MBCA Addresses the County’s Housing Element Inconsistencies and Short-Term Rentals
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.
MBCA Joins Another Appeal to List the Western Joshua Tree as Threatened
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.
Letter: MBCA Addresses the County’s Housing Element Inconsistencies and Short-Term Rentals
Eblast June 1, 2022

- Fish and Game Commission to consider Joshua Tree Listing
- Protect Rooftop Solar!
- Comments due on San Bernardino County Housing Element
- Short Term Rental ordinance amendments
- Landscape Tour was a success
- Stagecoach Solar project put on hold
Plant Spotlight: California Buckwheat

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.
Eriogonum Fasciculatum var. polifolium is the grey-leafed variety we see in the desert, and according to Calscape is sometimes available in nurseries. (See our native plant nurseries for potential sources.) It is also easily grown from seed.

Buckwheat at Mojave Desert Land Trust demonstration garden. Photo by Stacy Doolittle.
Virtually pest-free and able to withstand long period of times without water, buckwheat is used for slope stabilization and as low hedges.
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MBCA Letter on Alta Loma x Sunset Proposed Housing Project

Photo by Stacy Doolittle
News of this proposed Alta Loma and Sunset Avenue housing project in Joshua Tree was received on short notice and the deadline for comment is today, but we are publishing our our letter of concern sent today to the County planning staff. You will find in it a summary of our concerns about issues ranging from water use to native plant removal.