After about five hours of presentations by Land Use Services, the developers representatives and in person public comments, made by about 47(!) concerned citizens, at the March 23, 2023 San Bernardino County Planning Commission meeting considering the Wonder Inn Hotel/Development proposal, the Planning Commission voted unanimously (four “yes” votes on the motion, with one of them not present at the meeting) to DENY the project from going forward.

The developers can choose to appeal this decision to the Board Of Supervisors. If they don’t file an appeal then the project would not go forward.

This is an incredible outcome for protecting Wonder Valley’s unique and special character and for protecting the desert from damaging development projects. This was the right decision which we have all worked so hard for!

(You can view the meeting here. Planning Commission final deliberation and vote at 5:34:45 timestamp.)

The Stop Wonder Inn Project working group has endeavored over the past year+ to learn about the proposal, communicate the details of it, create awareness of County filings (the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and Staff Report), and to provide tools for people who have been concerned about this inappropriate and environmentally damaging proposal, so we could all remain informed and express our views to County decision makers. Over that time 500+ comments were made in opposition to the County.

This was an amazing and effective show of community concern. We are grateful for all of the people who submitted comments and especially all those who spoke, in person, at this meeting, in such a reasoned and passionate way.

We will post more as we learn if the developers will appeal this decision or not. If they do file an appeal we will continue to work, and inform you about that, so we can assure this development does not take place.

UPDATE: Here is the official posting of the denial action.

The County Planning Commission will consider approval of the Wonder Inn Hotel/Resort Project this Thursday, March 23, at 9 am.  

If we want to stop this proposal, it is important that we show up and be heard!

County Land Use Services issued its Staff Report last Friday and recommended APPROVAL of the Wonder Inn proposal. Yes, they did –  blowing off almost every argument this community made, in a stunning abdication of responsible planning.  And – no surprise – the developers’ response to our comments is a study in misdirection, misrepresentation, irrelevance, and dismissal. 

So what do we do now?  We show up! We speak directly to the Planning Commissioners in defense of our community, and tell them why this project must be rejected or, at a minimum, properly evaluated with an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).  

Is it possible to sway the Commissioners when the LUS Staff Report recommended approval?  There’s no guarantee, but remember that just two weeks ago the Flamingo Heights 640 Glamping Proposal was rejected by this same Planning Commission, despite a Staff recommendation for approval.  Let’s see if we can repeat the success of our neighbors in Homestead Valley!

We have a helpful guide with all the details and what to expect that day, plus tips for commenting that we recommend you look over.  You can participate via satellite link from the Bob Burke Government Center in Joshua Tree, or attend the hearing in person in San Bernardino.  Also, if you want ideas on what to say or ways to say it, you’ll find both information and inspiration here.  

It is important that as many people as possible show up, so please alert your friends and neighbors, and if you’re on Facebook share the Event page.  If you want, wear your Stop Wonder Inn button; we’ll also have some stickers and buttons on hand.   

Finally, a special thank you to everyone who has volunteered to read text prepared by our team during their comment time, and we could use just a few more people.  So if you would like to help read text to make sure all the critical issues are covered and the Commissioners are fully informed on what’s at stake, contact us asap. Thanks!

The Staff Report is a sad affair, but there’s one thing in it that is beautiful:  the accounting of every one of the 372 comments you sent in opposition to the Project.  (By the way, received in support?  Nine.)  This community weighed in over these past few months, and must do so again on Thursday, March 23, 9 am at the Bob Burke Government Center, ready to fight for Wonder Valley!

See you there!

The County Staff Report has been issued, and County Staff is recommending approval of the Wonder Inn Hotel/Resort Project.  Quote:

RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning Commission RECOMMEND that the Board of Supervisors:

1. ADOPT the Mitigated Negative Declaration (Exhibit A) and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (Exhibit B);

2. ADOPT the recommended Findings for approval of the Project (Exhibit H);

3. ADOPT the Policy Plan Amendment from Rural Living (RL) to Commercial (C) on 21.22 acres;

4. ADOPT the Zoning Amendment from Rural Living, 5-acre minimum lot size (RL-5) to Service Commercial (CS) on 21.22 acres;

5. APPROVE the Conditional Use Permit to construct and operate a hotel with the conversion of an existing 4,226 square foot office building to a restaurant/lobby, the construction of 106 guest rooms, a 5,031 square foot conference room, a 4,666 square foot wellness center and ancillary structures on a 24.4-acre site, subject to the Conditions of Approval (Exhibit E); and

6. DIRECT the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to file the Notice of Determination (Exhibit I). 

Obviously, we don’t agree!  Once we have fully digested the contents of the report, we’ll have more to say.  Stay tuned. 

The Staff Recommendation makes it more critical than ever that you show up at the Planning Commission hearing on Thursday, March 23, at 9 a.m.  The County and the Wonder Inn developers need to hear from YOU.  Recommendation:  DENY the Wonder Inn Project!

Planning on attending the hearing of the Wonder Inn Project before the County Planning Commission this Thursday, March 23?  Want to know how to prepare?  Here’s Gina’s Guide on how to make it easy and make it count.

The Planning Commission Hearing is held in San Bernardino at the Government Center, and you can attend there if you want.  However, you don’t have to go all that way to take part:  a satellite hook-up along with tech support will be made available to us at our Bob Burke Government Center in Joshua Tree:

Bob Burke Government Center
63665 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree / 760-366-2471
(When you turn east into the parking lot off of Whitefeather Rd, head all the way to the last building on the right. There is plenty of parking.)

The hearing begins at 9 a.m. but we recommend you get there 15 minutes early so you have time to fill out your comment request slips and read over the agenda and staff report that will be available to you.

What to bring?

• Your Comment – If you will be making a public comment, it’s recommended you have your comments typed or written out and be sure your substantial points can be expressed within the 3-minute time period you are allotted – they will cut you off at 3 minutes.
• Pen or pencil.
• A reusable water bottle and perhaps a granola bar or small snack.

Other things to note:

• Public restrooms are available.
• If you are unable to attend the hearing in person it will be available via livestream (we will update with the link when it becomes available).  Also, it will be recorded and available for viewing a couple of hours after the hearing ends.
• Also, if you’re not there you can still send in a comment via the Planning Commission webpage during the hearing. You will need the agenda # and your comment is limited to 250 words, so you may want to have that prepped beforehand.  Important:  It must be submitted prior to the end of the hearing. 
• The main Planning Commission webpage is here.

Ultimately, the most important thing is to show up, and to speak from the heart. If you want ideas on what to say or ways to say it, you’ll find both information and inspiration here.  

Special request:  We need some folks who are willing to use their comment time to read text prepared by our Stop Wonder Inn team to specifically address certain issues.  If you’d like to help in this way, please contact us asap. This will ensure all the critical issues are covered and the Commissioners are fully informed on what’s at stake.  And thanks to everyone who’s volunteered so far!

Planning to be at the Planning Commission hearing next Thursday, March 23?  Not sure what you’re going to say in your three minutes?  Maybe this will help you get started:  We’ve put together summaries on the many aspects of the Wonder Inn Project where we have concerns, and probably you do, too. On our new Our Concerns page you can find ideas, inspiration, and cold hard facts. 

Are you concerned about the impact on our water supply and wells?  We have some of the particulars in our Hydrology section.  How about the night skies?  Are we doomed to lose our view of the stars?  In our Aesthetics section you can find out what County Policy has to say about protecting our skies, so you can remind the Commissioners.  And speaking of County Policy, our Land Use and Zoning section has chapter and verse on how an out-of-scale commercial project like the Wonder Inn is counter to Countywide Plan Policy and Principles.  

You’ll also find sections on Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Energy, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gases, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Transportation, Utilities, and Wildfire.  Plus, we have summaries on the Wonder Valley Community Setting, Environmental Justice, and Piecemealing, which addresses the undisclosed plan to build 24 luxury villas on land surrounding the Wonder Inn. All together, you’ll find plenty of information to arm and inspire you. 

But do you have to get into the weeds to be effective at the hearing?  Absolutely not.  There’s only two things you really have to do to make a difference:

1. Show up.
2. Speak from the heart.

One last thing:  If you want to help our team here at Stop Wonder Inn make sure all critical points get presented to the Commissioners, we need volunteers to read specific comments we have prepared.  If you’re interested in helping out, shoot us an email.  Thanks!

In this video we’ve tried to give the visual for the expansiveness, low density, and simple, wild, and unique character of Wonder Valley, and contrast it with the size and impact of the Wonder Inn Hotel/Resort proposal.  We hope the Planning Commissioners will see this and understand why the Wonder Inn does not belong.  Feel free to share!

It’s confirmed:  The Wonder Inn Hotel/Resort proposal will be heard by the County Planning Commission on Thursday, March 23.  It’s time to show up!

On that date the Planning Commission will hear a presentation of the Proposal from Planning Staff, then from the developers, and then from you, the public. They will then vote to either approve or deny the project, or possibly to require an EIR.  

We need to be there!

So here’s what we do: 

• Show up at 9 am on March 23, either at the County Building in San Bernardino (385 N. Arrowhead Ave., First Floor) or right here in Joshua Tree via live feed at the Bob Burke Government Center at Whitefeather Road (63665 29 Palms Hwy).  
• Be prepared to comment live and tell the Commissioners why the Project should be denied.  You’ll have three minutes.  We’ll have more details on ways to comment closer to the date. 
• Write the Commissioners now and tell them why you oppose the Project.  You can write your own letter, or use our click-and-send letter with options to modify and add comments of your own.

Special request:  We need some folks who are willing to use their comment time to read text prepared by our Stop Wonder Inn team to specifically address certain issues.  If you’d like to help in this way, please contact us asap. This will ensure all the critical issues are covered and the Commissioners are fully informed on what’s at stake. 

We’re expecting the Final Staff Report to be released 3/17, and it will include Land Use Services’ recommendations to the Planning Commission.  We’ll update you at that time with final details and any necessary modifications to this plan.

What will happen on the 23rd?  It’s impossible to know.  But we’re taking some encouragement from the fact that the Commission just denied the Flamingo Heights 640 Glamping Proposal, a project with parallels to the Wonder Inn proposal.  The Commissioners gave very little indication why they denied the project, asking few questions, so we can’t be sure what forces were at work.  But we do know that the opponents submitted volumes of comments and turned out in force for the hearing, and that has to help.  So let’s see if we can’t repeat their success!

So let’s get the word out, send in your letters, and plan to be there and be heard on the 23rd!

Kudos and congratulations to the Flamingo Heights community!!  The proposed FH 640 Glamping project was DENIED by the Planning Commission today!  

Twenty-eight people commented, some in person at the County Building in San Bernardino and most via video from Joshua Tree. The comments were substantive, well-articulated, and quite comprehensive – and, clearly persuasive! 

The developer now has 10 days to appeal their decision before this project will be permanently laid to rest. 

We’re hoping they see the light and decide to donate this 640 acres to Mojave Desert Land Trust.

Flamingo Heights, we’re celebrating with you today!  Well done!!

What might this mean for the Wonder Inn proposal?  We’re still digesting the news, but it’s hard to see it as negative; we’ll have more to say on this soon. One particular item of note:  Rather than voting FH 640 down outright the Commissioners just failed to make a motion to approve it.  So, no vote was taken and essentially the proposal was denied by default. 

Second item of note, and this is the biggie:  Announcement was made during the hearing that the Wonder Inn Proposal will be on the agenda March 23.  So get ready, people – it’s our turn next! 

In our last communication with County Land Use Services on the topic (March 3), Planning Director Heidi Duron again confirmed that LUS is “currently anticipating the [Wonder Inn Hotel/Resort proposal] to be on the  agenda for the March 23 Planning Commission hearing.”

This seems awfully fast, doesn’t it?  That date would be almost exactly four weeks after we and many others submitted many hundreds of pages of substantive comments on the Initial Study.  Is LUS really going to be able to process all those comments, generate a response, and resolve any issues with the developers in that brief time?

Let’s take a moment and compare with another project in the Basin:  Flamingo Heights 640 Glamping Proposal.  FH 640 involves a “Conditional Use Permit to establish a 75-site campground on a portion of a 640-acre parcel, consisting of various structures and accessory buildings associated with the use of the site, including a restaurant and bar that are not open to the public.”

The FH 640 proposal received a Mitigated Negative Declaration, the same as the Wonder Inn proposal did.  That public comment period ended April 21, 2022 – more than ten months ago.  The proposal is only now coming before the Planning Commission this Thursday, March 9.  LUS rejected the requests for an EIR, but some revisions were made in the FH 640 Proposal in view of comments received.  Specifically, according to the Homestead Valley Community Council, “Changes to the original development plan include no public access to the proposed restaurant and bar; the amenities are now only available to patrons of the campground. In addition, the proposed helipad remains a part of the site plan as an emergency-use-only helicopter pad, with no aerial tours being conducted from the site.”

Yes, a helipad. 

We suggest you visit HVCC’s Save Our Deserts page to learn more about just what could be happening to the poor folks over there.  Of course it is a “glamping” proposal, not a hotel, but some aspects of the proposal will sound familiar to Wonder Valley residents – for instance, pool, restaurant, and bar, with special twists including a 5500-sf “Art Barn” and yoga deck.  (And at one point there seems to have been an idea which was dropped for festivals of 25,000 people!)  You can also learn about the many concerns the local residents share about the proposal – concerns that will also sound familiar to us here in Wonder Valley.

