Twentynine Palms hosted a community workshop on housing and they received plenty of questions, concerns and feedback from residents in attendance. Reporter Heather Clisby was there…
To prepare for the Housing Element Update, the city of Twentynine Palms hosted a housing workshop led by Community Development Director Travis Clark.
With over 20 residents in attendance, the two-hour workshop was held to gather input before the city submits an official report. Clark was assisted by Nicole Sauviat Criste of planning and research firm Terra Nova, who stated that the state is heavily pushing new housing for all communities in California, especially for low-income populations.
Mandated by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the housing report is essentially a regional housing needs assessment that must be reviewed and submitted every eight years.
After reviewing the latest census demographics, there was much discussion on inclusion of the Marine base population and how that skews the numbers. The rise in homelessness was a major topic with resident Astrid Johnson stating that homeless seniors are increasing. There was an informal debate on the issue of short-term vacation rentals. Also noted were post-pandemic behaviors that have led to real estate markets heating up across the nation.
But the biggest takeaway from the workshop is that without a community sewer system, the city has a difficult time securing housing developers. “It’s really tough. It just doesn’t pencil out,” said Clark.
There was also some push back on the mandated growth. A resident who was involved when the city became incorporated in 1987 stated, “We like our small town atmosphere. We don’t want to become another Palm Desert.”
Clark stated that a draft of the Housing Element report will be completed in mid-June and presented to the council before being submitted to the state.
