The Twentynine Palms City Council met last night to host two public hearings and discuss issues around curb fees and preparations for a possible sewer system. They also got an earful from residents concerned about hiring private security, water usage, and the lack of housing due to Vacation Home Rentals (VHR). Reporter Heather Clisby was there …
Last night, the Twentynine Palms City Council meeting included two public hearings. The first resulted in the approval of the Impact Fee Nexus Study, which may ultimately lead to a reduction of curb, gutter, and sidewalk fees for new projects. The second hearing resulted in the approval of an ordinance that adopted the new Downtown Specific Plan and the associated Mitigate Negative Declaration. The Downtown Specific Plan envisions that the three acres behind City Hall be set aside for affordable housing.
The council discussed extending the contract with Southwest Security to patrol locally on Friday and Saturday evenings. While the firm was originally secured to address unruly guests in vacation home rentals, the firm also patrols the entire city. The council approved the retention of the firm and stated that the cost ($35,100 annually) would be folded in to VHR permit fees. Since the firm was initially hired in October, the firm has received four calls. The hotline to report a situation-in-progress is 760-362-6927 on Friday and Saturday evenings, 6:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. In preparation for a possible city-wide conversion to a sewer system, the council approved the scope of services for NV5, an engineering/consulting firm, to complete the final design for Phase 1 (trunk and collection) along with Phase 2 trunk lines in a high-density area. This is to enable the city to apply for funding, although the city has yet to facilitate public outreach and engagement on the issue. There were statements of concern from Twentynine Palms Water District General Manager Matthew Shragge and local resident, Jeffrey Johnson.
