ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council, March 12, 2024
ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council, March 12, 2024
Waiving fees for a church, Housing Element, wastewater tweak and self-build housing
The Twentynine Palms City Council will tackle a grab bag of items at this meeting, including whether to waive fees for church use of City property, a yearly update on the City’s progress toward its Housing Element goals, extending the Project Phoenix wastewater treatment maintenance contract, and an update on the proposed self-build housing idea.
Then the Council will enter closed session to discuss the City’s search for a new City Manager. Per the agenda, the Council will meet in closed session after the meeting’s public portion, which as usual begins at 6 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Comments on agenda items take place during the discussion of that item. Comments on non-agenda items take place near the end of the meeting. The Brown Act prevents Council from commenting on non-agenda items.
To comment, pick up a green (or occasionally gold) form at the entry desk, fill it out, and hand it to the Clerk, who is usually sitting in front of the Council bench on the right side. You can also send comments by email to City Council members to be read at the meeting — be sure to request that your comments be read aloud at the meeting. Send a cc to Cindy Villescas, the Council secretary. You can find the email addresses here.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar consists of routine items usually approved with a single vote. The public is given a chance to make public comment on these items prior to the Council motion. Again, fill out a comment form if you wish to address any of the items on this meeting’s Consent Calendar. For this meeting, the calendar consists of approval of the warrant register for February 2024.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
8. The Sanctuary Church Fee Waiver Request for the Use of the Community Center Gymnasium
Here the Council must decide whether to grant Sanctuary Church a fee waiver for four days’ use of the City’s Community Center gymnasium and kitchen, rather than the usual free single day per year.
The church reserved the City’s Community Center gymnasium and kitchen for four days, April 25 through April 28, to celebrate the church’s 20th anniversary. The church then requested the City waive the $3,855 facility rental fee, due to the Church’s non-profit status and also citing “the community-oriented nature of [this] event.”
Per the staff report, in order to keep city facilities available for a diversity of users, the City’s current practice is to grant non-profits just one day of waived fee facility use per year.
The only written policy around this is a 1989 City motion that doesn’t specify any limit on days per year — City staff recommends this be updated.
The City never waives insurance fees or cleaning deposits, so these are excluded from the request.
9. Housing Element Annual Report
Per California law, the City must provide the state with a report every year demonstrating progress toward the City’s permitting goals for new housing. The Planning Commission and City Council must approve this report before it is sent to the state.
Twentynine Palms, like most California cities and counties, is on an eight-year Housing Element cycle. The most recent Twentynine Palms Housing Element was approved by the state in February 2023 and the current cycle runs 2021 to 2029, so these housing goals must be met by 2029.
The staff report offers no comment on the City’s pace of progress, but at a glance, this year’s report shows that in 2023 just 27 new housing units were permitted in the City, preceded by 25 in 2022.
This slow pace toward increasing housing in the City stands in contrast to the City’s commitment to the state to facilitate 1105 new housing units over the eight-year period ending in 2029. To hit this goal, the City must average 138 new housing units per year.
But at its current pace, the City of Twentynine Palms will meet just 16% of its housing goal by 2029.
Moreover, it appears that the number of very low income and extremely low income housing units permitted in Twentynine Palms since 2021 has been zero—while the state is expecting the City to permit 231 and 116 such units, respectively, by 2029.
That said, plans remain afoot for 91 units of affordable housing adjacent to City Hall per our previous coverage and editorial.
10. Project Phoenix Wastewater System Service Contract Amendment
This item would extend for another year the existing contract between the City and San Bernardino County for maintenance by the County of the small wastewater treatment plant that serves 18 downtown businesses.
The City lacks staff certified to perform sewer maintenance and originally contracted with County for this service in February 2021. After evaluating possible vendors, the City chose with County CSA 70 (County of San Bernardino Special Districts Department County Service Area 70).
The City has been pleased with service from the County so staff is recommending extending the contract for another year. The amount is $146,793.58 with a total not-to-exceed amount of $346,482.59.
In the upcoming year the City expects to install an improved “packaged advanced treatment plant” to serve these same downtown businesses, but the City expects the extended contract to cover that new plant as well.
11. Update on Self-Build Housing Program
This is a short progress update to the Council from Community Development Director Keith Gardner on the City’s “Self-Build Housing Program” initiative. This is the same initiative we covered back in January.
To move forward, the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC) is requesting from the City 10 to 13 City-owned vacant parcels, with nearby water and power service. Staff has forwarded to CVHC three clusters of parcels that meet these criteria, and a response from CVHC is expected shortly. The location of these parcels was not identified in the agenda packet.
Per staff report, “The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC) administers a Mutual Self-Help Program whereas potential homeowners essentially build their own homes that they must live in for a certain amount of time. Currently, this program is constructing homes in the Cities of Brawley and Imperial, and other unincorporated areas around the Salton Sea. Participants must meet certain income and credit score requirements, and must dedicate at least 40 hours a week in labor.”
The cost to the City of participating in this CVHC program is not yet known — staff note that the cost would depend highly on the value of whichever particular parcels the City deeded to CVHC.
FUTURE COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS
Seasonal Banners throughout the City.
Discussion with the Homeless Committee on the possibility of hotel housing the homeless for short periods of time.
Discussion of moving the 29! sign.
General Plan review.
Discussion on an Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change grant that is available.
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