While the deadline for property owners to mail their protest vote for the proposed expanded fire protection district, FP-5, has passed, there remains one last opportunity to have your voice heard. Reporter Mike Lipsitz tells us how…
The last item of business at tomorrow’s 10 a.m. meeting of county supervisors in San Bernardino will be a public hearing on the proposed expansion of fire protection zone 5 to include Yucca Valley and most of the county’s unincorporated areas. The proposal includes a $157 fee on each parcel within the zone. Opposition to the fee has been widespread because it disproportionately affects property owners on fixed and low incomes, and because the proposal appears to skirt the state’s constitutional requirement that such tax initiatives be put before voters at the polls.
Positioning the annual charge as a fee the county opted for a convoluted process to protest the proposal. And while ultimate decision may be left up to the courts, county supervisors will hold a public hearing tomorrow where protest forms may be submitted in person and where property owners will
have an opportunity to voice their opinions.
Tomorrow’s meeting and public hearing will stream live to the first-floor teleconferencing room in the County Government Center on White Feather Road in Joshua Tree. Public comment may be made from that location via live video link. In addition, grass roots organizers have arranged carpools for those wishing to attend Tuesday’s hearing in person. They plan to leave from the Yucca Valley Park and Ride on the Highway at Kickapoo at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
