroborated by Hamman.

Hamman continued to add that the population of Biggs has grown only 6% in the last 25 years and that increase was due to a Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) development. Overall, school enrollment has declined by 20% since 2018, both due to families moving out and students transferring to Gridley schools. Lack of funding has caused more and more cuts to school programs such as band.

The lost Average Daily Attendance (ADA) revenue has been $350,000 to $450,000 annually. As a result, the Biggs school Superintendent Doug Kaelin is in favor of the development and the revenue it will bring in by adding more students.

Opponents argue that a school bond of $16 million will be on the ballot in November that will generate school funds if it passes.

Another unfortunate outcome of the school enrollment and population decline is that Dollar General has abandoned plans for a Biggs store. Other businesses have passed over Biggs for the same reason, Hamman said.

“It’s common sense (to move forward with the project),” Hamman concluded.