JV HOSTS HVCC THIS MONDAY
• This month’s meeting of the Homestead Valley Community Council happens this Monday afternoon, June 20, in the Johnson Valley Community Center.
Everyone is invited! If you have not attended before, you can find out online what the HVCC does and what it has accomplished, see www.hvccsite.org.
Interaction among the guest speakers and the guests in the audience can be lively and productive. We usually see representatives from CalFire and County Fire, as well as the Sheriff’s Department, our County Supervisor Dawn Rowe, and Field Reps from our State lawmakers.
HVCC has always been a self-starting grassroots organization, and has made firm connections to other rural community groups from Apple Valley in the west to Twentynine Palms in the east and Morongo Valley to the south.
Renewable energy developers want to industrialize the desert, newcomers have no background in living with our bureaucratic and environmental issues. Joining four community organizations to speak with one voice on local, state, and federal issues has made the HVCC the central magnet for drawing folks from other unincorporated areas, too.
Come find out what’s happening.
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BALANCED BUDGET & SHORT-TERM RENTALS
• The County Board of Supervisors’ recent actions on balancing the budget and reining in short-term rentals are familiar topics that the HVCC has kept us up with. If you haven’t already run across these stories, you’ll want to look them up.
Some highlights of the wide-ranging complex budgeting process:
– Most new spending for the next fiscal year (July 2022-June 2023) is for one-time expenses in case a recession hits during the next twelve months, those expenses are covered.
-Set-aside reserves count for more than 20% of the budget.
-Best news for desert dwellers: the Sheriff’s Department plans to hire additional staff members, including 18 more patrol officers for unincorporated areas, 10 staffers to work in medical transportation, and 10 marijuana enforcement team members.
-Another complex issue:
-New short-term rentals will be paused under a temporary urgency ordinance approved by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
-The 45-day interim urgency ordinance takes effect immediately. It was brought forward by Supervisor Dawn Rowe, who represents the majority of the county’s unincorporated mountain and desert communities.
-The ordinance applies to unincorporated communities, including Joshua Tree, Morongo Valley, Landers, Big Bear City, and Wrightwood, among others.
-The county will accept and process applications for short-term rentals but will issue no permits until after the 45 days elapse. The pause on new permits does not apply to applications submitted before the ordinance took effect, or to applications to renew existing short-term rentals.
The supervisors also approved several amendments to the county’s short-term rental ordinance.
-These changes include a limit on STRs per parcel size, and occupancy per number of bedrooms.
-These and other changes take effect on July 28, 30 days after the ordinance is introduced on second reading on June 28. The temporary pause on new permits allows time to implement the new rules and study other options.
Rowe is reported saying she hopes that their staff could spend the 45 days examining the county’s capacity for code enforcement on short-term rental, and perhaps re-evaluate using an external company for more proactive enforcement.
County staff also outlined several options to be brought before the Planning Commission and then the Board of Supervisors, including a ban on evicting long-term tenants in order to establish a short-term rental, capping the number of allowed short-term rentals, and expanding the county’s STR ordinance to the valley region.
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JV CHUCKWAGON🍔🌭
• Another event to lure you to the Johnson Valley Community Center happens on the three-day Independence Day weekend!
Saturday, July 2, the legendary JV Chuckwagon rolls in, serving up traditional favorites for our July fare. Hot dogs, hamburgers, sides, toppings, and ice cream for dessert, all for only 5.00 per person; kids 12 and younger only 2.00.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m., good eats at 5:00. After dinner, David Stumbaugh of AirMedCare will fill us in on airlift service if you ever require emergency care in a hospital. Stay for the meeting afterward – we should have some reports and local happenings this month.
Everyone is invited, you do not have to be a JVIA member to join in!
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$UPER YARD $ALE!
• Saturday, June 25, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Bargains, bargains everywhere, racks of bolts, nuts and screws, lots of raw materials, power and hand tools, garden shovels and rakes, plus household goods – check out the attached flyer for a list of items and the treasure map to find them!
Come early for the best selection!
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FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS—-
• JVIA ADDRESS & DIRECTIONS
The mailing address is:
JVIA
50567A Quailbush Rd.
Johnson Valley CA 92285
Directions to the Community Center:
From Hwy 247, turn onto Larrea Road, go 1-3/4 miles to Quailbush Rd.
The Community Center is on your left at the corner.
The Paul Van Hook Desert Dreams Garden is next to the parking lot, open to all.
(Please help keep kids and dogs out of the garden railway layout; it’s easily damaged, and the trains won’t run with dirt on the tracks.)
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C H O C O L A T E N E W S
😋1. If you’ve got melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re eating it too slowly.
2. Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want. 🍒🍊🍓
Keep smilin’
Betty
Betty Munson
c/o Ship-It-Shop
51720 Hacienda Rd.
Johnson Valley CA 92285