Riverside County Supervisors have denied the Paradise Valley project on a 5-0 vote despite the project applicant's request for the typical 90-day continuance. A number of MBCA representatives attended the November 5th meeting and were among those cheering the result. Read more details in the Desert Sun's November 6 story on the vote, and for background, read our News Update from August 21st when the Riverside County Planning Commission recommended that the Supervisors deny the project.

We received word from MBCA President Steve Bardwell shortly after the decision on the afternoon of August 21 that the proposed Paradise Valley housing development planned for the southern edge of Joshua Tree National Park was voted down by the Riverside County Planning Commission, in a 4-1 vote.  Read more details in this Desert Sun article. Enjoy the photos below taken at the venue. MBCA Directors and supporters, especially Steve Bardwell, Sarah Kennington, and our stalwart science guru Pat Flanagan were vigilant in keeping track of the project, attending meetings, and making comments against the ill-conceived project.

 

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

 

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. 
 

The Mojave Watch news site reports that the Riverside County Planning Commission has postponed discussion of Paradise Valley, a brand-new community proposed for development on the southern edge of Joshua Tree National Park. The development will next appear on their agenda May 15, 2019. Read the January 30 Mojave Watch news post(no longer exists) for more details on the danger to Park ecology posed by such a development, along with information from National Parks Conservation Association representative Chris Clarke. Additional background can be found in this earlier post about the project at Mojave Watch (no longer exists).