"Katz-Funded Group Attacks JT Water Candidates"

The following press release was issued by Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group (JTDOG):

Katz-Funded Group Attacks JT Water Candidates
Big Money Brings Ugly Campaign Tactics To Local Race

KB Construction of Warrington, PA, owned by the family of developer Steven Katz, has contributed a total of $7,500 since June to a group called Taxpayers For Good Government, according to information posted on the California Secretary of State website. The group, which is based in Pomona, is a registered Political Action Committee heavily funded by developers and builders, and active in San Bernardino County politics.

Days after receiving the latest donation from KB in September, the group registered an Internet domain and subsequently launched a website devoted to personal attacks on Michael Luhrs and Iona Chellette, two candidates for Joshua Basin Water District board seats. The two have made their opposition to Katz’s proposed 2,700-home development in Joshua Tree central to their campaign.

The professionally designed website is registered anonymously, but credits Taxpayers For Good Government as its sponsor, listing a Joshua Tree PO Box. Using a Halloween theme to make its point, the website portrays the candidates in ghoulish fashion and urges voters to “be very afraid”. The site does not discuss issues, but rather levels personal attacks, claiming the two “have set their sights on gaining control” of the Water District. While not supporting any candidate, the website urges voters to “Vote No” on Luhrs and Chellette. In fact, voting “no” is not an option in this race, which allows only votes in support of candidates. There are four seats up for grabs.

A mailer using the same graphics as the website has been received by many Joshua Tree voters.

Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group (JTDOG) does not endorse any candidates, but strongly condemns this injection of ugly negativity into the race. JTDOG calls on all candidates to condemn the action of Taxpayers For Good Government.

“This ugly campaign is the work of a special interest group exercising its influence in the worst possible way,” said George Kopp, president of JTDOG. “Thanks to California’s campaign disclosure laws, it is easy for anyone to ‘follow the money’ and see who is funding Taxpayers for
Good Government.”

In its role as an oversight group, JTDOG feels it is vital that the community knows what role Steven Katz’s money is playing in our water board election. While all the candidates have categorically denied taking contributions from Katz, he has nonetheless found a way to inject his influence. This is not Katz’s first contribution to this PAC. According to election filings, in 2006 KB Construction donated $25,000 to Taxpayers For Good Government. Another contributor that year was Wal-Mart, which donated $39,000.

You may learn more about the candidates for the Joshua Basin Water District Board in their own words on MBCA's 2008 Candidates Virtual Forum.

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Land Use/Development and Joshua Tree Community pages of the MBCA Website. View previous blog posts: Joshua Tree, Katz Development/Section 33.

JT DOG fundraiser a success

The JT DOG (Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group) fundraiser last week brought out 150 supporters. The fundraiser featured the film "The Unforeseen", about the attempt to build a giant housing development in Texas. Per the Hi-Desert Star:

The cinematic retelling of a mobilized citizen base protecting a natural resource resonated with the 150 attendees.

JT DOG hopes the same story can be told about Joshua Tree. The group formed this summer, according to a news release, to mobilize the community to participate in decisions about land use.

The group’s specific focus is the proposed Joshua Tree Villas, 2,700 homes on a square mile of Joshua tree forest at the corner of La Contenta and Twentynine Palms Highway.

The community is looking at ways to have more control over development.

While an incorporated entity like Yucca Valley has local governance to handle development issues through its Planning Commission and Town Council, Joshua Tree is unincorporated and directly under the jurisdiction of San Bernardino County.

The citizens have a Municipal Advisory Committee, but it does not have the authority to take legal action or issue mandates. This means a developer like Katz could work solely with the county through the development process.

Last week, the district’s newly elected supervisor, Neil Derry, speaking at a MAC meeting, said it would be wise for Joshua Tree to create it own specific plan as an amendment to the county’s General Plan. If approved by a majority of the county Board of Supervisors, it would give the community more control of land use and building standards.

For now, the DOGs are growing their base through donations and volunteers.

The community knows its in it for the long haul, that it’s “a marathon, not a sprint,” said [JT DOG member] Bonnie Kopp.

Read more in the Hi-Desert Star.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Land Use/Development and Joshua Tree Community pages of the MBCA Website. View previous blog posts: Joshua Tree, Katz Development/Section 33.

JTDOG fundraiser Tuesday night

JTDOG is having its first fundraiser this Tuesday, and you're invited!

Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group, which is watch-dogging the Katz development, will screen the award-winning documentary, The Unforeseen. From the film Website:

An ambitious west Texas farm boy with grandiose plans tires of living at the mercy of nature and sets out to find a life with more control. He heads to Austin where he becomes a real estate developer and skillfully capitalizes on the growth of this 1970s boomtown. At the peak of his powers, he transforms 4,000 acres of pristine Hill Country into one of the state’s largest and fastest selling subdivisions. When the development threatens a local treasure, a fragile limestone aquifer and a naturally spring-fed swimming hole, the community fights back. In the conflict that ensues, we see in miniature a struggle that today plays out in communities across the country.

You can watch an online trailer of the movie here.

Volunteers to help with the fundraiser are needed; contact JTDOG at their Website.

Tuesday, September 23, at 6 p.m. Donation: $10. Cocktail reception: 6:00-7:15 (cash bar). Welcoming Remarks: 7:15-7:30. Screening: 7:30-9:30. Joshua Tree Retreat Center (Mentalphysics), 59700 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA 92252.


FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Land Use/Development and Joshua Tree Community pages of the MBCA Website. View previous blog posts: Joshua Tree, Katz Development/Section 33.

New JTDOG keeping herd on Katz

The following press release was issued by a new organization formed to keep an eye on development in Joshua Tree:

JT Residents Establish Land Use Watchdog Organization

Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group (JTDOG) Eyes Katz Project

Joshua Tree, August 26, 2008 -- In response to widespread community concerns over a proposed large-scale housing development in Joshua Tree, residents have joined together to form the Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group, Inc. (JTDOG). According to its core founders, JTDOG will educate and inform the public on land use issues, and mobilize the community to participate in the process from an early stage.

"The formation of JTDOG is a direct result of the community's outspoken opposition to the proposed Katz project," said downtown Joshua Tree business owner George Kopp, one of JTDOG's founding officers. "Over 300 residents showed up at the public meeting last March, and not one spoke in favor of this project. Putting 2,700 homes on a square mile of pristine land, and causing the destruction of over 10,000 Joshua trees, is unacceptable to our community, and contrary to the Community Plan."

Kopp stressed that the Katz project, dubbed Joshua Tree Villas, is by no means a done deal, and that organized community opposition could derail it. "There is a mistaken assumption that because Katz's land is zoned for 2,700 homes, he can build whatever he wants," Kopp said. "In fact, he has many hurdles to surmount, and it will be years before he can put a shovel in the ground. Now is the time for the community to get involved."

To assure that the permitting process is followed properly, JTDOG will closely monitor government entities, including the Board of Supervisors, county planners, the Dept. of Building and Safety, and the Joshua Basin Water District. JTDOG will keep the public informed of open meetings and other opportunities for public participation and comment. "So far, the developer has dominated the conversation with county agencies," Kopp said. "The community is entitled to have its say."

JTDOG will hold its first fundraiser, a screening of the award-winning documentary, "The Unforeseen", on September 23rd at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center (formerly Mentalphysics), directly across the highway from the proposed housing project. "The Unforeseen" relates the saga of a mega housing development in Austin, Texas, and its unforeseen impacts on the community. JTDOG, Inc. is a non-profit California corporation, and has applied for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)3 of the tax code. More information is available online at http://www.jtdog.org/ .

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Land Use/Development pages of the MBCA Website. View previous blog posts Joshua Tree, Katz Development/Section 33.

Prepare to be spun

The Joshua Tree Villas project proposed by Katz Development in Joshua Tree would put 2800 homes as well as retail facilities on a pristine square mile of Joshua tree forest at Section 33, opposite Mentalphysics and bordering Yucca Valley at La Contenta. Not surprisingly, the proposal has been provoking strong community opposition, and we've been informed that now Katz Development has hired professional PR firm GCA Strategies to spin troublesome residents into complaisance.

According to the GCA Strategies Website:

GCA Strategies is America’s top public affairs firm when it comes to overcoming NIMBY opposition to and mobilizing community support for real estate proposals. We’ve written the book on land use public relations – books like “Winning Community Support for Land Use Projects” and “Making Community Meetings Work.” We provide our clients with overall entitlement strategies, community relations plans, agency advocacy plans, public opinion polling, and hostile audience and communication training.

Look out, neighbors: The out-of-state developers are "entitled", and we're "hostile NIMBYs." Feeling dizzy yet?