County and community refine draft overlay district for Pioneertown
On Tuesday afternoon, the San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department hosted a community workshop to discuss the draft of the Pioneertown Overlay District. The County has been working with the community on a set of regulations that would guide future development while preserving the area’s historical and cultural uniqueness. In true Pioneertown form, approximately 45 people and four dogs rested on traditional wooden chairs set up throughout the venue.
The meeting began with an introduction by Vince Acuna, who is a Planning Manager with the Land Use Services Department. He recapped the community workshop held in November before introducing Simran Malhotra, a Principal at Raimi + Associates, a Los Angeles urban planning and design firm hired by the county to draft the overlay district.
Malhotra went through the basic elements of the draft plan, which was released to the public in late June. The core values of the project include preserving the prevailing Western history and culture, quality of life, and natural environment, as well as the managed growth of the community. In the draft, this translated to specific development and design standards for new and renovated buildings along Mane Street, signage requirements, proper landscaping requirements, and preservation of the dirt roads. Any new developments would also be required to follow standards set forth by the Secretary of the Interior and the California Historical Building Code, due to Mane Street’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
Malhotra noted that several issues mentioned in earlier project phases, such as temporary special events and campgrounds, were not included in the draft plan because the County plans to address them on a broader scale.
Following Malhotra’s presentation, the workshop opened up to an informal Question and Answer session that bled into Public Comment. Residents raised issues over the potential development of nightclubs, franchises, and formula businesses in Pioneertown. Acuna interjected periodically and stressed that the proposed special district would tighten existing regulations on said items, though those requirements were still being refined.
“We are giving you the draft…If you guys have any opinion on certain use – I heard nightclubs, I heard franchise stores – please put it in the comment box. This is what the community meeting is for, so that we can revise the draft based on your input.”
Kerrie is one resident whose family has been in Pioneertown since the early 1980s and has witnessed its evolution to a more populated area with a party flair.
“I don’t mind growth, but this is a very quiet area, it’s beautiful…People are coming here to party, and that’s fine, but these party people are leaving, and then what? We’ve had people go to the bathroom in the town, we’ve had people get stuck on the roads back here by the homes, trying to drive up hills. It’s just ridiculous.”
Another resident, Kerrie Alley, expressed concerns about the risk that further development would pose to the existing community, especially in the face of fire season.
“I’m the group leader for the Firewise community out here, and the evacuation is a big issue here…There is a limit to how large Pioneertown should grow with our infrastructure, fire, wildlife, and people living here directly across from Mane Street….
As far as public workshops on a difficult subject like zoning, I think they did an outstanding job. They let people ask questions and comment freely, and I think they expressed a potential in having some of the things that people don’t like changed, which I think is a good sign.”
Following review of public comment, the draft proposal will be presented at a County Planning Commission hearing later this year. Community members who would like to submit a comment regarding the draft Overlay District can do so by emailing the County here.
