Public meetings Sept. 6th and 7th: Tell our public officials what You think about renewal energy development in the Mojave

The Desert Renewal Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) will guide plans to develop renewal energy (solar and wind) in the California deserts. Federal, state, and county agencies are involved. The plan will cover both public and private land. Nothing final has been drafted yet. We have an opportunity to make a difference in the process that will shape our future.

The DRECP claims to:

·        Provide for the long-term conservation and management of Covered Species within the Plan Area,

·        Preserve, restore, and enhance natural communities and ecosystems that support Covered Species,

·        Streamline environmental review and permitting for compatible renewable energy project, and

·        Identify appropriate areas or zones within the Plan Area for the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects.

But the plan has some big gaps and needs to incorporate current scientific data; bio-studies, and local economic issues.   We asked for a meeting in our area and were granted one. Officials from the California Energy Commission, Fish and Wildlife, the BLM, and San Bernardino County will be present to hear from us about life in the Mojave, the right way to develop renewal energy in our desert, and what we must preserve.

Information about the DRECP is available on the National Parks Conservation Association website;  and on the  California Desert Coalition website.

Also check out Renewable Energy Topics by Chris Clarke. You can read the DRECP at http://www.drecp.org/

 Meeting details are below. Please come and be heard.

 

Immediate action needed to extend 45-day moratorium on commercial solar in county unincorporated areas

Dear MBCA Members and Supporters:

We are asking our readers to help convince the San Bernardino County Supervisors that they should extend the 45-day moratorium on commercial solar development in County unincorporated areas (which includes Joshua Tree, the Mesa, Flaming Heights, Landers, etc.). We mentioned this issue in our recent news and information email.  We have just learned that we will need a lot of constituents to inform the Supervisors of the need for the extension BEFORE NEXT TUESDAY (July 23).   Letters to the editor, letters to Supervisors, and/or attendance at the next BOS meeting will be very helpful -- more information below.

Our local District 3 Supervisor James Ramos has been very supportive and helpful, and is to be thanked.  Supervisor Lovingood (1^st District) agrees with the need for extension, but we are uncertain about the other 3 Supervisors.

Here is a link to the County document describing the moratorium and actions being taken:

http://www.sbcounty.gov/Uploads/lus/Renewable/SolarMoratoriumReport7172013.pdf

Here is Chris Clarke’s KCET story on the moratorium, which nicely summarizes it (we recommend Chris’s KCET blog for all California energy-related issues):

http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/san-bernardino-county-approves-solar-moratorium.html 

Here is the Riverside Press-Enterprise article:

http://www.pe.com/local-news/san-bernardino-county/san-bernardino-county-headlines-index/20130612-san-bernardino-county-new-solar-projects-temporarily-banned.ece

And here is a website that summarizes the issue in legal terms:

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/san-bernardino-county-approves-temporary-39481/

The Supervisors meet next Tuesday, June 23, in San Bernardino, at 10:00 AM and this will be on their agenda.  The time is not yet known, but here is the site where the agenda should be posted by Friday:

http://www.sbcounty.gov/main/countydirect.asp

Please send emails to any or all of the following addresses expressing your concern that this issue be taken seriously by the entire Board of Supervisors, and that they need to extend the deadline for addressing solar installations in unincorporated County areas.  Issues include possible development code amendments addressing the permitting process, as well as siting and zoning requirements.

There is a need for research to determine the best way to protect the desert while encouraging renewable energy in the right way and the right places.

If you know folks in the other supervisorial districts, please ask them to contact their Supervisor.  Here’s a link to a list of communities by District:

http://www.sbcounty.gov/Uploads/BOS/bosdistricts/CountyCommunitiesbyDistrict.pdf

San Bernardino Sun Newspaper

Email:  opinions@inlandnewspapers.com

Hi Desert Star Newspaper
https://hidesertstar-dot-com.bloxcms.com/site/forms/subscription_services/letter/

Riverside Press Enterprise newspaper
http://subscribe.pe.com/submit-letter-to-the-editor

Supervisor Ramos

Email:  SupervisorRamos@sbcounty.gov

Supervisor Lovingoodhttp://www.sbcounty.gov/bosd1/contact/email.aspx

Supervisor Gonzaleshttp://www.sbcounty.gov/bosd5/contact/default.aspx

Supervisor Rutherford

Email:  Supervisorrutherford@sbcounty.gov

Supervisor Ovitthttp://www.sbcounty.gov/BOSD4/contact/Email.aspx

Thanks for whatever you can do.

Live stream the SB County Board of Supervisors Meeting tommorrow

Dear MBCA Members and Supporters:

Many Morongo Basin residents live in unincorporated areas and must rely on communication with the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to express their interests and concerns.  At the Supervisors’ meeting tomorrow, June 4, there are several critical issues on the agenda for Joshua Tree and other unincorporated Morongo Basin communities. 

Here is the news item from KCDZ radio news on June 3 describing the issues of interest: http://www.kcdzfm.com/news/fullstory060313.html#a02

While some concerned residents will be attending the meeting in person in San Bernardino, and some will attend via the video link available at the Government Center in Joshua Tree, we wanted our readers to know that the meetings are broadcast live-stream on the internet, and encourage you to view this important meeting if you can.

Here’s how to view the Board of Supervisors meeting via your computer:

The link to the meeting's live stream will appear about half an hour before the meeting schedule of 10 AM on Tuesday, June 4.

Click this link after 9:30 AM on Tuesday: http://www.sbcounty.gov/main/countydirect.asp

 

Then in the heading of Upcoming Events is the Board of Supervisors Meeting, the date, and then on the right is the link called  "View Event.”

Click that "View Event" link and there you are (hopefully!).

Important hearing on the DRECP next Tuesday, April 16th

Dear MBCA members and supporters:

MBCA has partnered with the National Parks Conservation Association on many issues, and we hope you will consider the following request for support from our local NPCA Field Representative Seth Shteir.   Your appearance at the San Bernardino County Supervisors’ DRECP hearing next Tuesday afternoon would be incredibly helpful if possible.  See details below.

NPCA will also be presenting at this Thursday’s California Desert Coalition (CDC) program about DRECP, at 6:30 PM at the Yucca Valley Community Center.  Hope to see you there.

Thank you,

Board of Directors, MBCA

Dear Friends,

I hope you are enjoying this fantastic spring weather and what one national park biologist has called the best Joshua tree bloom in 25 years!

Perhaps no other issue in the California desert is as important as the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), which seeks to identify the best locations for wind, solar and geothermal renewable energy on 22.5 million acres in seven California counties.  This plan has the potential to profoundly alter our desert landscape and our desert communities.  I’m writing you today to urge your attendance at a critical Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor’s Hearing on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 1:00 PM in San Bernardino. 

Our County Supervisors are influential decision makers in the DRECP plan and they need to hear from you about the value of protecting our desert national parks, public lands, communities and recreational tourism economy.  We are currently organizing people from the Morongo Basin to attend this meeting via vans and carpools.  Please RSVP as soon as possible to sshteir@npca.org.  Once you’ve RSVP’d, I’ll provide information on rides, as well as some key talking points that can help you craft your public comment for the meeting.  Please plan on leaving the Morongo Basin at approximately 10:30am and returning by dinner.  A bag lunch, snacks and a drink are encouraged!

 

Respectfully,

Seth Shteir

Seth Shteir

California Desert Field Representative

National Parks Conservation Association

61325 Twentynine Palms Highway, Suite B

Joshua Tree, CA 92252

760-366-7785- Office

760-332-9776- Cell

No wind towers on the buttes!

Dear MBCA members and supporters:

Late breaking news that we all wanted to hear:  Element Power has asked BLM to terminate its right-of-way grant for wind testing on the Black Lava Butte and Flat Top Mesa, essentially closing the door on its plan to cover the Buttes with wind towers. 

Bravo and thanks to the California Desert Coalition and Save Our Desert, who fought the project together.    

Urgent meeting on the Cadiz Valley Project this Wednesday July 25th

Please join us (MBCA) along with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and other groups to attend the Santa Margarita Water District Board Meeting, to demonstrate our great concern about the “Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery, and Storage Project.”   

This is critical!  The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) on the project will be presented, and we must have many desert residents present to speak publicly about the folly of this project and its harmful effects to “our” Mojave Desert.

The SMWD Board Meeting this Wednesday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. will be held at the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, Sycamore Room, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92692

There will be a teleconference version of the SMWD Board meeting set up at Copper Mountain College (same date and time).  If you cannot join your concerned neighbors and friends and travel to Mission Viejo, please attend the teleconferenced meeting at CMC.  Being at the actual Board meeting intensifies the effect of our intentions to oppose this inappropriate project, but there is also value in an additional large turnout at the College.

A recent article in the LA Times provides a refresher on the issues of the project and the entrance of a new participant in the fight against it, Tetra Technologies, Inc.:  LA Times 

If you would like to access the full FEIR for the project, the link is in about the middle of this page on the SMWD website:Full FEIR

And here is a recent Sun Runner article from Steve Brown: Sunrunner on cadiz

Thank you.  Hope to see many of you in Orange County Wednesday!  

Alert! Native Plant Protection - Joint Yucca Valley Town Council/Planning Commission Study Session

Native Plant Protection will be the only item on the agenda for the joint Yucca Valley Town Council/Planning Commission Study Session on Thursday, October 2, 2008, 6:00 pm, at the Yucca Valley Community Center.

The stated purpose of this meeting is two-fold:

1. Compare and contrast the existing and draft [Native] Plant Protection & Management Ordinances.
2. Based upon Town Council direction, to further define [Native Plant] Design and Development Standards to be included in Section 89.0130 of the Draft Ordinance.
   

Please attend this meeting and make known your views on Native Plant Protection. Without public concern and enforceable ordinances, the wholesale destruction of native plants and wildlife habitat will continue.

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See Grading/Clear-Cutting and Land Use/Development pages on MBCA Website. Additional posts: Yucca Valley, Grading/Clear-Cutting.

Alert! Your help needed NOW! Referendum needs signatures!

The effort to repeal the approval of the Yucca Valley Wal-mart Supercenter by getting a Referendum on the ballot is down to the last few days. We've gotten lots of petition signatures but WE NEED MORE HELP. We need folks to gather signatures and most of all we need registered Yucca Valley voters to "witness" the signature-gathering, as required by law. If you can donate any time at all, please contact MBCA immediately at info@mbconservation.org or call David Fick at 366-9862 or 220-2376.

This is the time to come forward, folks. It's critical that the Town of Yucca Valley be given the message loud and clear that it must follow the law in approving projects and that its citizens will stand for nothing less. If the Town Council is forced to reverse this decision, you can bet they'll be a lot more careful when the next project comes along.

Learn more about the Referendum effort on this previous post and about the Wal-Mart issue on our Website.

Please contact MBCA TODAY and volunteer some hours. The deadline for signatures is THURSDAY; let's not miss our chance by just a few signatures!

It won't happen without you!


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.

Alert! Referendum to Challenge Yucca Valley Approval of the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR

Dear MBCA Members and Friends of CEIYV,

A referendum petition is circulating to challenge the Yucca Valley Town Council's decision to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR. To repeal the Council’s decision, at least one thousand verifiable signatures are required from Yucca Valley registered voters.

The petitions must be delivered to CEIYV by September 12, 2008.

If you are a Yucca Valley registered voter and oppose the Council's decision to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR, we need your help to obtain petition signatures and assist at staff tables located at local grocery stores.

