Pioneertown wants to preserve its character with overlay district proposal; meeting is Tuesday
Like many unincorporated areas throughout the Morongo Basin, Pioneertown is a community with a unique sense of history and charm. One group of residents is working to formalize that within county zoning. With more from Pioneertown, here is reporter Adeline J. Wells.
The San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department has been working with community members in Pioneertown to create a Pioneertown Overlay District. The formalized zoning regulations aim to guide future development in the area while preserving the characteristics that give Pioneertown its unique appeal for residents and visitors alike.
Staying away from “big, ugly, generic”
Ben Loescher is a Pioneertown resident who has been a visible leader in this effort. Loescher and his wife moved to the hi-desert in 2006; he is one of the landlords for the Red Dog Saloon, in addition to his work as a practicing architect between his home in the Morongo Basin and Los Angeles, with over twenty years of experience with Land Use projects.
“San Bernardino County generally has this development code, which is a county-wide set of regulations that govern land use, like what’s allowed to be built where, how you have to do it, and what conditions and requirements come with it. The idea of an overlay imposes modifications or different requirements on top of the zone to deal with local conditions, whether environmental, geological, or cultural. Overlays are a way to take this big, ugly, generic, universal document and try to make it work for a smaller region or community.”
Loescher explained that this process was initiated in part by San Bernardino County in 2016, when staff hosted an information gathering meeting with Pioneertown residents during the Countywide Plan Update. Following the 2018 authorization of a water pipeline to the area, further development was anticipated within the community. In 2020, a two-year effort led by the Friends of Pioneertown and the Curtis Miller Foundation resulted in the inclusion of Pioneertown’s Mane Street Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
“At the end of those meetings, everyone kind of looked around like, wait, we agreed on everything? We’re worried about preserving the historic buildings and environment, the equestrian features, the natural landscape, open space, dark skies, and making sure that the community is still defined by independent businesses, that tourism is welcomed but managed. Pioneertown has always been a residential community as much as it’s been a tourism community.”
Loescher and other Pioneertown residents continued to work together on specifications for a potential overlay district. This process included holding two community meetings and roughly 100 individual meetings with residents about their own specific visions for Pioneertown.
“What it tried to do is hit that middle ground. On any issue, there’s probably 80% that everyone can agree on, and 10% on either end that there’s absolutely not going to be an agreement. Those things got pushed off the side so that we could get the big thing done.”
Draft issued for Overlay District
Following a November community workshop with County staff, the Land Use Services Department published a draft of the Pioneertown Overlay District in June. The proposal specified regulations for future renovations and development within the historic district, many of which were aligned with the preferences put forth by the community. Elements such as building design standards, the preservation of dirt roads, and regulations on how new uses would work within the residential community were included in the draft, while others were notably absent.
“The equestrian features are missing. One big part of the community overlay proposal was restrictions on franchise or formula businesses. That’s missing and needs to be corrected. I think, as written, it’s a little too permissive on uses and events that are likely to have community impact.”
The meeting on Tuesday serves as an opportunity for community members to suggest revisions to County staff before the draft is presented at a County Planning Commission hearing later this year. While this effort is specific to preserving the character of Pioneertown, Loescher suggests that the process and efforts could translate to the creation of additional overlay districts throughout the Morongo Basin’s unincorporated areas.
A test case for Joshua Tree and other unincorporated communities?
“I do believe that the county Planning and Land Use Services are looking at it as a test case as to how they might deploy these overlays in other areas. Joshua Tree Village is one of those that’s been talked about. There are others, like Landers and Wonder Valley, that have very unusual planning challenges. It’s just as likely not to happen as it is to, but I think we’re closer to having that now than we ever have been in as long as I’ve been up here. It’s really important that people with opinions about what happens in Pioneertown show up and let their voices be heard.”
The Pioneertown Community Workshop will be held on Tuesday, July 14, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Soundstage, located at 53585 Mane Street in Pioneertown. Community members are encouraged to attend and share their feedback with County representatives.
