AGENDA PREVIEW: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, August 18, 2026
A vote on a café with a bar downtown, plus five code enforcement cases
In the first Planning Commission meeting since June 16, the City will be asking commissioners to consider five code enforcement cases and grant a conditional use permit (CUP) to the Nxwhere Bar, a café and event space with a full bar seeking a liquor license downtown.
Missing from the agenda is a continuation of the study sessions that have been taking place working toward generating a new general plan for the City. At the June 16 meeting, City Development Director announced that additional workshops would take place this month and in September. These will likely continue once summer is over.
The agenda packet for this meeting is here.
Our recap of the June 16 meeting is here.
As of this writing, the link to the meeting’s livestream had not been posted. We will update this article when we have the link. Residents can view the live meeting and register to comment through the livestream platform.
The livestream will be archived on the City’s YouTube channel.
The meeting begins at 5 pm and public comment takes place at the beginning of the meeting. The only Consent Calendar item is approval of minutes from the June 16 meeting.
Public Hearing: Nxwhere Cafe
Brigham and Barbara White and Jason Barber, owners of the proposed Nxwhere Cafe, are seeking a liquor license for a full bar serving beer, wine, and spirits along with food for the downtown coffee shop, workspace, and event venue. Tucked behind the Nxwhere Cafe building will be a small outdoor pool and lounge area in a gated area. The cafe is located in what was once an auto shop and was approved last year by the City. It is located at 73339 Twentynine Palms Highway at Pine Avenue.1 Operating hours are proposed to be 7 am to 4 pm daily and up to 1 am for evening events and hospitality operations (private events, live music, workshops, weddings, etc.), in accordance with approved permits and city guidelines.
Because the site sits in the Downtown General zone, alcohol sales need Commission approval. State rules cap how many liquor licenses a neighborhood can have, based on population. Census Tract 104.34, covering downtown and the casino, already has 18 licenses; state guidelines would normally allow just one more sit-down bar or restaurant license here without special approval.
To get around that cap, the applicant needs a “finding of Public Convenience or Necessity,” a determination that the community benefits from another license despite the tract being near its limit. Staff support the finding and recommend the Commission approve both it and the permit, and also recommend the project be exempt from further environmental review because it’s a remodel, not new construction. The state ABC and City Council still have final say on the license, but the Commission’s vote is the first step. ( it’s an offshoot of the club, it’s on their website with the address and the name
SAVE THE DATE! The Desert Trumpet will be hosting a City Council Candidate Forum at the Freedom Plaza Community Center / Gym September 26 from 3 to 5 pm.
The Desert Trumpet did a deep dive on liquor licenses in its report on the August 6, 2024 Planning Commission meeting and has reported that Twentynine Palms routinely exceeds state liquor license guidelines, most recently with a similar finding for a K-B Mart license last October. Will the Commission treat this as routine or ask how many “extra” licenses one tract should carry?
Code Enforcement Cases
Five more items deal with problem properties, each a separate hearing. Several cases have dragged on for years, but the good news is that one property has been removed from the nuisance list.
At 73268 Two Mile Road the owner’s representative cleared the trash and debris, and the site is now compliant. The owners of record are Timothy and Maria Lebeda, and once they pay the $1,366.75 board-up bill, the City will lift its hold on the title.
A vacant five-acre lot on Raymond Way, filled with abandoned vehicles and debris, has become an illegal dumping site. The City has sent notices since 2022, but the listed owner, Sun National Corporation, seems to no longer exist, and no citations have been issued for lack of anyone to hold responsible. Staff recommend declaring it a nuisance and ordering it cleared within 20 days.
A second nuisance complaint is lodged against the owner of a house at 72341 Sunnyslope, which has been derelict since a fire started in a car in the driveway in 2023. With no water service, it has sat unsecured and fire-damaged since. The owner of record is Vincent Crane of Twentynine Palms. Staff recommend declaring the property a nuisance and dangerous building, giving the owner a choice: demolish, or rebuild under permit, within set deadlines.
Properties at both 6776 Manzanita Drive and 6273 Abronia Avenue face the same nuisance and dangerous building declarations, the same demolish-or-rebuild choice, and a deadline to clear trash and debris. The owner of record of the Manzanita property is Joretta Calvert of Twentynine Palms, and the owner of the Abronia property is Gary Clemens, also of Twentynine Palms.
How Much Do Property Cleanups Cost?
The four public-nuisance and dangerous-building items (Raymond Way, Sunnyslope Drive, Manzanita Drive, Abronia Avenue) each include a “Fiscal Impact” section, but none give a dollar figure. Raymond Way’s report is typical, stating that “the precise fiscal impact cannot be fully determined at this time,” with staff needed to obtain a cost estimate later for Council approval.
Owners are liable for “all costs of the abatement, including administrative costs,” which the City tracks and can later attach as a lien or special assessment under state law. The actual price tag for staff time and enforcement work isn’t disclosed here.
The May 13, 2025 City Council meeting gives some picture of costs. At that meeting, City Manager H. Stone James proposed diverting $30,000 in unused navigation center and shower funds toward code enforcement, blight cleanup, and homeless encampment abatement, noting the City normally has just $5,000 a year for this work.
Twenty minutes of public comment followed, including arguments that past mobile shower events had been valued by the City’s homeless and were worthwhile investments, while others pointed out that cleaning up one house wouldn’t solve the underlying issue and urged investment in homeless preventive resources instead. Despite public opposition, the reallocation of navigation center funds to code enforcement passed 4-1, with Councilmember Octavious Scott opposed.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Planning Commissioners are being asked to vote to declare the four properties Public Nuisances/Dangerous Buildings and order remediation or demolition. They will likely vote to support the City’s recommendations as they have in the past.
City Development Director Gardner will provide an update to the commission at the close of the meeting.
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The cafe appears to be an offshoot of the Nxwhere Club, a Wonder Valley venue that has hosted DIY gatherings, underground moto-rides (like the "Ride to Nowhere"), live music, and film nights.