At last night’s meeting of the Yucca Valley Town Council, representatives from Mara’s Christmas Wish gave council members a preview of what the annual Christmas dinner will look like in the year of COVID. Instead of a dinner buffet in the Yucca Valley Community Center, residents will drive through the center’s parking lot and they will be given a gift card to Stater Brothers or Grocery Outlet. Toys will also be distributed to children during the drive-through. Managing editor Tami Roleff says the council also approved 17 candidates for the youth commission, and discussed changing the rules on who is eligible to be on the commission…
One of the applicants for the Yucca Valley Youth Commission was a Yucca Valley teenager who had been on the commission for two years, but this year is a remote-learning student at a high school in the Low Desert. The Yucca Valley ordinance for the youth commission requires that applicants attend school in Yucca Valley, and so the student was disqualified from serving on the commission. The council directed staff to develop an amendment to the town ordinance to give more flexibility in appointing students to the Youth Commission.
The council also gave direction to staff about a four-acre vacant lot owned by the town between Elk and Fox Trails on the highway in Old Town Yucca Valley. Council members agreed that the location would be ideal for a paved parking area that provides easy access for pedestrians to walk to Old Town. They thought it could also be used for events like car shows, art shows, and a farmers’ market.
In other business, the council agreed not to increase the public facility development impact fees, although Mayor Pro Tem Merl Abel asked that the council consider increasing them next year.
The council also approved the release of the request for proposals for the widening of Onaga Trail to make it pedestrian-friendly between Acoma Trail and Grand Avenue. The project will widen Onaga to four lanes with a painted median and left turn pocket, and add sidewalks, curbs and gutters. However, widening a section of Onaga Trail, just west of Palm Avenue, will mean that there will not be room for street parking, which will affect six houses on Onaga Trail.
And finally, the council learned that representatives for Aldi are in negotiations with the town for a conditional use permit for a grocery store in the Warren Vista Center.
The 2020-21 Yucca Valley Youth Commissioners:
Applicant name Grade School Prior YC Service
1. Larissa Abbott 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School 1 yr
2. Dakota Hernandez 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School 2 yrs
3. Nicholas Lafferty 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School 3 yrs
4. Elizabeth Dahlberg 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School 1 yr
5. Guinevere Dahlberg 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School 1 yr
6. Aunalise Terreri 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School New
7. Christopher Davis 11th Grade Yucca Valley High School New
8. Savannah Canto 10th Grade Yucca Valley High School 1 yr
9. Peyton Chandler 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School 2 yrs
10. Stephanie Davis 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School New
11. Emma Wilkinson 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School 2 yrs
12. Ariella Guthrie 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School New
13. Mariam Hussain 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School New
14. Autumn Radcliff 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School 1 yr
15. Kade Yakimow 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School New
16. Audrey Reed 9th Grade Yucca Valley High School 1 yr
17. Hannah Cusack 8th Grade La Contenta Middle School 1 yr
