Yucca Valley files application to annex Yucca Mesa

According to the Stop Yucca Mesa Annexation Coalition, the Town of Yucca Valley has filed its application to annex Yucca Mesa to its sphere of influence. The Coalition has released the following Bulletin:

The Town delivered the application for the Sphere of Influence Municipal Services Review for Yucca Mesa this morning to LAFCO. LAFCO will be reviewing it in_house for preparation for circulation. The Stop Yucca Mesa Coalition will receive a copy of that Notice of Commencement of the MSR when it is available.

The Stop Yucca Mesa Annexation Coalition has ordered a duplicate of the documents submitted to LAFCO from the Town of Yucca Valley. As soon as it is available, the documents will be reviewed thoroughly and an analysis will be made, including any pre-zoning. The Coalition will be advised of our findings via a Newsletter and the website.

The next step major in this process will be the Hearing. As soon as we have a date for the Hearing in San Bernardino, posters at strategic positions along well traveled roads will be posted, along with e-mails, and a Newsletter will be mailed to all on our mailing list. Of course, Mesa Market will continue to have copies of all Newsletters and Bulletins available for all. In addition, feel free to contact us at 760-219-7924 for information.

Please remain vigilant. It will be IMPERATIVE THAT EVERYONE ATTEND THE HEARING to oppose Yucca Valley’s "land grab." As soon as the date is known, notices will be sent out.

Yucca Mesa is a special place to us all ... It is our home. It will be up to each individual person to protect our beautiful Mesa.

Find out more at the Coalition Website.


MORE INFO ON THESE TOPICS: On the Land Use/Development, Communities, and Water pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Yucca Mesa, Flamingo Heights, Homestead Valley, Water.

Stop Yucca Mesa Annexation Coalition

In response to an attempt by the Town of Yucca Valley to annex Yucca Mesa into its sphere of influence, residents have formed the Stop Yucca Mesa Annexation Coalition.

What the Coalition foresees if the annexation goes forward:

Yucca Mesa as we know it will cease to exist. The Town of Yucca Valley may choose and LAFCO may require the Town to prezone Yucca Mesa, which could include industrialization and tract homes on small lots. Prezoning is advantageous to the Town which would be effective immediately upon annexation and would be consistent with the Town's General Plan. There would be no distinction between Yucca Valley and Yucca Mesa. Dirt roads would be replaced with asphalt roads at the residents' expense. Street lighting, signs, and traffic signals would be installed. Sewers connecting to Yucca Valley's new Waste Treatment Plant could be required with the expense imposed upon Yucca Mesa residents. The keeping of horses and farm animals would no longer be allowed.

The Coalition responds to a recent "Chicken Little" broadcast on KCDZ here.

The Coalition Website is here. Read more about the annexation attempt and response, as well as the LAFCO process, on these MBCA blog posts.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Land Use/Development and Communities pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Yucca Mesa, Yucca Valley.

Yucca Mesa strikes back

The citizens of Yucca Mesa are responding to a preliminary annexation effort by the Town of Yucca Valley with a stiff campaign of opposition.

A preemptive strike is being mounted against the Town of Yucca Valley by the unincorporated community of Yucca Mesa. Reacting to the Town Council’s decision to file applications with the county Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to expand its sphere of influence, citizens of the Mesa are filing petitions to LAFCO in opposition.

The petition states: “We the landowners and voters of Yucca Mesa oppose the application for sphere of influence expansion by the Town of Yucca Valley. We urge the Local Agency Formation Commission for San Bernardino County to deny the Town of Yucca Valley’s application for sphere of influence expansion.”

"We don’t trust them,” contended Cliff Carlson, vice president of the Yucca Mesa Improvement Association. “We don’t want them to come over and assume jurisdiction over us. We want our government on the other side of the mountain.”

Read more in the Hi-Desert Star.

For more background and links on this issue, see this previous post.


MORE INFO ON THESE TOPICS: On the Land Use/Development, Communities, and Water pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Yucca Mesa, Water.

Homestead Valley takes actions

According to Maryan Barkley's "The Hilltopper" column in the Oct. 25 print edition of the Hi-Desert Star, the Homestead Valley Community Council took action recently on three controversial items:

• They will welcome the developer of the Flamingo Heights Ranch proposal (243 homes) to build if he adheres to the Rural Living Plan adopted by San Bernardino County (view pdf), which means no more than one house per 2-1/2 acres.
• They "took a stand against the possible annexation of Yucca Mesa by the Town of Yucca Valley" and are gathering signatures to forward to LAFCO. (Read more about the annexation attempt and LAFCO in this post.)
• They "lined up against the requested rate increases by Bighorn-Desert View Water."

