Eblast November 17, 2021

Short Term Rentals
County Supervisors to consider Light Trespass Ordinance
Protect and Encourage Rooftop Solar

Short Term Rentals

As with so many other communities in California, the Morongo Basin is facing a critical housing shortage that is being exacerbated by the influx of Short Term Rentals (STRs). MBCA has written this letter to the California State Department of Housing and Community Development and elected officials in an effort to acknowledge and address the proliferation of STRs within our area. The purpose of our letter is to advocate for an accounting of STRs in the overall housing stock to quantify and define the extent of the problem and thereby find a solution. San Bernardino County is in the process of amending the Short Term Rental Ordinance that will hopefully address some of the deficiencies and inconsistencies of the current ordinance. We have written our letter to fulfill MBCA’s mission statement that advocates for the healthy desert and our economic well-being, a vital element of which is the availability of housing.

County Supervisors to consider Light Trespass Ordinance

Having been unanimously approved at the September 9, 2021 Planning Commission meeting, the new Light Trespass Ordinance (LTO) is anticipated to be considered by the full Board of Supervisors at their December 7, 2021 meeting. The Light Trespass Ordinance will replace the existing Glare and Outdoor Lighting ordinance found in Section 83.07 of the Development Code. 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. When we have had an opportunity to review these proposed revisions we will provide our comments. The LTO will mandate that exterior lighting be fully shielded to eliminate glare and the attendant problems associated with excessive and often unneeded exterior lighting. We encourage all dark sky advocates to let their voice be heard in support of this long-awaited ordinance by writing to: Heidi Duron, Director of Planning for the County of San Bernardino Land Use Services at [email protected]. For more history and background on the LTO, see this September 9 MBCA News post.

We will inform you when we can confirm that the LTO will be on the Tuesday, December 7, 2021 Supervisors’ agenda and will provide you with links to the agenda and attendance information. The Supervisors meetings are held both in person and remotely. In San Bernardino, the location is:

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 to 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

Protect and Encourage Rooftop Solar

The Solar Rights Alliance has been raising awareness about the importance of this issue in anticipation of the California Public Utilities Commission establishment of Net Energy Metering 3.0 (NEM3) that will set the rates and conditions for crediting electricity generated on rooftops. I encourage all who are in support of growing rooftop solar to sign the petition in the hope of delivering 100,000 signatures to Governor Gavin Newsome by this Saturday, November 20.

Following their webinar of last month in support of rooftop solar, the California Desert Coalition is conducting a new webinar this Thursday, November 18, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., to highlight the relationship between rooftop solar and the protection of desert lands. Register here to attend the webinar. Please help spread the word and plan to join the conversation around this important issue.

MBCA recently reported on a story by Sammy Roth of the LA Times about the importance and complexity of this issue. MBCA continues to advocate for the adoption of broad community-based distributed electrical generation that employs renewables at or near the point of use.

With world leaders now having met in Scotland to again discuss climate change, all of us must do our part to encourage leaders to enact meaningful policies that conserve and protect the environment and resources that support us all.

Sincerely,

Steve Bardwell

Your MBCA Board:

Steve Bardwell, President
David Fick, Vice President
Laraine Turk, Secretary
Cathy Zarakov, Treasurer
Pat Flanagan, Director

Brian Hammer, Director
Janet Johnston, Director
Sarah Kennington, Director
Arch McCulloch, Director
Ruth Rieman, Director

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Steve Bardwell published this page in Eblasts 2021-11-17 14:11:18 -0800