Sadly, the many comments submitted by the public on FH 640 did not succeed in triggering a reconsideration of the need for an EIR. LUS has recommended APPROVAL of the project with the changes noted above.  But our neighbors in Homestead Valley are not giving up and will be showing up at the Planning Commission this Thursday, March 9, to testify for their community, and we can show up and comment, as well, to support them. 

We here at SWIP have been watching the progress of the FH 640 proposal closely, both because it shares many concerns with the Wonder Inn project here in Wonder Valley and because we might expect roughly similar treatment with the Wonder Inn proposal.  However, as noted above, it took over 10 months for FH 640 to come before the Planning Commission, and right now the projection from LUS is for Wonder Inn to come before the PC in just over four weeks.  What to make of this?  Not clear.  But we’re doing our best to find out.

In the meantime, join us in supporting our neighbors in the homestead communities of the west Basin by showing up at the hearing on the Flamingo Heights 640 Glamping Proposal this Thursday, or send in a comment.  This and the Wonder Inn are both precedent-setting changes in Rural Living zones and must not be allowed to proceed.   

Wonder Inn developer Jason Landver is now on the record confirming plans to build 20 villas on the 138 acres adjacent to the site of the proposed luxury resort.  Per the San Bernardino County Sentinel:

Last week, Landver in a statement to the Sentinel confirmed that he and [Alan] Greenberg, who are being assisted by development consultant David Mlynarski, are purposed to see the entirety of the 160 acres built upon.

In his free-ranging interview, Landver said that he and Greenberg will abide by the existing zoning on the 138.78 acres they own that will be left after the hotel is built. In this way, he said, roughly 20 homes will be placed on the property. He emphasized that they will be prefabricated single-story structures of right around 2,000 square feet each.

Landver’s acknowledgement of the residential component of their development was significant. Though there had been rumors to the effect that what Greenberg and Landver had embarked upon would not confine itself to the resort complex alone, their application to the county gave no indication that they were going to construct anything other than the 106-room hotel along with an all-night restaurant, a spa/wellness center, conference hall and event center, a 6,000-square foot swimming pool, hot tubs, outdoor showers and a 205-space parking lot.

When asked by the Sentinel for a response, Stop the Wonder Inn Project’s Rick Hamburg pointed out:  “None of this is disclosed in the initial study/mitigated negative declaration. Such plans are contrary to the California Environmental Quality Act statute prohibiting ‘spot zoning’ and ‘piecemealing’ and should be addressed by the county with a full environmental impact report.”

What is “piecemealing”? 

Piecemealing or segmenting means dividing a project into two or more pieces and evaluating each piece in a separate environmental document, rather than evaluating the whole of the project in one environmental document. This is explicitly forbidden by CEQA, because dividing a project into a number of pieces would allow a Lead Agency to minimize the apparent environmental impacts of a project by evaluating individual pieces separately, each of which may have a less than-significant impact on the environment, but which together may result in a significant impact.  Segmenting a project may also hinder developing comprehensive mitigation strategies.  –– CEQA Portal, Association of Environmental Professionals

The Sentinel has further confirmed that County Land Use Services had not been informed of these plans:

Landver did not seem to appreciate the significance of his acknowledgment that the development at the site was to go beyond the resort hotel.

Neither of the two San Bernardino County Department of Land Use Services staff members who are processing Greenberg and Landver’s application, Senior Planner Azhar Khan and Supervising Planner Chris Warrick, were aware that the entire 160 acres that Greenburg and Landver had acquired were to be developed, essentially, together. This puts the soundness of their decision to allow a mitigated negative declaration to suffice as the environmental certification for the hotel project in doubt. Allowing the residential properties to be developed while allowing Gammel Road to remain unpaved, would seem to involve less than sterling quality planning. Moreover, if Gammel Road were to be paved, a more comprehensive environmental examination of the developmental impacts would be in order. Landver’s acknowledgment that he and Greenberg intend to proceed with a project or combination of projects entailing nearly eight times as much land as was previously indicated throws into doubt whether they can proceed with the project by carrying out an environmental certification on the cheap.

Mr. Landver had a lot more to say in his interview with the Sentinel, and SWIP’s Rick Hamburg pushed back with vigor.  We recommend reading the full article.  Further, we hope to examine more of Mr. Landver’s claims in detail in future posts on this blog.  (If you have trouble accessing the article, you can see a pdf here.)

In the meantime, if you want to know more about the concerns with “piecemealing” with this project, see pp 16-19 of the SWIP Response Comments to the Wonder Inn Hotel/Resort Initial Study.