The Yucca Valley Town Council meeting kicked off with two public hearings regarding changes to the Development Code. The first item was to amend the Land Use Compliance Review requirements to include Irrigation and Landscape Review. This provision is only for small expansions to commercial properties; projects with over 500 square feet of new landscape area or over 2,500 square feet of rehabilitated landscape area will be subject to the State’s Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
The second public hearing was to establish permit procedures to process land use entitlements and development proposals in various land use zoning districts. The Town Council approved both measures.
BMLA Landscape Architecture provided the Town Council with an update and digital renderings of the Yucca Valley Sports Complex Project at Brehm Park. This was followed by a presentation of an agreement with Burrtec Waste and Recycling Services for the procurement of recovered organic waste, as required by Senate Bill 1383. The Town of Yucca Valley proposes to procure its required 1,786 tons of recovered organic waste in the form of compost, which Burrtec will facilitate at a rate of $17 per ton. As the Town currently uses between five and ten tons of compost annually, the majority of the compost will need to find use within the community, as noted by Council Member Merl Abel.
“Residents pay for it, so let them benefit by having some for their own gardens. If we’re giving it away, can we make sure we give it away to our school district or to a nonprofit in the area, or give it to people that are residents or supported in Landers or Joshua Tree? Anywhere there are parks or grass where compost can be used; I’d like to see it donated locally if at all possible.”
The Council voted to award the construction contract for Phase 1 of the Community Center Athletic Facilities Project. While the first phase must be completed by the end of next year, the project’s development timeline hinges on the State Fish and Wildlife Department, as the site contains roughly 70 Joshua Trees whose relocation must be approved. Lastly, the Council voted in favor of a Cooperative Agreement with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority regarding widening Highway 62 from Sage Avenue to Airway Avenue.
