In this public comment letter to the County and to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), MBCA details the many inconsistencies between the state-required Housing Element policies and the County's open-ended Short-Term Rental Ordinance. A few of the many issues covered are housing displacement, lack of acknowledgement of community input, quantifying of housing unit objectives, and data about housing stock and housing types.
Along with 18 other non-profit organizations, MBCA signed a letter encouraging the California Fish and Game Commission to reject the flawed findings of the California Fish and Wildlife Department staff and to permanently list the Western Joshua tree as a threatened species in California.
News of this proposed Alta Loma and Sunset Avenue housing project in Joshua Tree was received on short notice and the deadline for comment is today, but we are publishing our our letter of concern sent today to the County planning staff. You will find in it a summary of our concerns about issues ranging from water use to native plant removal.
The Water Flows Always - Native American Land Conservancy Video
Tuhaymani'chi Pal Waniqa or The Water Flows Always is a video from the Native American Land Conservancy and the Wayfinders Circle highlighting tribal connections to water in the desert and documenting the Cadiz corporate water mining project in particular. A father-daughter family story is also portrayed.
MBCA Joins 21 Groups to Correct Inaccurate Desert Land Classification in California’s Climate Smart Strategy
In a recent update to California’s Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy, a group of 22 organizations including MBCA have replied to the state’s request for comment with serious concerns about how desert lands are inappropriately classified as “Sparsely Vegetated Lands.” This inaccurate classification greatly reduces the carbon sequestration and other critical values gained by conserving desert lands in the state’s response to climate change. Our February 27 letter clearly...
According to the grassroots group that fought the Wonder Inn for several years, the developers have retracted their appeal, so it appears that the ill-suited resort project in its current form has been stopped. Congratulations to the volunteers of the Stop Wonder Inn organization! More details here from radio station Z107.7.
Report Outlines Critical Role of Desert Region in 30x30 Effort
The report, “The California Desert’s Role in 30X30: Carbon Sequestration and Biodiversity” presents a comprehensive explanation of the vital role the Desert Region plays in carbon sequestration and biodiversity as part of California’s goal of “conserving and protecting 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030.” The report’s recommendation is: “intact desert lands need to be left undisturbed.” MBCA is proud that Board members Pat Flanagan and Arch McCulloch were...
About 80 people attended MBCA’s 55th Annual Meeting on February 3, 2024. Ten presentations covered topics focused on “Keeping It Local” and also addressing wider issues of desert preservation and government regulation.Here is the Annual Meeting program, and below are brief summaries and links to PowerPoint presentations where available for each topic.
Plan to Attend MBCA’s 55th Annual Meeting February 3 !
County Misrepresents Reality in Program 4 STR Impact Study
County Misrepresents Reality in Program 4 STR Impact Study
Darker Skies Ahead with Light Trespass Ordinance Now in Effect
Support Lake Tamarisk in Addressing Air Quality Threats
Mark your Calendar for the 2024 Desert Wise Living Landscape Tour
This January 25 column in the Los Angeles Times updates the status of the Cadiz Water project and provides a good overview of its decades-long attempts to "mine" water from the Mojave Desert. MBCA has frequently provided public comments and joined group comments against the project, most recently in August 2023. While the pipeline approval we opposed was granted, the column points out that "Last month (December 2023) the agency reissued...
MBCA Provides Comprehensive Critique of Program 4 STR Report
MBCA reported on December 17 about our response to the flawed Program 4 report commissioned by the County. The report concluded, "The County could not find clear and empirical data that indicates that short-term rentals (STRs) have a substantial impact on the availability of long-term, rental housing options in the unincorporated Mountain and East Desert communities."We are now providing the full 62-page response letter that details what MBCA believes are fallacious arguments,...