Reposted from the March 21, 2008 Sun Blast e-mail newsletter:
If you're wondering why the Sun Blast is arriving at around midnight, well, it has something to do with a three hour meeting in Joshua Tree. Normally, long meetings are the bane of civilized society, in my experience, but this one was different. I apologize for reporting on the meeting in the Sun Blast, but for those of us who live in the hi-desert, this is an important turning point in whether we retain our rural desert culture, or we turn into the sprawling mess of a new Temecula.
The packed meeting of the Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Council featured a presentation on a proposed development of 2,600-2,700 homes, accompanied by commercial development, situated on one square mile of what is now a beautiful and healthy Joshua tree forest, running on the south side of Highway 62 as you enter Joshua Tree from the west.
Steven Katz of Katz Builders & Developers, a company based out of Philadelphia whose motto is "Exeeding Expectations," first trotted out a presentation by Laura Bonich of Nolte Engineering. Bonich's Power Point excursion into the world of "sustainable" development was simplistic, and came off a bit, as some present deemed, "condescending." "We're not a bunch of dumb hicks," one speaker noted in reference to the presentation.
I don't think Bonich was trying to be condescending, but her presentation served as a statement as to how out of touch Katz is with how the community views itself and its future.
The first slide of Katz's presentation was loaded with irony - it showed a sketch of buildings with a big parking lot with not a Joshua tree in sight, helping make the point that more than 11,000 Joshua trees would likely be removed from the property. Katz talked about one of his company's older developments. The folks who originally bought into that development are able now to take up residence in an assisted living kind of facility in the area that his company is building - a builder for all generations.
Katz presented an air of self-assuredness, often phrasing his plans as, "We will..." There is something of the air of a carpetbagger about someone who comes into your community and sets about telling you what they will do to it, whether you like it or not. "We're thinking about people, people, people," Katz said innocently, to a bout of laughter from the audience. He had summed up the problem precisely.
Then, Katz continued on his parade of hi-desert faux pas, showing an example of a project in Scottsdale to demonstrate the features he wants to bring to Joshua Tree. Nobody in Joshua Tree wants their town to look like Scottsdale. Why not just tell them you're going to turn their community into Adelanto, Temecula, Corona, or Riverside - San Bernardino even? After that, he spoke about the possibility of using artificial turf in the pocket parks his sustainable "village" development touts along with miles of "trails" - trails that wind among scenic high density neighborhoods, roads, and manicured washes lined with dying transplanted Joshua trees removed from other areas of the development. By that point it was clear that Katz has no clue whatsoever about the desert, why anyone would live here, or why the desert would be important to anyone. More than two years into planning his project, and he doesn't get it. But most developers don't get it - and don't care. They do what they do well, but what they don't do well is often what they pay lip service to, in order to placate a community. But Joshua Tree wasn't buying it.
I was proud of the people of the Morongo Basin who attended the meeting and spoke from the heart about what this desert means to them and how they will not let this suburban nightmare plop itself down on the road into town without a fight. They intelligently and passionately raised legitimate issues, and were direct, yet respectful. If Katz listened at all, he has to know that he is not just going against the wishes of much of the community, not to mention against the intent of all the planning the community has done for its future, but that he is also quite literally causing a lot of hurt to some of these people, all for the sake of a buck.
But of course, millions of dollars (quite a few millions at that), can help ease one's conscience when you live far, far away from those you've hurt. Still, he had to hear the threats of lawsuits, and the serious, intelligent, and organized tone of the opposition. And I get the feeling that that's just the beginning.
A recent news story about the development noted that Katz said he had been in contact with Trader Joe's and it sounded like he had hinted that they may locate a store in his development, which seemed odd since they had reportedly denied having any interest in our area not long before. Too bad someone checked with Trader Joe's, who reportedly denied any interest in the area once again (they haven't responded to my inquiry yet). Could Katz just have tossed that out there because a recent economic development survey cited Trader Joe's as one of the most sought after stores by hi-desert residents? Nah, he wouldn't stoop that low, would he?
It was likely just a misunderstanding. Just like the one about the several meetings Katz had with the superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, Curt Sauer. Unfortunately, Curt was in attendance, and noted that they had only met once, with a number of other agencies and developers, and it was a general meeting about desert tortoise issues. Katz had spoken correctly though when he had said that their meetings were general in nature, and he had been at another meeting with other JTNP staff once, so it is understandable if he was a little off. Developers are human too.
Comments from those in attendance were strong, but civil, ranging from, "We're simply not going to allow you to do it," and, "There's nothing about this project that's green," to, "I don't think anyone in this room buys that at all," in response to one of Katz's explanations. Many good points were made, and thoughtful perspectives were offered by the folks from JT. My favorite was when Katz was asked how many nights he had slept out in the open on his property. "None," was his reply. A suitably lengthy number of nights was recommended. Then, "How many nights have you slept out in the open in Joshua Tree National Park?" Again, none was the answer. Finally, "How many nights have you slept out in the open in the Mojave?" Katz's answer remained the same. The speaker responded gently, "I recommend a lifetime."
Well spoken.
Thank you for your support,
Steve Brown
Publisher and Executive Editor for The Sun Runner Magazine,
in mostly sunny, Twentynine Palms, California.
