YVPC passes plant permits back to town and struggles with state’s handling of Western Joshua Trees

Native plants covered the agenda at Tuesday night’s Yucca Valley Planning Commission. First up was a short update on Assembly Bill 1089 which would have amended the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act with some changes that would have streamlined approvals for commercial and industrial projects that need to remove a Western Joshua Tree. It would have also allowed for the removal of Joshua Trees within 100 feet of a house in a high fire-hazard zone. Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill, saying it undermined the original act.

As this was just an update on a bill that is no longer moving forward, the only thing the Planning Commission could do is file the report and express their frustrations with the Governor’s veto.

Native Plant Permits

The commission then took a look at the native plant permit review process. Normally these are passed by the Planning Commission through the consent agenda. However, as most of those native plant permits aren’t changing anything in the landscape, it adds time and bureaucratic layers to projects, according to Associate Town Planner Jared Jerome.

He stated that “Our recommendation is for those applications that don’t have any removals, no transplants, no trims, that we keep those at the staff level, both to remove some burden from the Planning Commission agenda, but also to streamline the permitting process for those people getting pools, garages, et cetera, so they don’t have to wait two to four weeks to get their permit issued for that approval that is essentially for nothing, to be frank.”

The commission agreed and passed the recommendation, saying it would streamline the process for residents. 

Land Development Report

Jerome then updated the commission with the land development report. 

Commissioner Mathew Thomas asked about Star Cafe, but town staff said not much has happened with the project with only one interior wall being inspected.

Starbucks had previously planned to break ground in September, however recent shakeups with the corporation may have stalled that as well. Commissioner Gerard Noonan offered some insight.

“I’ve heard that they’re shrinking a lot of their consolidating locations. I met a guy in L.A. that said that he lost two Starbucks from property that he had. He’s trying to re-rent them out, and (Starbucks) is paying rent and not building. So that means it’s easier for them to just pay rent than operate a business in the spaces right now, and that’s why they’re shrinking, which is an interesting state of affairs for California,” the commissioner said.

Wal-Mart, Sun Mesa Mini Storage and Dutch Bros are all currently going through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process. 

Closing Comments

For closing comments, the commission again shared their frustration with the vetoed AB1089 and the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act. Commissioner James Henderson expressed his disappointment with the state government, saying “what comes out of Sacramento and the governor’s directives are disappointing for our town. It really, truly is. It’s a financial kick to an area that doesn’t deserve to be financially kicked.”

Commissioner Mathew Thomas says that the city should sue the state and force them to show the science behind the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, which he says the discovery process would show that there isn’t any science behind the law. He said “I think that’s the only way we’re going to get this thing through and get it done because they’re just going to keep taking the money, and that’s all it is. It’s just a big money grab. It has nothing to do with the trees.”

Chair Alejandro Vasconcelos thanked town staff for an efficient meeting and closed the meeting with his own comments, saying “I’ve lived in this community my whole life, 46 years. I love the landscaping. I love the Joshua trees. I love everything about it, but to put a financial burden on a low-income community is just, it’s really sad. This is definitely something that could kill communities.”

The Next Yucca Valley Planning Commission takes place on Tuesday, October 28th.

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