Last night’s Twentynine Palms City Council meeting attracted a sizeable crowd as many came to address the final agenda item concerning the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID).
But the meeting began on a celebratory note, with the introduction of two new detectives at the Morongo Basin Sheriff Station who will specifically serve the city of Twentynine Palms. Both officers, Alex Thimbaugh and Shane Crowell, are long-time residents of the Morongo Basin.
The first public hearing concerned updates to the fire code, which is required every three years to comply with the state code. Fire Prevention Specialist Mike Havens presented amendments concerning climate, operation/construction permits, road widths and surfaces, updated font sizes on building addresses, water flow requirements, sprinklers, radio coverage, and compost/biomass. Council easily approved the updates.
The next four public hearings addressed amendments to the Development Codes on land uses, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), community centers/emergency shelters and off-street parking/loading.
Councilmember Joel Klink was selected as primary delegate and Councilmember Daniel Mintz as alternate delegate for the League of California Cities’ Annual Conference.
The council approved the $15K purchase of a portable shower unit to serve the homeless. Initially, it was presumed the showers would rotate church locations throughout the city but then agreed it may reside permanently at Shadow Mountain Community Church at 6414 Split Rock Ave. How and where to dispose of the grey water was discussed, as well as the presence of a pastor or someone to facilitate public usage of the unit. Resident Cindy Bernard spoke against the city’s involvement with Shadow Mountain Church, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). “We appreciate the showers but I take issue with the city partnering with churches that equate the LBGTQ community with sexual immorality,” said Bernard, citing the SBC’s website that states:
“In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography.”
Bernard made the argument that perhaps the showers might be located at secular locations or at “churches that do not support hateful rhetoric.”
The final hour of the long meeting was a passionate debate over the efficacy and financial value of the TBID. The item was to review the TBID’S Annual Report, Marketing Plan and Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 as well as re-affirm the proposed TBID’s of 1.5 percent assessment on short-term stays.
TBID Marketing Director Breanne Dusastre presented various stats to show progress but several attendees called for TBID’s abolishment, many of them local hotel/motel owners who say the city is better off putting TBID marketing funds into crowd-drawing events. City Manager Frank Luckino noted that TBID began in 2017, just as Vacation Home Rentals began to proliferate making it hard to determine exact causes of the rapid rise in the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT).
After much debate, some of it heated, Councilmember Mintz made a motion to amend the TBID budget, remove the proposed $58K for a new employee, and adopt the resolution to extend the TBID. Mintz noted that more involvement at TBID meetings was encouraged and that perhaps hoteliers and VHR owners might vote amongst themselves regarding the TBID existence. Councilmember Scott, who is concerned with the role of non-ADA-compliant VHRs in the matter, stated that further discussion was clearly needed. The council approved the resolution with Councilmember Scott casting the only “nay” vote.
