According to the Southern California Association of Governments, or SCAG, the six counties that make up the organization will see an influx of nearly four million new residents by 2045. Planners from SCAG were talking to people at a workshop in Joshua Tree yesterday; their aim was to get a feel for how people in the Morongo Basin might prioritize the housing and transportation demands of a growing population with the threats that growth can pose to the environment. Reporter Mike Lipsitz was there …
There’s no getting around it; the next 25 years will bring change to our Morongo Basin. SCAG is planning for that growth and looking at ways to best manage it through a program called Connect SoCal. Connect SoCal looks to answer the question of whether change here will come in response to population growth, with cheap land stimulating development, and transportation and environmental considerations coming as an afterthought. Or whether Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and the surrounding communities will embrace a future where incentives stimulate new housing development around job centers and transportation hubs, and the open spaces and scenic values so plentiful in Morongo Basin remain intact and on the outskirts of more dynamic, expanding areas down the hill and beyond. To learn more about the program and to register your input, SCAG invites you to complete a survey on the subject at connectsocal.org.
