All five Commissioners braved the summer heat to attend the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, August 18, along with City Development Director Keith Gardner, Clerk Shelley Green, and Code Enforcement Officer Vanessa Cabrera.
The agenda packet is here.
The link to the meeting video is here.
Our agenda preview is here.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The Planning Commission meeting kicked off with public comment. District 4 City Council candidate Carlos Blandon was the sole speaker. He brought documentation on two properties “to the bias, a dias, you call it….I don’t understand why nothing has been done or nothing has been moved. So please do something. We need action. Code enforcement is economic development.” Mr. Blandon did not indicate publicly which properties were in question.
The Consent Calendar, which consisted of the minutes for the June 16 Planning Commission meeting, passed without discussion.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Nxwhere Café Alcohol and Event Permit
The Planning Commission considered a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to grant a full-service liquor permit to the Nxwhere Cafe, which has already been approved as a coffee shop with a workspace.
The May 2025 approval also included a 2,200 sq ft pool and lounge area tucked behind the cafe, which is located in what was once an auto shop located at 73339 Twentynine Palms Highway at Pine Avenue. 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.
City Development Director Gardner said the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) department allows only one alcohol license for a census tract of the size within which the cafe will sit.1 However, 18 establishments within the tract have licenses—this includes the casino and all of downtown on the south side of Hwy 62. Nonetheless, Gardner noted, the City’s staff says an additional license supports a “vibrant downtown” and recommended that the Planning Commission approve the CUP and send it to the City Council for their approval.
Owner Brigham White spoke first in public comment, saying
My wife and I are artists and we came to Twentynine Palms because there's such a great artist community. We wanted to develop a space, a community space where people could come in, inspire each other, and and do art together, with really great cocktails, really great menu, really great coffee during the day, and great tots.
Carlos Blandon spoke in support, comparing the concept to pre-World War I artist cafés in Budapest, Hungary. Neighboring property owner Joshua Brandon cautioned that the café sits at the base of Donnell Hill,
which is a very dangerous place already. Rarely do people slow down until they’re hitting the AM PM and the gas station…. and getting ready to go up the hill, they’re already hitting the accelerator as soon as they pass the AM PM….I know exactly what it means to live dangerously. I’ve had two neighbors have their cars totaled in that area, it’s again a very dangerous area. And adding alcohol to that is only going to exacerbate that problem.
Commissioners Leslie Paahana and Jessica Cure then raised access and noise concerns: Paahana confirmed there’s no direct entry from Highway 62 (customers must use Pine Avenue or the cross street), while Cure pushed for an explicit 10 pm cutoff for outdoor noise instead of a general ordinance reference, which Gardner agreed to add.
Commissioner Cure then raised several parking and occupancy questions. She asked whether construction was complete, since the project had grown beyond the original site plan review; Gardner said work is underway. She noted the staff report referenced fire department paperwork for parking “based on potentially new occupancy,” yet listed no actual change to the 39 spaces or occupancy count. Gardner explained occupancy is formally set later, at the building permit stage.
Commissioner Cure also flagged two mismatched parcel numbers between the fire department attachment and the CUP, traced to the recent merger of the underlying lots. City Clerk Shelley Green then clarified that parking was already assessed during last year’s site plan review, calculated the same way as for a restaurant, so the total spaces on file won’t change and that occupancy for public and private events would match a restaurant’s too. Green noted staff attached the original conditions to the packet so Commissioners could see what was already approved. Cure said that resolved her concerns.
Cure also confirmed food service must run throughout alcohol service, and asked about pool safety given late-night alcohol service; Gardner said that’s a separate building-safety matter.
Commissioner Alex Garcia liked the concept as a gathering space for artists, with his main concern being noise for nearby families, but had no objection provided the 10 pm cutoff holds. Vice Chair Jim Krushat said tourism is the town’s primary economic driver and that denying a liquor license would effectively kill a unique venue, so long as the business follows the same rules as its neighbors. The Commission voted 5–0 to approve the permit as modified and recommend the alcohol finding to the City Council.
Public Nuisance Properties
The Commission then worked through four nuisance declarations from Code Enforcement Officer Cabrera:
Two Mile Road: Owner cleaned up beforehand; item removed, no vote needed.
Raymond Way: Vacant lot tied to a dissolved company has become a dumping ground for cars, appliances, and neighbors’ trash. Approved 5–0; owner given 20 days to clear it.
Manzanita Drive: Fire-damaged; now that probate has been settled, the new owner has been contacted and is taking action. Approved 5–0; new owner gets 45 days for demolition or rebuild plans.
Abronia Avenue: Total-loss fire, owner unresponsive, debris mounting. Nuisance declaration approved 5–0.
Carlos Blandon spoke on the Raymond Way and Abronia items, thanking staff for finally acting while criticizing a pattern of inaction.
Economic development comes from code enforcement, and most of the people — seems like you only come after them when you don’t hear from them. And some of these, like I just presented to you in my public comment, are probably people you’ve been speaking to and giving you false promises….They’re here probably friends with some people you know. So, thank you for getting these on the property and getting this moving.
Yvonne Wilson, accompanied by her husband Will spoke about the Sunnyslope property also being considered as a derelict and nuisance property:
In June 2023, as my family and I slept, our neighbors who lived at 72341 Sunnyslope set their car ablaze, causing our adjoining fence to catch fire. That property is not only a daily reminder of us almost losing our lives and dealing with all the drug traffic next door years previous to the fire, but a health hazard from all the debris…. Our kids can’t even go outside and play in the backyard. Our kids deserve a safe space, a healthy space to play…We just ask that it gets cleaned up and hope moving forward that it actually ends up demolished, so we can close this chapter in our lives.
Cabrera noted the City’s own cost burden in these cases, citing a recent example:
My budget is extremely limited. One recent cleanup on Sherman Hoyt cost a total of $39,000. That’s without removing the home. That’s just cleaning the outside of the property, including 1,000 tires….We want to work with property owners because it’s in our best interest. It’s less legal fees, less fees for the city, because most of the time we do not recoup these fees.
The Commission voted 5–0 to declare the Sunnyslope property a nuisance.
Community Development Director’s Report
Gardner said two public hearings are scheduled for September 1 and September 15, with General Plan discussions expected to resume in October. Chair Max Walker closed the meeting by welcoming Commissioners and members of the public back after the summer break.
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California's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) uses a population-based formula to set an "allotted" number of retail alcohol licenses per census tract, often just one for a tract this size. This cap is a formula and not a limit on existing licenses in place. When a tract has more outlets than the formula allows, it’s considered “over-concentrated” and any new licenses require the local governing body, which in this case is the City Council, to make a finding that the new outlet services “public convenience or necessity.” Here is a link to the ABC’s licensing requirements page.