You can fight city hall! 

Tuesday the Flamingo Heights 640 Glamping Project was defeated 3-2 by the Board of Supervisors in a hearing of the appeal brought by the developer.

Read a statement from the victors at Save Our Deserts here. 

We have been following this project carefully for what it might tell us about the process of the Wonder Inn appeal, and the hearing did not disappoint.  It was a great opportunity to observe how an appeal hearing is conducted, as well as providing clues as to how the various supervisors may view desert development projects.  We hope the outcome on Tuesday gives some basis for optimism in the Wonder Inn campaign.    

Chairwoman Dawn Rowe was aggressive in defending the interests of desert residents and made the motion to reject the appeal and thereby kill the project.  Supervisors Baca and Cook joined her in the majority vote.  Supervisor Hagman had first made a motion to accept the appeal but send the project back to the Planning Commission for unspecified modification, but Supervisor Rowe interceded with her substitute motion to deny the appeal, the motion which won the day.  Supervisors Hagman and Armendarez voted no.

There was a good turnout and many members of the public spoke in opposition to the project with passion and eloquence, both from the Joshua Tree live feed and in the County Chambers in San Bernardino.  Residents of the Flamingo Heights and Landers area have fought this project for three years and have been rewarded for their hard work and persistence.  Those of us from the east Basin who also spoke or have sent in letters were honored to support our neighbors and celebrate their victory.

Congratulations Flamingo Heights, Landers, and saveourdeserts.org!  FH640 is dead!

That’s one down!  

You can view the official video of the hearing here.  Agenda Item 1-15 begins at around 36 minutes.  The presentations and public comment wind up and the Supervisors begin their discussion at about the 3:46 mark.

Yes, it’s now been 8 months since the Wonder Inn project was denied by the County Planning Commission and subsequently appealed by the developer, and we still see no apparent movement towards a hearing before the Board of Supervisors.

What gives?

Well, we’ve been tracking this carefully, including working with Supervisor Rowe’s office, and in late October Mark Wardlaw, the new Director of Land Use Services, reached out to us.  We met with him and Planning Manager Aron Liang on Dec. 1 and shared our concerns about the project.  Mr. Wardlaw told us that the developers are considering their options, and he did confirm that there is as yet no projected date for a hearing. 

So while we’re all waiting, there’s one thing you can do, if you haven’t already:  You can send in a letter to the Board of Supervisors supporting the Planning Commission’s denial and expressing your opposition to the appeal.  And thanks to everyone who has already done so!

BUT – there has been an important development on another front:  The appeal of the Flamingo Heights 640 Glamping Proposal has finally been scheduled to be heard by the Board of Supervisors on Dec 19.  

FH640 has been an important bellwether for us.  You may remember that FH640 was heard by the Planning Commission just two weeks before the Wonder Inn proposal was heard.  You may remember that, like the Wonder Inn, it was also denied by the Commission, and that, like with WI, that decision was also appealed by the developer.  We are paying close attention to what happens with FH640, and we intend to attend that hearing on Dec. 19 and speak in opposition to that appeal.  

We urge you also to consider supporting our neighbors in Flamingo Heights by sending in a letter opposing that appeal or, even better, showing up at that hearing on Dec. 19.  Numbers will matter. 

The folks in Flamingo Heights, faced with a massive, exploitative, and inappropriate project on a scale similar to the Wonder Inn, have shown up to support us in the past.  It’s our turn now.  We need to stand together and send the message to San Bernardino that the desert is not open for exploitation! 

Find all the information on the FH640 issue and the hearing here.  If San Bernardino is too far, you can also be heard at the Bob Burke Government Center on Whitefeather Road.  Tuesday December 19, 10 a.m.

Hope to see you there!

And by the way: You can track major development projects in the Basin, including the Wonder Inn, at Save Our Deserts.