Letter: MBCA Comments at County STR and Housing Meeting
Posted by Laraine Turk on August 26, 2023
Related MBCA News follows this letter.
-
Featured post
MBCA Comments at County Land Use Services Open House
Posted by Laraine Turk · August 31, 2023 6:57 PMAdd your reaction ShareAt the County Land Use Services Open House held in Joshua Tree on August 30, MBCA's President Steve Bardwell talked at some length with Mark Wardlaw, new Director of the department. MBCA sent a followup letter outlining concerns about land use issues that affect the Morongo Basin's unincorporated communities particularly. The letter includes some specific suggestions and summarizes our concerns related to water issues, Community Action Guides, climate change, Short-Term Rental ordinances, and a number of other topics.Featured post
County STR and Housing Meeting Brings Large Crowd
Posted by Laraine Turk · August 26, 2023 12:34 PMContinue reading → Add your reaction SharePhoto credit Valeree Woodard
Nearly 100 area residents crowded both rooms of the Joshua Tree Community Center to hear a report on the County's Program 4 Housing study, initiated to answer the question, "How Are Short-Term Rentals Impacting the Housing Market?" Colin Drucker, a representative of PlaceWorks, one of the two contracted consulting firms, presented a slide show summarizing the data gathered so far. He noted that the study covers only the unincorporated areas of the mountains and “east desert” (Morongo Basin) and not the “north desert” (i.e. Lucerne Valley, Newberry Springs, etc.).Featured post
MBCA Releases Video: Seeking Housing Solutions for the Morongo Basin
Posted by Laraine Turk · January 27, 2023 8:19 PMAdd your reaction ShareMBCA has posted a complete video of MBCA's Annual Meeting program "Gimme Shelter: Seeking Housing Solutions in the Morongo Basin." Other resources related to the program are provided below:
Contact and Information List of Program Participants
Supervisor Rowe's PresentationKCDZ 107.7 extended news report with photos
Government Requirements: Housing Element and Acronyms
Program 4: Short-term Rentals (the required study of the effect of STRs)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. 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
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
Eblast August 15, 2022
Posted by Steve Bardwell · August 15, 2022 3:22 PMContinue reading → Add your reaction Share- Short Term Rental Survey
- Housing Element update
- Desert Wise Virtual Landscape videos released
Featured post
Eblast July 20, 2022
Posted by Steve Bardwell · July 20, 2022 6:29 PMContinue reading → Add your reaction Share- Desert Wise Virtual Landscape videos released
- Planning Commission to vote on Housing Element
- Industrial Scale Renewable Energy Threats to the Desert
See All Housing/STR IssuesDo you like this post?
Eblast November 8, 2023
Attend County Virtual Meeting on Short Term Rentals Flamingo 640 to be Heard by Board of Supervisors Landers Eco Dome Project Ongoing Threats to Rooftop Solar Desert Wise Living Landscape Tour Videos Now ReleasedItem 1MBCA Comments on Landers Eco Dome Project
Covering multiple areas of concern, MBCA has submitted two comment letters challenging the Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration/Initial Study (MND/IS) and in opposition to the granting of a Conditional use Permit (CUP) for this "Eco Dome Campground" project in Landers. One letter notes both the inappropriate designation as a campground, and the inaccurate characterization of the "Eco Domes" as related to the Integratron, a totally unique historic building that has nothing but...Eblast September 26, 2023
Proposed Chuckwalla National Monument Plan to Attend California Desert Summit Attend the 8th Annual Night Sky Festival Desert Wise Living Landscape Tour Videos Now Being ReleasedEasley Solar Project Comments Emphasize Dust and Environmental Justice
MBCA's October 23 comment letter about the proposed Easley Solar Project near Lake Tamarisk and Desert Center explains how the proposal will add to the already excessive dust problems in current projects nearby, affecting residents' health and violating concepts of environmental justice. Additionally and critically, undisturbed desert land provides carbon sequestration that has far more value and far less harm than scraping more desert for industrial scale solar.Supervisors Approve RCIS Resolution without Recommended Change
A resolution to support the Regional Conservation Investment Strategy was on the September 26 agenda of the San Bernardino County Supervisors. While MBCA joined other organizations in supporting the RCIS in an August 2023 comment letter, one of the provisions in the Supervisors’ resolution negated much of the value of the plan. Comments from MBCA and the SummerTree Institute, among others, requested deletion of Provision 7, which would disastrously limit...
Showing 1 reaction
Sign in with
Facebook Twitter