If you're wondering why the Sun Blast is arriving at around midnight, well, it has something to do with a three hour meeting in Joshua Tree. Normally, long meetings are the bane of civilized society, in my experience, but this one was different. I apologize for reporting on the meeting in the Sun Blast, but for those of us who live in the hi-desert, this is an important turning point in whether we retain our rural desert culture, or we turn into the sprawling mess of a new Temecula.
The packed meeting of the Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Council featured a presentation on a proposed development of 2,600-2,700 homes, accompanied by commercial development, situated on one square mile of what is now a beautiful and healthy Joshua tree forest, running on the south side of Highway 62 as you enter Joshua Tree from the west.
Steven Katz of Katz Builders & Developers, a company based out of Philadelphia whose motto is "Exeeding Expectations," first trotted out a presentation by Laura Bonich of Nolte Engineering. Bonich's Power Point excursion into the world of "sustainable" development was simplistic, and came off a bit, as some present deemed, "condescending." "We're not a bunch of dumb hicks," one speaker noted in reference to the presentation.
I don't think Bonich was trying to be condescending, but her presentation served as a statement as to how out of touch Katz is with how the community views itself and its future.
The first slide of Katz's presentation was loaded with irony - it showed a sketch of buildings with a big parking lot with not a Joshua tree in sight, helping make the point that more than 11,000 Joshua trees would likely be removed from the property. Katz talked about one of his company's older developments. The folks who originally bought into that development are able now to take up residence in an assisted living kind of facility in the area that his company is building - a builder for all generations.
Katz presented an air of self-assuredness, often phrasing his plans as, "We will..." There is something of the air of a carpetbagger about someone who comes into your community and sets about telling you what they will do to it, whether you like it or not. "We're thinking about people, people, people," Katz said innocently, to a bout of laughter from the audience. He had summed up the problem precisely.
Then, Katz continued on his parade of hi-desert faux pas, showing an example of a project in Scottsdale to demonstrate the features he wants to bring to Joshua Tree. Nobody in Joshua Tree wants their town to look like Scottsdale. Why not just tell them you're going to turn their community into Adelanto, Temecula, Corona, or Riverside - San Bernardino even? After that, he spoke about the possibility of using artificial turf in the pocket parks his sustainable "village" development touts along with miles of "trails" - trails that wind among scenic high density neighborhoods, roads, and manicured washes lined with dying transplanted Joshua trees removed from other areas of the development. By that point it was clear that Katz has no clue whatsoever about the desert, why anyone would live here, or why the desert would be important to anyone. More than two years into planning his project, and he doesn't get it. But most developers don't get it - and don't care. They do what they do well, but what they don't do well is often what they pay lip service to, in order to placate a community. But Joshua Tree wasn't buying it.
I was proud of the people of the Morongo Basin who attended the meeting and spoke from the heart about what this desert means to them and how they will not let this suburban nightmare plop itself down on the road into town without a fight. They intelligently and passionately raised legitimate issues, and were direct, yet respectful. If Katz listened at all, he has to know that he is not just going against the wishes of much of the community, not to mention against the intent of all the planning the community has done for its future, but that he is also quite literally causing a lot of hurt to some of these people, all for the sake of a buck.
But of course, millions of dollars (quite a few millions at that), can help ease one's conscience when you live far, far away from those you've hurt. Still, he had to hear the threats of lawsuits, and the serious, intelligent, and organized tone of the opposition. And I get the feeling that that's just the beginning.
A recent news story about the development noted that Katz said he had been in contact with Trader Joe's and it sounded like he had hinted that they may locate a store in his development, which seemed odd since they had reportedly denied having any interest in our area not long before. Too bad someone checked with Trader Joe's, who reportedly denied any interest in the area once again (they haven't responded to my inquiry yet). Could Katz just have tossed that out there because a recent economic development survey cited Trader Joe's as one of the most sought after stores by hi-desert residents? Nah, he wouldn't stoop that low, would he?
It was likely just a misunderstanding. Just like the one about the several meetings Katz had with the superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, Curt Sauer. Unfortunately, Curt was in attendance, and noted that they had only met once, with a number of other agencies and developers, and it was a general meeting about desert tortoise issues. Katz had spoken correctly though when he had said that their meetings were general in nature, and he had been at another meeting with other JTNP staff once, so it is understandable if he was a little off. Developers are human too.
Comments from those in attendance were strong, but civil, ranging from, "We're simply not going to allow you to do it," and, "There's nothing about this project that's green," to, "I don't think anyone in this room buys that at all," in response to one of Katz's explanations. Many good points were made, and thoughtful perspectives were offered by the folks from JT. My favorite was when Katz was asked how many nights he had slept out in the open on his property. "None," was his reply. A suitably lengthy number of nights was recommended. Then, "How many nights have you slept out in the open in Joshua Tree National Park?" Again, none was the answer. Finally, "How many nights have you slept out in the open in the Mojave?" Katz's answer remained the same. The speaker responded gently, "I recommend a lifetime."
Well spoken.
Thank you for your support,
Steve Brown
Publisher and Executive Editor for The Sun Runner Magazine,
in mostly sunny, Twentynine Palms, California.
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