It was standing room only in the Wonder Valley Community Center yesterday as residents gathered to watch a presentation from developers of The Wonder Inn, a planned resort that has drawn the ire of locals who say it will bring environmental damage, additional traffic, and light pollution, all while threatening the water supply.
The developers, Alan Greenberg and Jason Landver, have purchased what is known locally as “the pink building” – a 4,407-squre-foot commercial building – as well as 134.6 acres around it, though current plans call for the development of just 25 acres. Plans include a 20-person staff for the year-round resort.
Alongside Greenberg (Landver was not present), David Mlynarski, principal at Transtech Engineers, presented to the audience a thirty-minute power point that failed to impress. What followed was a steady stream of speakers who fiercely opposed the plans and had many questions for the duo, who seemed unprepared for the stringent opposition.
Wonder Valley resident, Eric Hamburg, created the site, StopWonderInn.org, to keep residents informed about the project, and spoke to Z107.7 after the meeting, “If this project gets approved, it will enable other projects and developments that will start the Rancho Mirage-ization of a unique place that should be left alone.”
The plans also include a swimming pool, hot tubs, and outdoor showers. The required water study is done but other necessary studies are not yet complete. San Bernardino County Land Use Services is reviewing the project and will publicize environmental surveys of the project site before it goes before the county planning commission for approval which may take up to a year.
When one resident noted that this was the first she had heard of the project, Greenberg and Mlynarski stated that they had reached out to “various stakeholders” throughout the community, though they did not provide any specifics when asked.
Margaret Oostendorp, a resident who had moved to the area for health reasons, presented spirited opposition at the meeting. “How are you going to give people the desert experience by destroying the desert experience? It just doesn’t make sense. If we are emotional about this because it touches us very deeply… We have to be serious about this because these are our lives. For somebody like me, this is my health. This is the kind of thing that could cut a few years of my life, so I take it very personally.”
https://www.dalebasinwellowners.org/post/the-wonder-inn-project
https://www.aearchitect.com/wonder-inn
