Light Trespass Ordinance to be on Supervisor’s Agenda
MBCA has been informed that the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors will consider the long-awaited Light Trespass Ordinance at their regularly scheduled meeting of December 7, 2021. Land Use Services will recommend that the existing Glare and Outdoor Lighting portion of the Development Code (Section 83.07) be repealed and new regulations governing Light Trespass be adopted. We understand that minor revisions will be added to the ordinance approved by the Planning Commission that will address holiday displays associated with seasonal lighting and also an exclusion for compliance for some industrial activity within manufacturing and industrial land use districts. Here is MBCA’s preliminary calendar announcement of the meeting: links to the final agenda and draft ordinance will be added as soon as the County publishes the agenda late afternoon on Friday, December 3. For more history and background on the LTO, see this September 9 MBCA News post.

We encourage all dark sky advocates to let their voice be heard in support of this long-awaited ordinance by writing to, or speaking before the Board of Supervisors as follows:

Via U.S. Mail: San Bernardino County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors 385 N. Arrowhead Ave, 2nd Fl., San Bernardino, CA 92415 (Comments by U.S. Mail must be received by the start of the Board meeting.)

Via email: at [email protected] or online at http://www.sbcounty.gov/cob/publiccomments/default.aspx Comments received prior to the start of the meeting will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for review. Please copy Heidi Duron, Director of Planning for the County at [email protected].

Oral comments may be made in person on December 7, 2021 at 10:00 am in San Bernardino at:
      County Government Center
      Covington Chambers
      385 N. Arrowhead Avenue, 1st Floor
      San Bernardino, CA 92415

Video conferencing facilities will be available to view the meeting and make oral comments at the following locations:
      Bob Burke Government Center
      63665 Twentynine Palms Highway 1st floor
      Joshua Tree, CA 92252

      High Desert Government Center
      15900 Smoke Tree St.
      Hesperia, CA 92345

Scenic 247 Proposal to Planning Commission
An informational presentation will be made to the San Bernardino County Planning Commission at their regular scheduled meeting on December 9, at 9:00 am.

Presentations will be made by the Homestead Valley Communities (HVCC), Caltrans, and County Land Use Services on the nomination of Highway 247 for designation as a State Scenic Highway. This will be the first official presentation to County governance of this 10-year plus effort by the HVCC Scenic 247 Committee. The public will have the opportunity to present comments.

As required by Caltrans, a Visual Description was performed and confirmed that the landscape was indeed up to Caltrans’ “scenic" qualifications. This involved documenting sections of the landscape visible to motorists where man-made intrusions are under 25%. Last summer the Caltrans district 8 landscape architect and a County Land Use Services staff member road-checked the document. It passed with flying colors! This document and other background information can be found on the HVCC website.

With the Visual Description completed, the HVCC Scenic Highway 247 Committee is working with Land Use Services (LUS) staff to finalize the DRAFT Corridor Protection Plan (CPP). The CPP is intended to ensure the landscape is protected to maintain scenic qualities and minimize incompatible visual intrusions. Existing County designated scenic highways utilize a 200-foot wide corridor as measured from the highway Right of Way (ROW) for protection. This is contrasted with the 20-mile corridor in the California Historic Route 66 Corridor Management Plan – in which San Bernardino County is a partner. Given the vast scale of the desert vistas experienced on Highway 247, it remains to be seen how this difference will be resolved in the CPP.

MBCA would welcome each and every one of you to endorse the nomination of 247 as a State Scenic Highway. The original impetus of the HVCC in securing the Caltrans Scenic Highway was to provide protection from industrial-scale renewable energy projects and other inappropriate intrusions into the landscape. There is an even greater danger now from development than when the effort first mobilized. The County has given us every encouragement for this grassroots initiative and we are looking forward to continuing to engage in this important effort.

A draft of the CPP will be included within the Planning Commission agenda for this item when it is released on Monday afternoon December 6. Following the presentation to the Planning Commission, we understand that the full Board of Supervisors, as the jurisdictional party requesting scenic designation, will consider and vote on the issue in early 2022. We will continue to track and follow this issue.

The Planning Commission meeting will be held in person on December 9, 2021, at 9:00 am in San Bernardino at:
      County Government Center
      Covington Chambers
      385 N. Arrowhead Avenue, 1st Floor
      San Bernardino, CA 92415

Video conferencing facilities will be available to view the meeting and make oral comments at the following locations:
      Bob Burke Government Center
      63665 Twentynine Palms Highway 1st floor
      Joshua Tree, CA 92252

      High Desert Government Center
      15900 Smoke Tree St.
      Hesperia, CA 92345

MBCA Supports California’s 30x30 Conservation Goal
MBCA has signed onto a coalition letter to the California Natural Resources Agency recommending improvements to the Draft Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy. The coalition represents diverse groups working across the State to advance California’s efforts to implement Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-82-20 by conserving at least 30% of California by 2030 (30x30). The letter emphasizes the need to prioritize equity and environmental justice in California’s fight to address climate change and to recognize the importance of the intact desert ecosystem in supporting biodiversity and sequestering carbon.

Give the Gift of an MBCA Membership
This holiday season we have created a new opportunity to support MBCA’s mission and spread the word of our advocacy with a gift membership. We hope this will grow our community of support for the work we do to maintain a healthy and beautiful desert environment in the Morongo Basin and beyond!  

MBCA has implemented a new membership framework. We changed our historic calendar-year membership to a year-long membership from date of payment and will email members around a month in advance with a reminder to renew.

Thank you for your continuing support as we strive to fulfill MBCA’s mission in support of the Healthy Desert. Happy Holidays!