Chilcoot

Plumas County (population ~18,500, down from ~19,800 pre-Dixie Fire) is a sparsely populated North Sierra county anchored on the upper Feather River watershed. The county seat is Quincy (unincorporated, ~1,700); the only incorporated city is Portola (~2,100, on the Middle Fork Feather upstream of Lake Davis). Other communities are unincorporated: Greenville, Indian Valley/Crescent Mills, Taylorsville, Canyondam, Chester, Lake Almanor West/East/Country Club, Westwood (Lassen County edge), Graeagle, Blairsden, Beckwourth, Cromberg, Sloat, Twain, Belden, La Porte, and the Bucks Lake basin. The 2021 Dixie Fire (~963,000 acres total across Plumas, Butte, Lassen, Tehama, Shasta) was the largest single wildfire in California history at the time and devastated Plumas County: Greenville (~1,000 residents) was nearly entirely destroyed (over 75% of structures lost), Canyondam was effectively erased, and Indian Valley, Taylorsville, Crescent Mills, and the Lake Almanor west shore communities suffered major losses. The county Board of Supervisors administers ADU permitting in unincorporated territory under California Government Code Sec. 65852.2 (state ADU preemption) and Sec. 65852.22 (JADU preemption). Post-Dixie rebuild streamlining, fee deferrals, and CEQA pre-clearance for like-for-like reconstruction are core to current ADU permitting in the burn footprint.

• Plumas County Code Title 9 - Planning and Zoning, Article ADU/JADU provisions
• Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65852.2 (Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65852.22 (Junior Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Plumas County Dixie Fire Recovery Plan / post-disaster rebuild resolutions
• AB 38 (2019) Defensible Space and Home Hardening Disclosures

State-floor overlay: California state ADU preemption applies in full to all unincorporated parcels. Dixie Fire burn-footprint parcels in Greenville, Canyondam, Indian Valley, and the west Lake Almanor shore benefit from county-adopted rebuild streamlining that runs in parallel with the state ministerial floor. AB 976 prohibits owner-occupancy mandates on detached ADUs. AB 2221 / AB 2533 (2022-2023) further constrain local denial grounds. HCD oversight: ordinance amendments submitted within 60 days per Sec. 65852.2(h).

Plumas County overlays of consequence: CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area on essentially all non-federal land with Very High FHSZ across the entire county after the 2022 FHSZ map update reflecting Dixie Fire burn-perimeter conditions; the Dixie Fire (2021) burn footprint covering Greenville, Canyondam, Indian Valley, Crescent Mills, Taylorsville, the west Lake Almanor shore, and large portions of the Plumas National Forest; Plumas National Forest covers ~71% of the county's land area; Lassen National Forest in the northwest; Tahoe National Forest along the southern boundary; Mountain Maidu and Greenville Rancheria tribal jurisdictions; Lake Almanor (the largest reservoir in the county, owned by PG&E as part of the Upper North Fork Feather River hydroelectric project); FEMA SFHA along the North Fork, Middle Fork, and East Branch North Fork Feather River; Mohawk Valley vernal-pool habitat; and the Genesee Valley/Indian Valley scenic landscapes.

• CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area / Very High FHSZ (post-Dixie 2022 update)
• Dixie Fire Burn Footprint (2021) - Greenville / Canyondam / Indian Valley / west Lake Almanor
• Plumas National Forest / Lassen National Forest / Tahoe National Forest
• Greenville Rancheria / Mountain Maidu Communities
• PG&E Upper North Fork Feather River Hydroelectric Project / Lake Almanor / Butt Valley Reservoir / Mountain Meadows Reservoir / Bucks Lake
• FEMA SFHA - North Fork, Middle Fork, East Branch North Fork Feather River
• Sierra Snow-Load Design Zones (Quincy / Chester / Graeagle / Lake Almanor / La Porte)
• Genesee Valley / Indian Valley / Mohawk Valley / American Valley scenic landscapes

The Plumas County Planning and Building Services Department issues ADU permits for unincorporated parcels including Quincy (the county seat itself is unincorporated), Greenville, Indian Valley, Crescent Mills, Taylorsville, Canyondam, Chester, the Lake Almanor basin (West/East/Country Club shore communities), Graeagle, Blairsden, Beckwourth, Cromberg, Sloat, Twain, Belden, La Porte, Bucks Lake. Practical permitting frictions are dominated by post-Dixie rebuild conditions: CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area covers nearly all non-federal land, Very High FHSZ across the full county after the 2022 FHSZ map update, septic/well infrastructure on most rural parcels with elevated post-fire soil-testing requirements, snow-load structural review for the higher elevations (Quincy 3,400 ft, Chester 4,500 ft, Graeagle 4,400 ft, Lake Almanor 4,500 ft), and a county building department operating under sustained Dixie Fire rebuild caseload.