The following is the press release for the referendum:

"The Coalition for Environmental Integrity in Yucca Valley is sponsoring a Referendum Petition against Yucca Valley Ordinance #194, the decision of the Yucca Valley Town Council to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter. This is to undo a done deal by Wal-Mart and the Yucca Valley Town Council.

A successful Referendum Petition will give the Town Council a chance to repeal their decision or submit the decision to the voters of Yucca Valley.

Registered voters within Yucca Valley are given the opportunity to make the Town Council listen and heed their concerns about the Wal-Mart Supercenter and the economic damage it will cause to Yucca Valley.

Petition Circulators will be at a table outside a grocery store near you."

Please share this referendum information with registered voters you know in Yucca Valley and encourage them to sign the petition at a local grocery store before September 11, 2008.

For more information please contact David Fick at 366-9862 or Charla Shamhart at 365-3170 or email MBCA.

Sincerely,

David Fick,
President, MBCA
http://www.mbconservation.org/


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.

Alert! PEIS Scoping deadline Tuesday, July 15

If you want to get in on the ground floor with your concerns about the solar industrialization of the Mojave Desert, the deadline is this Tuesday, July 15, to submit your Scoping comments on the Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Study (PEIS).

At this stage you get to tell the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Energy what kinds of issues you think they should cover when they are evaluating the impacts that blanketing the desert with solar arrays will have on the environment. And don't forget, "the environment" includes desert communities, too!

Morongo Basin Conservation Association has asked that the agencies include in their analysis the alternative of putting rooftop solar on every roof in the "load" areas - the urban areas that will be receiving the electricity generated by the solar facilities - instead of degrading the desert and inefficiently transmitting the power for many miles. We've also asked them to consider the economic losses to desert communities from the destruction of the surrounding open space and viewshed that attracts tourists, recreationists, retirees, cyberworkers, film crews, etc., to our communities and supports our economies. We support solar, but to demand sacrifices only from the desert and not the load areas is not fair!

You can read MBCA's full comments on our Website here.

You can learn where and how to submit your own comments here.

Defenders of Wildlife also has an electronic message that you can personalize easily; view it here.

The PEIS process may be the only chance you get to give your opinion on the idea of the solar industrialization of the Mojave. Make your voice heard!



MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts: Energy.

Alert! Stadum Project Appeal Tuesday, July 8!

Note: This is the hearing that had to be postponed on June 25 because the Wal-Mart Supercenter hearing went so late. The Stadum Project ("Yucca Valley Homes") is for 90 homes on 60 acres and would include mass grading. - ChrisC.

Greetings Members and Friends of MBCA,

The Yucca Valley Town Council is considering the "appealed" Yucca Valley Homes LLC (Stadum Project) that was denied by the Planning Commission on recommendation of Town Planning staff.

The applicant had three chances to present alternatives to mass grading of the two twenty-acre parcels at Acoma Drive and Joshua Lane. They basically told the Planning Commission to "take it or leave it". The Planning Commission denied it.

The Town Council had a special meeting about "Rural", "Lot sizes" and "Mass Grading" on May 15th. There were more than three hundred people there and by the show of hands in support of statements made, about 90% present were in support of stopping "mass grading".

Bob Stadum and Philip Fomotor didn't want to take notice of this local uprising, and we don't know if all members of the Town Council did either.

A test of the Native Plant Ordinance "as is" is coming to the Yucca Valley Town Council on Tuesday, July 8th, at 6:00 pm. Please attend this meeting if possible and make your concerns known to the Yucca Valley Town Council.

Sincerely,

David Fick,
President, MBCA


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See Grading/Clear-Cutting pages on MBCA Website. Additional posts: Yucca Valley, Grading.

Alert! Wal-Mart Special Meeting Wednesday, not Thursday!

Dear neighbors,

Next Wednesday's special Town Council meeting may be your last chance to be heard on two controversial proposals in Yucca Valley: the new Wal-Mart Supercenter and the Yucca Valley Homes (Stadum) project.

