Rodeo ordinance consideration removed from future Yucca Valley Town Council agendas
First up, San Bernardino County Assistant Fire Chief Bill Villarino gave a brief presentation where he reported that they have just put a new fire engine into service – Medic Engine 41, joining Engine 42 that was put into service last year. He also says an order was also placed for a new Brush Engine which is used in off-road responses and wildland firefighting.
Those vehicles will be stationed at Yucca Valley Fire Station 41 which is on track for a new building along with the repurposing of the current station as an admin building. Villarino says that plans and designs are approved for the fire station, and now that the land donation for the new station is firmed up, “but we couldn’t start with Edison or a gas company until that (property) was deeded into our name.
And so now that is, we’ve moved forward… and our hope to go to a construction and bid is targeted for into late ‘26, into the beginning of 2027,” the assistant chief.
https://z1077fm.com/san-bernardino-county-fire-station-41-on-track-for-yucca-valley-in-2026/
Villarino estimates the build time to be a year to a year and a half and hopes to have a groundbreaking soon.
Short Term Rental Ordinance Updates
An item was pulled from the agenda last night as councilmember Robert Lombardo was out, leaving four councilmembers on the board. Agenda item #8 was a second reading of the updated Short Term Vacation rental ordinance, and because Mayor Merl Abel and Councilmember Jeff Drozd would have to recuse themselves from that particular item due to potential personal conflicts, the remaining two councilmembers isn’t enough for a quorum.
The item was pulled to be discussed at the next Town Council meeting.
Yucca Valley Youth Commission
The 2026 – 27 Yucca Valley Youth Commission filled the Yucca Room, with a total of 25 applicants this year. New Lead Staff Member Celeste Hildebrand presented the Staff Report. This year there were 11 first-time applicants joining 14 returning students, some for their fifth year. The group was composed of 20 high school students and five middle school students, and the municipal code that limits the Youth Commission to 20 members was waived to allow all applicants in.
Each potential Commission member introduced themselves and gave a short reason why they wanted to be on the Youth Commission. After a big group photo, council members all shared their praise for the youth commission, past and present.
“I love the youth commission, It’s not the first time I’ve said that. Both my daughters were in the youth commission and now they are in their 30’s. It’s a really good program to have you get more engaged with civic service, similar to the things that we do in here… and you see how government works,” Council member Rick Denison told those in attendance.
Fleet Update
Public Works Director Alex Quista gave an update on the town’s vehicle fleet status, briefly going over some of the vehicle replacements that have happened this year. Quista says that the town is in the process of reaching compliance with California Air Resources Board standards of zero fleet emissions by the year 2035, but charging infrastructure will have to be worked out with the town and Southern California Edison before the fleet can fully begin moving over to electric.
Rodeo removed from future agenda items
In Future Agenda items, Mayor Merl Abel addressed resident requests for the Town Council to look at ordinances regarding equipment used in rodeos. He says that the Town itself doesn’t sponsor, deliver or coordinate any rodeo events, “and so at this time, I really don’t have any interest in adding any future agenda items or making any modifications or in introducing any new ordinances.”
The Mayor left it open for other council members to introduce a future agenda item regarding rodeo regulations. Town Manager Curtis Yakimow says that the council did a community livability survey in 2024 where only 4% of those polled ranked a rodeo as an item of interest.
Councilmember Jeff Drozd also noted that as of last night, there is no rodeo scheduled and if there were “we have no idea where it would be… it could be out of town limits. And I don’t think that’s something we should venture into at this time either.”
Four residents showed up during public comments to speak on the rodeo and their desire for the town to ban certain tools and devices used in rodeos. You can read those in full below.
Mayor Merl Abel thanked the public for coming out to speak on the issue, saying “I thought it was only fair for you to hear tonight if there was any appetite of council members wanting to change or add any ordinances and so forth, since you’ve been asking for it. I thought I would just address the issue. I personally wasn’t interested in moving that forward, but if other council members (had), the majority of them, then we would have perhaps moved that forward. But anyway, thank you again for attending tonight.”
The next Town Council meeting is scheduled for October 6th.
Public Comments on Rodeo Opposition
After the end of the meeting, I met up with some of the residents who have been showing up to Yucca Valley Town Council meetings to voice their opposition to a possible rodeo. Allie Irwin has been outspoken on animal issues in the Town of Yucca Valley, and she says that while consideration of an ordinance banning rodeo tools and implements won’t make the Town Council’s agenda, that won’t stop the group from continuing to pushback on the possibility of a rodeo return.
You can listen to a short interview here where I get residents reactions to the Town Council’s remarks:
