An official statement on the proposed tower project in Morongo Valley was given by 23rd District Representative Jay Obernolte at his embattled town hall meeting at the Yucca Valley Community Center last Saturday morning.
In a break between impassioned shouting from community members, Morongo Valley resident Sara Fernandez raised a question regarding the proposed tower development on the west end of Morongo, in which she pleaded, “Don’t exploit our federal lands.” Fernandez, who has been leading Morongo Valley resident’s organized opposition to the tower project for the past three years, was surprised by Obernolte’s statement that “the tower project had been withdrawn” and that “the developers are looking for another place to build it.”
After the meeting, Z1077 reached out to Sara Fernandez, asking her how she felt about Obernolte’s statement of the tower project’s withdrawal:
“I don’t believe it. I need proof. I just don’t want to take for granted the progress we’ve made and I also want to trust the congressman, but I don’t understand why he would be discussing the BLM project in Morongo Valley with Yucca Valley town council, so I’d like to see that in writing. I’d like to see proof from the BLM that the developer has withdrawn the application, so I’ll be seeking that. I was definitely caught off guard by it; all we can do is hope for the best.
In another statement to Z107.7, Fernandez added, “It’s a waste of limited government resources to even entertain such proposals by private developers to exploit public lands with nonconforming uses. If government efficiency is a focus of the administration, we need to stop wasting everyone’s time and energy on these charades that use government staff to justify commercial enterprises that do more environmental harm than any public good.”
Previously reported:
