Two New Planning Commissioners Wanted—Apply by January 6
Change is needed — we update our February 2023 editorial with a fresh opinion
OPINION FROM THE DESERT TRUMPET
Twentynine Palms Planning Commission Application Link
After every City Council election, Twentynine Palms begins the process of selecting Planning commissioners. Planning commissioners serve four-year terms and must apply for reappointment. The current process is City-wide representation, and the ordinance has not been updated to reflect the division of the City into districts in 2017-2018. San Bernardino County, uses a by-district system for instance.
Although Planning Commission appointments are meant to be an open application process, the City rarely publicizes it beyond the required legal notice in the back pages of the Hi-Desert Star and Desert Trail, this year adding a single Facebook post. A subcommittee of the City Council reviews the applications and makes recommendations, which are then rubber stamped at a Council meeting.
Why rubber stamped, you may ask? Two reasons: little publicity means that few residents are aware of the application deadline unless they are sitting Planning commissioners, and in recent memory, existing commissioners are reappointed unless they resign, pass away or don’t reapply. In this respect, Planning commissioners are de facto life-time appointments in Twentynine Palms.
This year, two seats are up for appointment: those of Jim Krushat and Leslie Paahana. Both were first appointed in 2017, after the last City-wide Council election in 2016 and prior to the City being divided into 5 districts. They were reappointed in 2021, when theirs were the only applications received. Both live in District 2, both have or had jobs at or are associated with the Marine base.
These appointments took place despite City language that commissioners represent “differing segments of the community” per the Planning Commission ordinance and “diverse backgrounds” per the City website. It’s time to correct what took place in 2021, and make an appointment that increases diversity as they were unable to do in 2023.
In 2023, when three seats were up for appointment, the Desert Trumpet worked to disrupt the status quo process by widely publicizing the application deadline—contributing to a record 15 exciting and diverse applications. In our 2023 editorial, linked below, we argued that these applications be given serious consideration so that our Planning Commission reflects the diversity of Twentynine Palms.
CITY GROWS AND DIVERSIFIES, THE PLANNING COMMISSION SHOULD TOO
An architect, three downtown business owners, a project manager, a short-term rental (STR) manager, a STR owner, a tattoo artist and homeless advocate, a nurse and former Council member — a record 15 applications were received for three seats on the Planning Commission. The applicants truly reflect the diverse backgrounds of Twentynine Palms residents, …
But then, as discussed in our editorial, change happened. Long-time Planning Commissioner Greg Mendoza (District 3) passed away after serving for 12 years. And from the application pool, Eileen Leslie, a local STR and business owner, was appointed to replace him, adding a second woman and a Commissioner from previously unrepresented District 4.
However, the subcommittee, consisting of Councilmembers Steven Bilderain (District 1) and newly elected Octavious Scott (District 4), still reappointed Jason Dixon (District 5) and Max Walker (District 5), both of whom worked on the Base, creating a Commission that presented as white, where 4 of 5 members worked on or were associated with the Base.
There was also a looming problem — residents had been grumbling on social media about how Commissioner Jim Krushat was participating in Short-Term Rental (STR) ordinance discussions in 2022-2023. Krushat had served on the STR Advisory Committee in rewriting the ordinance in 2021-2022. He applied for an STR permit himself in May 2022 and was granted a permit in November 2022. It appeared that Krushat had a conflict of interest demanding recusal and that new Commissioner Leslie would face a similar challenge.
After participating in a STR discussion on April 18 2023, both Krushat and Leslie were forced to recuse by the City prior to a May 2, 2023 meeting, also on STRs. Leslie was absent at the May 2 meeting and then resigned on May 16, arguing that due to the location of her business in downtown Twentynine Palms, she would be forced to recuse so often that she couldn’t be an effective Commissioner. Commissioner Jason Dixon, having accepted a position out of state, resigned at the same meeting, opening up two seats. The subcommittee returned to that application pool again, and this time appointed real estate manager Jessica Cure (District 3) and tattoo artist and advocate for people without homes, Alexander Garcia (District 4), again broadening Commission job and ethnic diversity as well adding representation for District 3.
With these recent appointments, City Council appears to be slowly moving toward by-district representation on the Planning Commission with District 1 being the sole district missing. Yet the two biggest and most controversial projects in the City — the Ofland resort development and the 29 Palms Solar Field — are both in District 1. Additionally, Paahana and Krushat, both in District 2 and having served eight years each, are ripe for replacement—two terms is enough. While Krushat brings an ability to get to the point during Commission discussions, he failed to be selected by District 2 residents as their elected City Council representative in 2020 and 2024 in addition to losing to Steven Bilderain and Joel Klink when City Council elections were still City-wide in 2016.
As a publication operating as a nonprofit, we are unable to advocate for a specific candidate, but we can argue for what’s right and fair. And that is for the Council subcommittee to appoint a Planning Commissioner from District 1 and consider codifying by-district representation in the ordinance.
For now, doesn’t giving District 1 residents a voice on the Planning Commission outweigh the status quo of reappointment?
Here’s that application link again! Note that applications must be received at City Hall by email or regular mail by January 6, 2025.
Disclosure: Desert Trumpet staff members Cindy Bernard, Heidi Heard, Kat Talley-Jones and Natalie Zuk reside in District 1.
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What we need is someone who represents the environment. There is no one in the city nor the commission that is an environmental champion. One that will protect the Mojave desert, our sky and our residents above tourism and business. We also should have an environmental protection and quality of life commission!
California public interest attorney Kevin Shenkman open the doors to district-wide elections for California's city council districts -- as per California's Voting Rights Act. He sent letters to numerous California city council districts stating the need for councils to conform the election process to district-wide representation (as opposed to city-wide representation). The Twentynine Palm city council also receives one of these letters. They were notified to confirmed to the California Voting Rights Act, or that civil legal action would they brought against the city.
The letters included a notice to the city that they were in violation of the California Voting Rights Act, and that they should forthwith change to voting for city council members on a district-wide basis. The city was forced to hire a consulting firm that recommended a fair process in which dividing the city into districts.
It was then -- and only then -- that the city began to diversify. Before legally mandated district-wide voting, it was the same old white guys years-after-years that formed an impenetrable click that ran the city with an iron fist.
District-wide voting for councilmembers open the gate for a very diverse city. As a result, many extremely positive changes have occurred in the city that has improved the quality of life for residents and visitors.
So it appears we are at another juncture whereas the absence of diversity appears to be the rule on the Twentyninepalms City Planning commission. The council now has an opportunity to diversify the planning commission and set a precedent to have representatives from districts -- that in turn will result In diversifying the planning commission -- as it ought to be!
The Desert Trumpet is commended for bringing this issue before the public.