RECAP: Planning Commission, January 16, 2024
Approval of the City's very first brewery, showers for the homeless loses a location
The first Planning Commission meeting of 2024 was 17 minutes long and included approval of a conditional use permit, updates from Community Development Director Keith Gardner, and a Housing and Homeless Committee Study Session. All five planning commissioners were in attendance.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Alice Lawson commented on homelessness while Veno Nathraj commented on local tourism, suggesting the city hire outside consultants to assist them in determining which businesses to attract in the downtown corridor to best attract tourists.
“We have a storage facility. We know storage facilities don't attract tourists. We have a very nice liquor store that just came up. That doesn't attract tourists. And now we having a car wash going in. A car wash doesn't attract tourists.”
COMMISSION COMMENTS AND REPORTS OF MEETINGS ATTENDED
Commissioner Leslie Paahana wished everyone a happy 2024 stating that she had attended the most recent City Council meeting, reminding residents to look into Measure W and San Bernardino County Fire Service Zone FP-5 prior to voting on the issue this upcoming March 5th election. Planning Commission Chair Jim Krushat thanked members of the City Staff and Planning Commission for all their hard work.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The minutes from the December 5th PC meeting were accepted and approved 5-0.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
CUP23-000006 a Conditional Use Permit for the establishment of a small beer manufacturer and brewhouse/ brewpub located at 73565 Twentynine Palms Highway. The Planning Commission approved the Conditional Use Permit for 29 Beer Company LLC 5-0. City Staff member Shelley Green presented 29 Beer Company LLC’s plans for the city’s first brewhouse while brewery co-owner Mike Usher was in attendance to answer any questions from staff and the public.
Previously occupied by Echo Nail Salon and King Buzzard Tattoo, the brewpub will be located at 73565 Twentynine Palms Highway. In a letter of intent to the City, the proprietors of 29 Beer Company wrote, “This is a joint venture between three friends and their families, looking to bring the first brewery to the City of 29 Palms. 29 Beer Company will be the only operating brewery for 75 miles, and will offer the local market with clean, quality, craft beers handcrafted in 29 Palms.”
Details of the brewery’s master floor plan included in the City Staff report, completed by architect Daniel Seagondollar 
29 Beer Company will feature a 700 square foot outdoor patio space
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR UPDATE
Keith Gardner updated the Planning Commission on approval of the new location of King Buzzard Tattoo, which previously occupied the space where new brewery is planned. The new location for the tattoo shop is 5686 The Plaza, Twentynine Palms. Gardner stated that the City received more than fifteen letters in support of the business and its new shop location, which was unprecedented.
STUDY SESSION
Housing and Homeless Committee
Tuesday’s Housing and Homeless Committee study session began with an announcement from Keith Gardner that the proposed location of the city’s Navigation Center had fallen through due to the landowner now selling the property. Gardner also said he would work on finding a new location to host mobile showers because Shadow Mountain Community Church, which had originally agreed to host the showers, will not commit to maintain them. The loss of the Navigation Center was revealed by ARCH at the November 7 Homeless and Housing Committee meeting and the showers were initially approved by City Council at their August 22 meeting.
Committee members then discussed three potential options to address the State of California’s housing element requirements: adaptive re-use, new builds, and a Home Revitalization Program. The Desert Trumpet discussed these housing options in our Agenda Recap on January 15. As in prior meetings, the Housing And Homeless Committee study session was not recorded.
Andrea Keller presented on adaptive re-use and new builds, weighing out the pros and cons of each as potential options the city can take to address the housing and homelessness issue in the city. The Motel 6 on Highway 62 was used as an example of adaptive re-use.
Andrea Keller and Jessica Cure’s presentation on Housing & Homelessness looked at the Motel 6 transformation project at L.A. County’s Laurel Grove housing complex as one example of adaptive re-use. While adaptive re-use is the most environmentally friendly option, it requires a building capable of being remodeled for this purpose, and a building owner who is willing to sell for a project such as this. Committee member Veno Nathraj said he and the Motel 6 owners had discussed previously the potential of selling the Motel 6 building to the city, but that the owners were no longer interested.
Keller then presented on new builds, which the city has already agreed to take on, stating that new construction would require sewer package treatment plants and that the number of housing units produced needs to be worth the cost of the treatment plant. Cost of the sewer would be upward of $1 million and estimated square footage costs of a new-build are $360/sq. ft., which is lower than the proposed $1000/sq. ft. outlined in the adaptive re-use option.
Overall, the primary concern for these projects is cost. Commissioner Paahana emphasized the need to provide the City Council with something that is sustainable and falls within the scope of the city’s operating budget. While options like adaptive re-use appear to kill multiple birds with one stone, the cost of implementing such a project would far exceed the city’s financial capabilities. How the city will find the funding for these potential housing projects is yet to be determined. Planning Commissioners also questioned what, if any, consequences there would be for the city if it fails to fully implement the State of California’s housing element goals.
The next Planning Commission meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, and the next Homeless Committee Study Session will tentatively take place during the March 5 Planning Commission meeting.
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