DENY PARADISE VALLEY!
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Riverside County Planning Commission  

The Riverside County Planning Department has thrown a roadblock in front of the huge "new town" of Paradise Valley proposed at the southern border of Joshua Tree National Park. The Desert Sun reports that Planning staff have said they cannot support the plan as submitted, in part due to questions not being satisfactorily answered by the project proponent, GLC Enterprises. The Planning Commission is due to vote on the project at its August 21 meeting. It may now either deny the project or direct staff to continue working to resolve issues. (Note in the second photo in the article that MBCA President and Immediate Past President Steve Bardwell and Sarah Kennington are sitting two rows behind the GLC representative Frank Bigelow at the May Planning Commission meeting. You can also read a lot more that MBCA has published on this issue by typing Paradise Valley into our Search button.)

Many news outlets have recently been highlighting research about potentially severe climate change effects on Joshua Trees. MBCA published a News Update about the issue last year, but here are some of the latest articles about subsequent research with the same message.

“Climate Change may eliminate Joshua Trees…” on local radio KCDZ 107.7.
A video from the Empire Network (KVCR).
“Why Joshua Tree National Park may be saying goodbye to most of its iconic trees in the next 81 years” in the Desert Sun.
"The Iconic Joshua Tree is in Trouble” from EcoWatch.
“Joshua Trees will be all-but-extinct by 2070 without climate action…” from the website Live Science.

This Thursday August 8, 2019
San Bernardino County Planning Commission to consider
Short Term Residential Rentals ordinance

Governor Newsom today signed SB 307, a bill that requires that any water mining projects such as the Cadiz water project undergo new additional review processes to prove it will avoid environmental harm. Many thanks are owed to the many MBCA supporters who wrote comments and called the Governor's office in support of the bill. The Governor's letter approving SB 307 outlines the reasons for his action. 

Stop Cadiz: Call the Governor to sign SB-307!
SB-307 on Governor’s desk

 

Another strong case is made in a July 12 opinion letter in the Desert Sun against the proposed Paradise Valley housing development of more than 20,000 residents on the south side of Joshua Tree National Park.  The piece by Gail Wadsworth, executive director of the California Institute for Rural Studies, focuses on the unmet housing and support needs of rural communities near the proposed site and how the development would be detrimental rather than supportive for residents in those communities. 
 

A judge's decision on June 21 has reversed the BLM's 2017 ruling (which was itself a reversal of their prior decision) regarding the need for federal environmental review for the railroad right-of-way that relates to the Cadiz pipeline project. The next action is back in BLM's court. More details can be found in this Desert Sun article and with greater emphasis on the legal issues in this Courthouse News Service article. Prior news updates from MBCA on this and other water conservation-related news can be found on our "Water Issues" page.