Letter: MBCA and Center for Biological Diversity Address the County on STRs
Posted by Laraine Turk on June 06, 2022
Related MBCA News follows this letter.
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Eblast August 13, 2023
Posted by Steve Bardwell · August 13, 2023 12:42 PMContinue reading → Add your reaction Share- Short-Term Rentals Community Meetings
- Mojave Air Quality Management District Community Meeting
- Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act Information Event
- County Land Use Services Open House
- Pioneertown and Land Use in The Morongo Basin Item 1
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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
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
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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
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MBCA Comments to County on Revised Housing Element
Posted by Laraine Turk · July 05, 2022 9:16 AMAdd your reaction ShareSan Bernardino County's June draft version of their state-required Housing Element contained some changes in direct response to the outpouring of public concerns about excessive Short Term Rentals in unincorporated Desert and Mountain areas of the County. MBCA has scrutinized the latest draft and sent a detailed comment letter thanking the County for some useful changes and pointing out the need for additional revisions. For a history of the ongoing County housing issues, see our News posts of June 9 (MBCA comment letter), June 9 (combined letter with Center for Biological Diversity), and June 15 (report on Supervisors' meeting). This Desert Sun article contains a good overview of the situation.Featured post
Mixed Results from Supervisors' Action on Short Term Rentals
Posted by Laraine Turk · June 15, 2022 4:55 AM · 2 reactions2 reactions Share
MBCA President Steve Bardwell addresses Supervisors at June 14 meeting. Photo by Stacy Doolittle
At their June 14 meeting, the San Bernardino County Supervisors voted to place a 45-day moratorium on new short-term rental (STR) permits in unincorporated areas of the County via this Urgency Ordinance. During this time the County is expected to initiate studies about housing issues caused by the excessive number of STRs. The Board also voted to prohibit transfer of STR permits with home sales and limited STR ownership to 2 per person. Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe was instrumental in championing these actions.
The Supervisors also voted on revisions to the existing Short Term Rental Ordinance forwarded by the Planning Commission. Supervisor Rowe made a motion to limit corporate and LLC ownership of STRs, but was unable to get a second on her motion to move it to a vote. MBCA along with other speakers emphasized the need to gather data and analyze the effect of STRs and housing needs at the local level incorporating input from the local community. This as the supervisors emphasized that the STR ordinance is a ‘living’ ordinance that should be expected to be revised over time.
There was some recognition by the Supervisors that any analysis could require more than 45 days of study. County Counsel informed the supervisors that the urgency notice could be extended for 10 months 15 days, and then for an additional year for a two year maximum.
MBCA's Pause Petition sent to the County on June 12 plus an Addendum presented at the meeting on June 14 were signed by a total of 474 people with 136 comments..Featured post
MBCA and Center for Biological Diversity Address the County on STRs
Posted by Laraine Turk · June 09, 2022 12:51 PMContinue reading → Add your reaction ShareAfter months of escalating concern about the proliferation of short-term rentals across San Bernardino County, especially in the desert and mountain regions, MBCA joined with the Center for Biological Diversity to ask the County to immediately pause the approval of short-term rentals. The letter also urges a comprehensive study of both STR problems and the growing lack of rental housing availability.See All Short Term Rental related NewsDo 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...
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