IMPORTANT: The special meeting on both these projects is WEDNESDAY, June 25 - NOT THURSDAY, as noted incorrectly in the Saturday Hi-Desert Star. The Council may vote on these projects at that meeting and will be hearing the public. Please plan to attend, and make sure your friends and neighbors know the CORRECT DAY!

MBCA is working on arranging a screening of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" before Wednesday's meeting. Look for an announcement soon.

To learn more about the Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal, we send you to the following resources on the MBCA Website and blog:

• President David Fick's Guest Soapbox from the Hi-Desert Star, June 14.
• The documents that stopped the Council from voting on the Wal-Mart proposal last month, including reports and analyses of the project in terms of crime, urban decay, traffic, etc., are linked from the MBCA Website here. Of particular importance is Dr. Philip King's report on the impacts SWM could have on other retail outlets in Yucca Valley.
• Follow posts about the Wal-Mart proposal on this blog. Note particularly "Abandoned Malls, Suburban Blight" by Stacy Mitchell.
• You can also find out more about Wal-Mart's practices and impacts on communities at http://walmartwatch.com/.

The Yucca Valley Homes (Stadum) proposal is for 90 homes on 60 acres and would include mass grading. The proposal was rejected by the Planning Commission and is now being appealed to the Town Council.

Wednesday's meeting is at 6 pm at the Yucca Valley Community Center. A huge showing is needed to convince the Council that the time for business as usual has passed in Yucca Valley. Be there!

Sincerely,

David Fick
President, Morongo Basin Conservation Association

Deadline on Big Solar scoping NOW!

Scoping meetings for an environmental review of the impacts of the blitz of industrial solar energy projects proposed for the Mojave and other desert areas have been announced for next week by the Bureau of Land Management. Your input is needed!

This is your chance to ask why General Electric, Goldman Sachs, and the big utilities should be allowed to obliterate the desert in order to sell energy to the urban areas instead of putting decentralized solar on all the rooftops we already have.

As noted previously on this blog, the BLM, in cooperation with the Department of Energy, is developing the Solar Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). According to the Sacramento Business Journal:

The BLM, now faced with at least 130 proposals to build solar and other renewable energy projects in California's deserts, has stopped accepting new right-of-way applications for solar projects until it completes [the PEIS].

The PEIS will help balance the rising demand to tap renewable energy resources in California's arid areas while maintaining desert land as habitat for plants and animals. The BLM said "measures adopted as a result of the PEIS will provide consistency and certainty for solar energy development and will help expedite environmental analysis for site specific projects in the future."

California meetings will include Riverside on Monday, June 16; Barstow on Tuesday, June 17; and Sacramento on Thursday, June 19. You may also submit written comments by Sunday, June 15. [CORRECTION: WRITTEN COMMENT DEADLINE IS JULY 15, NOT JUNE 15.] More details on the BLM news release.

In-depth information on the program and the scoping process can be viewed at the Solar Energy Development PEIS Information Center.

The push of Big Solar into the Mojave has every potential to completely transform the desert in which we live. It's important that the survival of our way of life and of the many creatures who live here be considered. Don't count on the BLM to "maintain habitat." Make your voice heard!

ERRATA: Written comment deadline is JULY 15, not June 15. Apologies.

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts: Energy.

Yucca Valley Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR Challenged

The Yucca Valley Town Council met on Thursday, May 22, 2008 to consider approval of the Wal-Mart Supercenter Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Approximately 300 people attended the Council meeting, 205 submitted Request to Speak forms, and 42 spoke during the Public Hearing session. The final tally: 123 voted NO (60%) and 82 voted YES (40%).

Many of the YES votes were Wal-Mart employees who vigorously supported Wal-Mart, claiming good wages, benefits and working conditions.

