Articles about MBCA's most recent issues of concern are listed in chronological order. To read a series of articles about a particular issue, navigate using the buttons above.
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Featured post
MBCA Comments on Regional Advanced Mitigation Policy Draft
Posted by Laraine Turk · February 01, 2023 10:49 AMAdd your reaction ShareMBCA has supported the Southern California Council of Governments (SCAG) draft Regional Advanced Mitigation Policy (RAMP) draft plan. It is proposed "to allow state and federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts and mitigation needs of multiple planned infrastructure projects and urban development all at once, and satisfy those mitigation requirements early in the project planning and environmental review process." Benefits would include cost savings and climate change considerations. This comprehensive presentation about RAMP provides more background and details.
Featured post
MBCA's Annual Meeting on Housing Promotes Ideas and Dialogue
Posted by Laraine Turk · January 24, 2023 7:47 AMAdd your reaction ShareNearly 100 participants heard public officials and non-profit leaders describe problems and potential improvements for the recent crisis in affordable housing options across the Morongo Basin at MBCA's January 21 Annual Meeting. We are grateful for the expansive reporting of the event by local radio station KCDZ 107.7, which offers a good summary of the issues discussed. This opinion piece in the Hi Desert Star encourages a focus on housing similar to the message of our program. The entire program was recorded and will be available soon on MBCA's website. Links to several handouts can be found below. Additional news, documents, and links will be posted here on MBCA's News page when available.
Annual meeting program with listing of speakersHandout - Government Requirements: Housing Element and Acronyms
Handout - Program 4: Short-term Rentals (the required study of the effect of STRs)Featured post
Western Joshua Tree Endangered Listing Decision Delayed
Posted by Laraine Turk · October 12, 2022 4:06 PMAdd your reaction ShareIn an outcome not entirely unexpected, the California Fish and Game Commission today chose to delay the decision on whether listing the Western Joshua tree as an endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act is warranted. Today's meeting focused on additional tribal input, which will continue, while general public comment is closed. Much of the concern comes with how the restrictions will be implemented as relates to development, and the idea of more widespread conservation planning is another issue being considered. The item will next be on the agenda at the Commission's February 8-9, 2023 meeting. Here is the story in more detail as reported by the Desert Sun and here is a short summary by local radio station KCDZ.Featured post
Response from Flamingo 640 Campground Developer
Posted by Laraine Turk · October 04, 2022 1:28 PMAdd your reaction ShareAs reported on local radio station KCDZ, the RoBott Land Company replied in writing to questions asked at a recent Homestead Valley Community meeting with a 17-page document. Their detailed replies are to a great extent based on the acceptance and approval of San Bernardino County in their application process and their belief that the growth in visitors to Joshua Tree National Park supports their project.Featured post
MBCA Comments on Sienna Solar 2 in Lucerne Valley
Posted by Laraine Turk · September 25, 2022 8:36 PMAdd your reaction ShareChanges to the proposed Sienna Solar project in Lucerne Valley triggered a new scoping comment letter from MBCA about Sienna Solar 2. The proposed site has expanded and poses a wide range of potential harms to quality of life and the desert ecosystem. In a community designated as Severely Disadvantaged, Lucerne Valley residents will be subjected to dust, degraded views, and excessive lighting. Environmental problems likely to arise include degraded air quality, water issues, and harm to wildlife including threatened species. MBCA Directors Pat Flanagan and Brian Hammer have outlined the problems and created detailed maps illustrating the issues in MBCA's Scoping Comments to San Bernardino County’s Land Use Services Department.Featured post
Golden Currant Solar Project Needs RMP Review
Posted by Laraine Turk · September 24, 2022 1:58 PMAdd your reaction ShareMBCA and 7 other conservation groups have requested a pause in the Golden Currant Solar project variance review until a revised Bureau of Land Management Resource Management Plan is completed to replace the 1997 version. The 25-year old plan predates many changes in desert management, including updated desert tortoise status, water availability, visual resource and habitat conservation plans, plus water availability, public land access, tribal consultation and many more concerns. While this Nevada project is not within the Morongo Basin, MBCA has always viewed the entire Mojave Desert as part of "the healthy desert environment" that we seek to preserve.Featured post
Eblast September 22, 2022
Posted by Steve Bardwell · September 22, 2022 8:13 PMContinue reading → Add your reaction Share- Short Term Rentals and Housing Element Update
- Workshop and Webinar: Joshua Trees and Climate Change
- Sienna Solar 2
Featured post
Coalition Letter on Program 4 in County Housing Element
Posted by Laraine Turk · September 20, 2022 2:53 PMAdd your reaction ShareAs part of the County's amended Housing Element (required report to the state), Program 4 is a study to determine the impact of short-term rentals on the housing supply of unincorporated desert and mountain communities. In this September 19 letter to San Bernardino County's Planning Director, MBCA and the Center for Biological Diversity along with Mojave Desert Land Trust, Tahquitz Group of the Sierra Club, and Unincorporated San Bernardino Together, ask the County to show that they are taking their responsibility to their communities seriously. The letter recommends formation of two Advisory Committees – one for the Mountain Region, and one for the Desert Region. The letter also recommends setting an interim cap during the study period, plus a timeline and goals for the study. The introductory paragraphs of the letter summarize past concerns and the intent of the recommendations. For more background information, read MBCA's News posts from May 15, June 9 (MBCA letter), June 9 (letter with CBD), June 15, and July 5, 2022.Featured post
MBCA Joins Support for AB 1757, Setting Natural Carbon Sequestration Targets
Posted by Laraine Turk · September 19, 2022 2:45 PMAdd your reaction ShareMBCA joined more than 30 organizations and companies signing a letter in support of California AB 1757, a bill to aid California’s efforts to deal with climate change by setting targets to remove carbon from the atmosphere through natural carbon sequestration. “Setting ambitious natural carbon removal targets is both crucial and achievable,” states the letter. The bill is in the Governor’s hands for signing as of this writing.
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Wonder Inn Resort Proposal Denied by Planning Commission
In a 4-0 vote, San Bernardino County Planning Commissioners denied the Wonder Inn project opposed by MBCA and hundreds of Morongo Basin area residents. Almost 50 citizens made their comments in person at the meeting. The citizens' group Stop Wonder Inn spent a year doing research to demonstrate how the project if built would have significant negative repercussions not only for Wonder Valley but the entire Morongo Basin. MBCA's initial...Eblast March 1, 2022
Flamingo 640 Glamping Project going before Planning Commission Wonder Inn Project update Spring is here and so are Invasive Plants! Rooftop Solar Update 2023 Desert Wise Living Landscape TourEblast January 7, 2022
MBCA Annual Meeting – ‘Seeking Housing Solutions’ Benefit for Homeless / Un-Housed Children Light Trespass Ordinance is in Effect Rooftop Solar Update
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