Corrections 4/9/25 – We incorrectly stated that San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor meetings aren’t available outside of public comment locations. This was incorrect, as the meetings are streamed on their YouTube channel and available online shortly afterward. To make public comment you must attend a County-approved livestream or go to the meeting in person. We’ve embedded the latest video of the San Bernardino County Board Meeting at the end of this post.
We have also corrected a statement that said the MBCA is expected to file suit this week. A lawsuit is still expected to be filed, but the Plaintiff is yet to be confirmed. -Robert Haydon, Online News Editor
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors met yesterday to consider an appeal of the planning commission approval of the Lovemore Ranch development project planned for an 18-acre lot in Joshua Tree. The Morongo Basin Conservation Association (MBCA) filed the appeal in February of 2024 saying that they didn’t receive proper public notice of the hearing or get adequate remote access to the San Bernardino based meeting.
The parcel in question is located off Alta Loma Drive in Joshua Tree between Hillview and Sunset Road. It’s zoned for single family residential and the county says the parcel can be split into as many as 112 dwelling units but Lovemore ranch is only asking to break it up into 64 lots. However, that lower density use also includes a waste-water treatment facility for the gated community, and residents say the development would also come with an increase in everything else a neighborhood can bring: people, noise, traffic, and potential short-term rentals. The development has been the subject of two community meetings put together by the Lovemore Ranch team where they faced the full-spectrum of community feedback after sharing their plans for the development.
The Morongo Basin Conservation Association says that after those meetings the County not only didn’t give adequate notice of the approval and that once notice was given, but it also didn’t properly inform them that the Bob Burke Government Center would be available for residents to remotely participate. The County Land Use Services says that this isn’t correct, and that the center was open for comment during the land use review with a representative from Lovemore Ranch in attendance.
Yesterday’s meeting was broadcast to the Joshua Tree Community Center and about 70 residents showed up for support and public comment. The appeal began with a presentation from the MBCA and Lovemore Ranch stating their positions on why the development should be stopped or allowed to move forward, respectively. President of the MBCA Steve Bardwell presented for the non-profit, which also included testimony from neighbors Nelson Day and Elizabeth Proud from the citizen group called Joshua Tree Village Neighbors.
Developer Axel Cramer and principal architect Mauricio Espinoza made the case for Lovemore Ranch saying that they have done their due diligence with the county and they have held community meetings and have spoken with neighbors since the lot was purchased back in 2020 for $300,000. Cramer says that they’ve also received letters of support from the community, with some of them showing up to voice their support to the county board on Tuesday.
However, at Tuesday’s meeting the majority of public comment was vocally against the project, with residents speaking up in San Bernardino and remotely from Joshua Tree.
The County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to deny the appeal after the MBCA and resident’s testimony, meaning the 64-home development can move forward.
Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe spoke to the access issues at the Bob Burke Government Center:
Dawn Rowe: “I think we fell short as a county. I think that we may have done all that we were legally required to do, but in today’s day and age of technology where we can push this out in our newsletters, where we can do more than we are legally obliged to do… I do think we have a responsibility to do that for our residents, especially our rural residents.”
Rowe also said she would take a look at potential traffic issues on Alta Loma and around the planned development, which is close to Friendly Hills Elementary and a few miles from the West Gate Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.
Previously Reported:
