MBCA Comments on Lucerne/Ord Mountain Solar Proposal
In another extraordinarily detailed and comprehensive document, MBCA Director Pat Flanagan on June 30 sent MBCA's official comment letter on the proposed Ord Mountain Solar and Energy Storage Project in Lucerne Valley to San Bernardino County Land Use Services. In addition,
Read moreAltamira Project On Hold
While we cannot say that there has been an end to plans for the Alta Mira housing project in the Friendly Hills area of Joshua Tree, the JT 105 Alliance citizens' group has informed MBCA that the developers have recently offered the project land for sale. Below is an update from the Alliance and also links to some of the documents involved in the ongoing legal efforts to stop or change the plan for the Alta Mira Housing Development in the Friendly Hills area of Joshua Tree.
1) A summary of the current situation is presented in this Press Release from the JT105 Alliance.
2) The Alliance provided a copy of the October 28, 2016 CEQA petition they filed that outlined all the points of concern about the development.
3) In January 2017, the Alliance proposed to the developers a settlement offer that included two very specific alternative revisions to their existing development plan that would be much more acceptable to the alliance and many Joshua Tree residents who have been concerned about the very “urban” plan proposed by the developers. As the Alliance wrote, “We are not anti-development; we respect smart and ecologically-sensitive development.”
Here's an explanatory paragraph about the stay from the Alliance update:
"A six-month stay was agreed upon, on March 17, so that the developers could explore these options, during which they are not to pursue any permits for construction. Shortly after the agreement, a community member notified the Alliance that the developers had listed the project for sale, with the tract map approval as a key marketing point. If they were to sell the land, the lawsuit, and the wrath of hundreds, would be inherited by the new owner."
DHS Development Stopped Again
JT Airport Solar in a Legal "Stay" Status
MBCA Supports Hwy. 247 as California Scenic Highway

E-Blast February 14, 2017
- Return Eagle Mountain lands to JTNP
- Stop 2,220 home development - Mission Creek
- Black Rock Symposium: "How to Make Your Voice Heard on Conservation Issues in an Uncertain Political Climate."
- UCR Conference: Solar Energy Directions for Inland Southern California: Where is it going?
- Renewable energy Moratorium request - San Bernardino Co.
- Ruth Denison Environmental Conservation Scholarship
- Refreshed and renewed website - mbconservation.org
First of all, I want to remind you of several deadlines and events in coming days:
1) Return Eagle Mountain Lands to JTNP
WHEN: Comment letters due February 16, 2017 – this Thursday!
Support returning BLM Eagle Mountain lands back to Joshua Tree National Park. Take a minute to express your support to BLM for the Final Boundary Study recommendation to add approximately 20,000 acres of federal, state, and private lands to the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park that were withdrawn from the Monument in 1950. Click here for background info from JTNP Superintendent David Smith.
Read moreE-Blast: January 15, 2017
- MBCA Annual Meeting and Water Symposium – Jan. 28, 2017
- Return Eagle Mountain Lands to JTNP
- Stop 2,220 home development - Mission Creek
- Apple Valley’s Habitat Conservation Plan
- Renewable Energy News – CA.’s RE Transmission Initiative
Nov. 3 Planning Commission Meeting Commentary
Eblast: October 31, 2016
- Draft Renewable Energy and Conservation Element (RECE)
-
Community Plan Workshop (Land-Use Map)
- SB Co. Govt. Center - 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., 1st Floor, SB
- Burke Co. Govt. Center, 6427 White Feather Rd., Joshua Tree
MBCA Opinion Piece in Hi Desert Star
Read MBCA's editorial published in the Hi Desert Star on October 29, 2016. It describes the problems with the County Supervisors' decision about the Altamira Housing Development and the lawsuit that has been filed by Joshua Tree residents.