Belfield Hall was a packed house for a community meeting for residents to learn more about the planned hotel, restaurant, bar, market, spa and observatory.
Sam Friedman and Ben Toffey are the owners of the lot and say that the hotel is planned to be a quiet one, with a focus on dark skies – two reasons he says they love Landers in the first place. The development will be situated on a 5.7 acre parcel of land near Belfield Boulevard and Reche Road. The lot is commercially zoned and the pair says that in the last year the project has been picking up steam with San Bernardino County, as far as permitting goes.
That means the hotel development could break ground next year and possibly open in two.
The group included “CEQA Specialist” Jessica Krushner, who is the CEO and Managing Principal of Los Angeles based Impact Scinces. She is working with the team on preparing an environmental report for the hotel. CEQA stands for the California Environmental Quailty Act which governs what developments can do in the Golden State when it comes to environmental impact.
They came prepared with a presentation that addressed what are becoming common questions with developments here in the hi-desert, specifically regarding environmental and neighborhood impact for starters. During the presentation, many of the features of the planned hotel were presented as being “built for the community” – such as a marketplace that Sam and Ben say priced and stocked with locals in mind.
Ben Toffey: “As a Landroid, I drive into Yucca Valley a lot and I know how exhausting that is for a lot of people here. We want to provide groceries to the community.”
Questions about fresh and waste water were handled by West of West Studio Director Jon Rieke, who outlined the seepage pit they are exploring with the county and clarified that they will be piping water in from the Bighorn Desert View Water Agency.
The presentation of the project lasted about 25 mins, followed by the question and answer period which was facilitated through Landers Community Association Board Vice President Mike Lipsitz. He collected questions on cards from the audience who was then given a chance to follow-up on the answers from the group. Questions about dark skies were addressed: the group says Landers has some of the best astronomers in the world living there and their hotel will include an observatory and the buildings will comply with dark sky directives.
Other questions regarding the potential noise of a hotel and the feasibility of running a higher-end hotel in Landers were posed to the group. John is a direct neighbor of the planned project and said that it didn’t fall in line with what Landers residents need, saying that some residents in the Landers area live in their cars and below the poverty line.
John: “For people that say they live here, you don’t seem to understand. This is a place that has very low income. So when you guys are talking about a supermarket, some place that has specialty items. It’s basically a playground for the rich and it’s not a place for people like us to go to and enjoy.”
Ben Toffey: “We’re talking $2 coffee, bagels that are $3. Ice cream that is $3. Wait and see and I guarantee you the market will be a worthy spot. It’s not going to be fancy.”
In other examples of these types of community meetings – which aren’t required to start development – community members aren’t shy about letting developers know their opinions of the project. During Monday’s meeting, support or opposition wasn’t as clearly defined. After a fairly even-handed Q&A period, Chris Gubler of Gubler’s Orchids spent several minutes telling the crowd that he was in support of the project.
Chris Gubler: “You know, whether we can afford to stay there or not, it’s their risk. I just want to tell the group that I’ve been looking at this and listening, and I support the project. It conforms to the law, they bought that land and they can build on that land and they have that right to build on that land.”
With that – the Q&A period ended, but not before longtime Landers resident Judy Laffoon challenged some in the audience to show their bonafides just as they did to the developers.
Judy Laffoon: “It was brought up that you’ve never seen them (developers Sam Friedman and Ben Toffey). I’ve never seen you before today. I’ve lived here for 30 years!”
The project is moving forward with the county, and the group is asking for feedback on their website where you can learn more about it: www.belfieldlanding.com
The next meeting is tentatively planned for early 2025.
Previously reported:
