Local Business Groups Propose Campaign to Stimulate Relocation to Plumas County

PLUMAS COUNTY — Samantha Schwartz-Lenhart from the Lost Sierra Chamber of Commerce and Clint Koble from the Indian Valley Innovation Hub presented a “Move In” relocation package developed jointly by their organizations to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors on June 17. The program aims to reverse a trend of declining population by encouraging remote workers, entrepreneurs, and families with children to relocate to Plumas County.

According to the US Census Bureau, a third of Plumas County residents are 65 or older, about double the national average, and the county lost almost 1200 residents between 2010 and 2024. The California Department of Finance projects even larger population losses over the next 35 years, according to the information presented, and those losses will make it progressively more difficult to maintain public services, keep schools open, and sustain local businesses and community cohesion. At some point, the decline can become irreversible, the presenters said.

Ms Schwartz-Lenhart explained in an interview that no one is systematically marketing Plumas County as a destination for relocation. The Lost Sierra Chamber and the Innovation Hub are proposing an initiative to change that. Its key elements are an online publicity campaign and direct financial incentives for families who choose to relocate. The program would pay a $5000 bonus to each of the first 10 families moving to the county and provide up to $1000 in locally sourced welcome gifts. A relocation concierge would also help families integrate with the community during their first year of residence. The incentives are intended to work in concert with a down payment assistance program also being proposed to the county Board. Other areas across the country have launched similar programs, the presenters said.

The campaign’s organizers are asking the county to invest $125,000 to support costs in the first year. Funds would come from the Dixie Fire settlement with PG&E, not the county budget, they said. They estimate that the investment could be repaid in less than a year if the program succeeds in bringing 10 new families to the county.

The presenters expressed optimism about the prospects for success. “We’re swinging for the fences,” Mr. Koble said; Ms. Schwartz-Lenhart added, “We need a year of something increasing—of the needle going up.”