Listen here:
Interconnect Towers LLC has proposed a communication facility comprised of three principal components: a communications tower, equipment shelters and supporting components, and an access road in Morongo Valley.
To build the half mile access road, construction would carve through a hillside which would be graded flat to accommodate the tower, two 20×40 foot buildings, a generator, propane tanks, and solar array.
Beyond the 2.3 acres occupation of BLM land, Morongo residents fear the tower and its accessories would block their view, add light pollution, emit noise from its machinery, as well as potentially disrupt wildlife. Because of its location, the proposed tower would also be the first thing motorists would see when reaching the top of the grade in Morongo Valley.
For further study, critique, and project accountability, a Communications Tower Ad Hoc Committee has been formed by members of The Morongo Valley Community Service District Board; including board director Jenifer Henning along with James Whitney and Michael Emory, who will be taking seats later this year. Spokesman for the committee is Morongo Valley resident Evan Hoffman Jastermsky, a college student representing the neighborhood directly affected on Paradise Rd.
We will update this story as more details unfold.
Links:
BLM project: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1502263/510
Info on public vs. private land and on zoning: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=87e70bb9b6994559ba7512792588d57a
Scoping announcement posted in Federal Register before opening of Feb-Mar 2022 public scoping period: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/18/2022-03475/notice-of-intent-to-amend-the-california-desert-conservation-area-plan-for-the-morongo-highway-62
