MBCA Joins Opposition to AB 1633 that Weakens CEQA Protections
Joining 80 other concerned non-profit organizations, MBCA signed a letter to California's Senate Appropriations Committee members describing how the bill will: 1) allow developers to sue before environmental review; 2) reduce the incentive to complete environmental review; 3) allow developers to avoid public scrutiny; and 4) discourage legitimate environmental justice lawsuits.
MBCA Comments at County Land Use Services Open House
At 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.
County STR and Housing Meeting Brings Large Crowd
Photo 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.).
MBCA Joins Appeal to BLM to Stop Cadiz Water Project
Once again MBCA and many other concerned organizations have made an appeal to prevent the export of precious desert water by Cadiz, Inc. They have again requested permission from the Bureau of Land Management for right-of-way access to an existing pipeline. The letter signed by MBCA and 45 other groups summarizes the harm that would be caused and notes a previous denial of permission that had been granted under the Trump administration and requests another denial. (You can read a number of prior MBCA News posts about Cadiz by using our SEARCH function.)
Mojave Desert Land Trust Seed Bank Highlighted
The Associated Press produced a comprehensive story with many photos about the unique desert native seed bank at the Mojave Desert Land Trust in Joshua Tree. There is a growing need for such extraordinary measures considering the devastation of desert lands in the two major fires in recent years in the Mojave National Preserve, followed by flood damage this summer.
Dust Issues in Mojave AQMD Rule 401
MBCA's comment letter to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District summarizes the serious particulate matter issues (excessive dust) that result from large scale solar developments and requests that such situations be directly addressed in the agency's proposed Rule 401. "Currently neither the MDAQMD, or the County of San Bernardino Land Use Services require or, act upon knowledge of the soils and the hazard of blowing dust."
