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.
After 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.
Congressman Raul Ruiz (Coachella Valley) is planning to introduce legislation seeking to expand federal desert land protection with a new National Monument and other protection categories. MBCA has sent a letter to the Congressman in support of this effort.
In this public comment letter to the County and to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), MBCA details the many inconsistencies between the state-required Housing Element policies and the County's open-ended Short-Term Rental Ordinance. A few of the many issues covered are housing displacement, lack of acknowledgement of community input, quantifying of housing unit objectives, and data about housing stock and housing types.
Along with 18 other non-profit organizations, MBCA signed a letter encouraging the California Fish and Game Commission to reject the flawed findings of the California Fish and Wildlife Department staff and to permanently list the Western Joshua tree as a threatened species in California.
California buckwheat with Russian sage in the background. Photo by Stacy Doolittle
An outstanding small shrub for Morongo Basin landscapes is California Buckwheat, a native which is likely to volunteer in your yard. Long-lived creamy white flowers eventually turn into attractive rust-colored seed heads. It is attractive all year long.
The Initial Study for this proposal to create twelve 5-acre Rural Living-zoned lots in the Pioneertown area contains many conflicts with the County Wide Plan that are outlined in MBCA’s comment letter to Land Use Services. MBCA objects to the County's support of a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project and urges a full Environmental Impact Report be completed. MBCA's comment letter and appendices describe a number of critical oversights...
MBCA has joined over 120 environmental, consumer, low-income, tenants’ rights, and clean energy organizations to support legislation that would address both energy insecurity and air pollution problems in California. The legislation introduced by Senator Wiener (SB 868) would allow Californians to install portable solar generation devices known as "balcony solar" without having to connect with public utilities (as is currently the law). These small plug-in units can provide enough electricity...
Click on the photo to enjoy MBCA's latest engaging video of a local residential landscape filled with desert native plant beauty and skillful water management.
Eco-Education Summit Draws Local Conservation Educators
MBCA and the Joshua Tree Foundation for Arts & Ecology invited local environmental and conservation educators - individuals and organizations - to meet for information sharing and planning future collaborations emphasizing youth education. Pat Flanagan of MBCA presented an EcoMap curriculum as a tool to explore environmental data. More than a dozen participants then presented overviews of their educational programs and tools, including: Copper Mountain College Educators from La Contenta...
MBCA Opposes Huge Self-Storage Project in Lucerne Valley
MBCA has submitted to the San Bernardino County Planning Commission a letter of opposition to a proposed 5-acre self-storage project in Lucerne Valley's commercial core. Among concerns are the inappropriate use of land zoned for high-priority local services, the lack of related employment opportunities, and pedestrian safety issues. The project is in opposition to this rural and economically disadvantaged community's stated vision and interest.
MBCA is delighted to announce the awarding of $1000 Scholarships to two Yucca Valley High School seniors.MBCA's Conservation Scholarship is the continuation of our commitment to educate the next generation of conservation-conscious citizens. Kaleb Mix of Yucca Valley High School is the recipient, planning to enroll in an environmental studies program at the University of California at Santa Barbara.The Women's STEAM Scholarship (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) is provided anonymously...
New County App for Reporting Public Works Problems
An app called SeeClickFix is now available for residents of unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County to report Public Works issues such as weed abatement needs, flooding, potholes, or graffiti in public locations. The app is available for free download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Residents can also access a desktop version and view service area maps by visiting the Public Works website at https://dpw.sbcounty.gov/.
MBCA Signs with Coalition Against Proposed Fall Ballot Initiative
In a coalition with over 210 public health, environmental, and environmental justice organizations, MBCA has signed a letter to members of the California legislature with deep concern about the proposed fall ballot initiative 25-0023A1. Proposed by the California Chamber of Commerce in November 2025, it has been cleared for circulation and is in the petition signature collection phase (due June 24). The coalition letter asks all state legislators to publicly...
The California Energy Commission, the state's primary energy agency, has launched a website intended to keep Californians up to date on the state's progress toward 100% clean energy. California's Clean Energy Journey highlights topics such as innovation, transportation, efficiency, and equity and tribal partnerships. Content incudes graphs, charts, and videos about various projects and goals.