Wal-Mart’s PowerPoint presentation included architectural renditions of the proposed Supercenter building and grounds, commentary on Wal-Mart’s supposed benefits to the community, etc.

The Town Council vote was postponed until June 25 because of two late submissions challenging the assumptions of the EIR. The submissions were from Mathew D. Vespa, Esq. and Jonathan Evans, Esq., of The Center for Biological Diversity and from John McClendon, Esq., of the environmental firm Leibold McClendon & Mann, P.C.

The challenges are comprehensive and authoritative and dismantle some of the underlying assumptions of the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR.

Note especially Philip King Ph.D. Memo to YV re EIR where Dr. King concludes, “Yucca Valley has a surplus of retail space, and the Supercenter will exacerbate this surplus, leading to significant and substantial urban decay”.

All of the McClendon submissions may be viewed on the MBCA Website here. You are encouraged to read them for yourself.

For more background on the Yucca Valley Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal see previous blog posts on this topic.

For more information on Wal-Mart in general, go to Wal-Mart Watch.

Next Town Council hearing on the proposal: Wednesday, June 25, at 6 p.m. in the Yucca Room of the Community Center. Public is encouraged to attend.

Yucca Valley Town Council Votes on Wal-Mart Environmental Impact Report (EIR) - May 22, 2008

Dear MBCA Members and Friends,

Please attend the Yucca Valley Town Council meeting on Thursday, May 22, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. when the Town Council votes on the Wal-Mart Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Conservationists fault the EIR for being incomplete, out-of-date and subjecting local businesses to ruin.

In addition, big-box stores like Wal-Mart are contrary to the Town General Plan that specifies the protection of the Town's rural character.

Please attend this meeting and let your voice be heard.

For more information:

Categories: WalMart, Yucca Valley

Yucca Valley Town Council Agenda 5/22/08: http://www.yucca-valley.org/pdf/mam/Town_Council/Agendas/2008/2008_05_22_towncouncil_agenda.pdf
(Note: download time for dialup is about 45 minutes)

Hi-Desert Star Article 5/21/08: http://www.hidesertstar.com/articles/2008/05/21/news/news3.txt

Wal-Mart Watch: http://www.walmartwatch.com/

Sincerely,

David Fick
MBCA President

Yucca Valley Grading - Special Town Council Meeting

Dear MBCA Members and Friends,

The Mayor of Yucca Valley has called a special meeting of the Town Council on Thursday, May 15, 2008, at the Yucca Valley Senior Center, at 7:30 p.m. Below is a copy of the meeting agenda.

The purpose of this historic meeting is to discuss clear-cutting (mass grading) of development sites in Yucca Valley.

In addition, Residential Minimum Lot Size will be discussed as it relates to spot (footprint) grading instead of clear-cutting.

Clear-cutting is contrary to the Town General Plan that specifies the protection of the Town's rural character.

Clear-cutting destroys every living thing on the land, exposes it to water and wind erosion and diminishes the ability of the land to retain water.

Please attend this meeting and let your voice be heard.

Sincerely,

David Fick
MBCA President

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT:

N O T I C E A ND C A L L O F S P E C I A L M E E T I N G

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as provided by Government Code of the State of California Section 54956 that Mayor Robert Leone called a Special Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Yucca Valley, for Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Senior Center, 57088 Twentynine Palms Highway, Yucca Valley, California, for the below stated purpose.

AGENDA

(Action may be taken on any of the items listed below)

ROLL CALL: Council Members Herbel, Luckino, Mayes, Neeb and Mayor Leone.

1. Discussion regarding Grading

2. Discussion regarding Residential Minimum Lot Size.

3. Closed Session per Government Code Section 54957, Public Employee Performance Evaluation. (Town Manger)



______________________________

Janet M. Anderson,
Town Clerk of the Town of Yucca Valley
DATED: May 13, 2008


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See Grading/Clear-Cutting and Land Use/Development pages on MBCA Website. Additional posts: Yucca Valley, Grading.