MORE INFO ON THESE TOPICS: On the Land Use/Development, Communities, and Water pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Yucca Mesa, Flamingo Heights, Homestead Valley, Water.

Yucca Mesa to be annexed to Yucca Valley?

The Hi-Desert Star reports that the Town of Yucca Valley is filing an application to annex Yucca Mesa into its "sphere of influence".

Though this is not a physical annexation, and it will not change any of the ways that services are provided by San Bernardino County to the unincorporated community, it does qualify as the first step toward annexation.

The draft review posed two questions: Does the Town have the capacity to extend its municipal services to adjacent unincorporated areas, and would the level and quality of the Town’s services be an improvement for said areas? [Stanley R.] Hoffman Associates found the answer to each question to be “an unequivocal yes.”

But does the Mesa agree? At the Town Council’s meeting, Jim Sammons of the Yucca Mesa Improvement Association told the council, “We don’t want to be involved with the Town if we can help it.”

Of particular note is that this move would shadow the boundaries of the Hi-Desert Water District, of which "the town has considered becoming the governing body...[although for the Hoffman] study it is assumed to remain as an independent district.”

The agency that governs annexations is LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission). Read more about the history of LAFCO and the State laws that govern it on the San Bernardino County LAFCO Website here. Importantly, annexation proposals ARE subject to CEQA, the California Environmental Equality Act. (Learn more about CEQA and how citizens may use this process on the MBCA Website here.)

The process for protesting an annexation proposal is briefly described on the SBco LAFCO FAQ page, including:

For inhabited areas (areas containing twelve or more registered voters), state law indicates that if written protest is filed by 25% to 50% of the registered voters, or any amount greater than 25% of the landowners, then an election is called, and the annexation would be scheduled for a vote. If the protest is less than 25% of the voters or landowners, then the annexation is approved without an election; if the protest is greater than 50% of the total registered voters, then the annexation is denied without an election.

So what does "sphere of influence" mean, specifically? In the LAFCO context, it is "a plan for the probable physical boundaries and service area of a local government agency" and "is an important benchmark because it defines the primary area within which urban development is to be encouraged", according to this section of an extensive guide to "LAFCO's, General Plans, and City Annexations" on the Governor's Office of Planning and Research Website.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Land Use/Development, Communities, and Water pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Yucca Mesa, Yucca Valley, YV water/waste/sewage.

Residents question Flamingo Heights Ranch development

Residents from Homestead Valley, Flamingo Heights, and Yucca Mesa community associations met recently to hear a presentation from representatives of the proposed Flamingo Heights Ranch development to build 243 homes on 640 acres. According to the Hi-Desert Star:

A tentative tract map of October 2007 shows the sprawling project straddling the Pipes Wash, Flamingo Heights and Yucca Mesa in a square mile bordered by Old Woman Springs Road on the west, Sage Avenue to the east, La Brisa Drive to the south and Luna Vista Lane to the north.

Issues of particular concern for residents include downzoning of lot size (from 2.5 acres to 1 acre) and impacts of sewage on groundwater.

Representatives of both the Yucca Mesa Improvement Association and the Homestead Valley Community Council announced their groups would oppose the project as planned.

Jim Sammons [of YMIA] declared, “We worked two years with the Bruce Davis and the county Board of Supervisors on a Desert General Plan to maintain the rural lifestyle. The consensus is that we don’t want downsized zones.”

The Homestead Valley Special Community Plan that Sammons references may be viewed here (pdf). Read the rest of the Hi-Desert Star account of the meeting here.

Learn more about the community planning process and how you can take part on our Website.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Land Use/Development and Communities pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Flamingo Heights, Yucca Mesa.

Yucca Mesa Improvement Association

Yucca Mesa Improvement Association reminds us in a letter this week to the Hi-Desert Star that it's an historic organization with strong roots and a history of working together for the good of the community:

YMIA once had a membership of over 600 people. These people were instrumental in bringing services to the Mesa area, including water, phone, electrical, mail, TV and fire service, to name a few.

[snip]

The Yucca Mesa Improvement Association is a member of the Homestead Valley Community council, a group which is politically influential with the county government specific to the entire area north of Yucca Valley, including Flamingo Heights, Landers and Johnson Valley.

The Association needs support and participation or is in danger of folding. Find out more on their friendly Website at YuccaMesa.org.