ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, March 3, 2026

In a significant procedural move, City Staff recommend for the E-Group PS solar decision to be transferred from the Planning Commission to City Council

A number of readers brought to our attention to work that has just begun on a solar facility on County land just outside the Twentynine Palms city limits. The 9.9 megawatt Lear Solar Project was approved by San Bernardino County in early 2025. (Photo: Mary Kay Sherry)

At its February 17, 2026, meeting,¹ the Planning Commission voted to continue their discussion of and decision on the approval of the conditional use permit for the E-Group Solar Project to the March 3 meeting. The agenda packet for the upcoming meeting is 818 pages long (linked here) and includes a bombshell: staff is recommending that the decision about the project be transferred from the Planning Commission to the City Council.

RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning Commission transfer its decision-making authority to the City Council pursuant to Section 19.28.110 of the Development Code due to the policy implications, unique or unusual circumstances, and/or the magnitude of the proposed E-Group Solar Project.

This is a significant procedural move.

Searches through City minutes online reveal that this move is unprecedented in Twentynine Palms. Moving the decision from the Planning Commission to the City Council is not unusual in locations like Los Angeles, however, where there are frequent complex decisions to be made.

Staff are likely making this recommendation for several reasons:

1. Accountability: Planning Commissioners are appointed while City Council members are elected. By transferring authority, the decision is placed in the hands of people who are directly accountable to voters—some of whom have been vocal about their opposition to this project. Because there are significant environmental impacts per the Draft Environmental Impact Report and because other fast-tracked projects have resulted in litigation (“Lawsuit Filed Against the City of Twentynine Palms to Challenge the Approval of the Ofland Resort”), this moves the political heat to elected officials.

2. A faster decision: E-Group PS is under time pressure to begin the project with tax credits in jeopardy if work has not started by July 4, 2026. Kicking the process to City Council eliminates a step and a possible rejection by the Planning Commission, who did not all look on the community benefits package offered by E-Group with favor.

It would seem that by moving the decision to the City Council, the city is acknowledging that the E-Group project is a political and legal decision as much as it is a land-use one. And since it is so significant, why didn’t Staff make this recommendation from the start of the process?

The agenda’s discussion section states that much of the discussion at the February 17 meeting centered on the benefits package and asserts that “City Staff represented to the Planning Commission that the benefits package was negotiated based on parameters provided by the City Council.” As we reported here, our analysis of the City Council minutes subsequent to a discussion of the benefits package led by E-Group representative Robert Smith on June 24, 2025, shows it was never voted on or approved by Council—and that E-Group misrepresented a workshop item as a vote.

What Will Happen at Tuesday’s Meeting?

1. Community Development Director Keith Gardner will present the staff report

2. Planning Commission will ask questions

3. Public comment will be opened

4. The hearing will be closed

5. The Planning Commission will discuss transferring the decision to the City Council

6. The Planning Commission will vote

As we reported in our coverage of the last Planning Commission, there was considerable public pushback on approving the E-Group PS Solar Project based on concerns about dust, health (Valley Fever), "aesthetic damage," and the fate of desert tortoises that live on the parcels in question. In addition, the Environmental Impact Report has yet to be finalized.

The Planning Commission meeting takes place Tuesday, March 3, at 5 pm at City Hall.

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1. The Desert Trumpet report on that meeting is in two parts:

Part 1 recapped the presentation by E-Group and discussion of the community benefits package by the Commission

Part 2 covered environmental and scenic impacts and public comment on the project.