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Monday, 03 October 2011 12:03 |
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· LAFCO Hearing—regrettably this past week’s newspaper article does not depict the sense of what really happened at LAFCO’s Sphere of Influence Hearing. While the headline is accurate, that LAFCO acted to approve our application to expand our Sphere from Rio Del Sol to be just short of Washington Street, the story is written in a way that leads the reader to believe that most were opposed to the action of the LAFCO Board, when it fact it was just the opposite. In this regard, after what I believe were convincing presentations by Don Bradley, Andy Hall, Bill Soqui, and myself as to the reasons LAFCO should support their staff’s recommendation and should not delay taking action, we were followed by four representatives of Thousand Palms organizations who each spoke strongly in favor of LAFCO approving all of Thousand Palms becoming a part of Cathedral City’s Sphere. First was Bill Swedeen, who spoke as a representative of the Thousand Palms Chamber of Commerce and of the Tri-Palms HOA and reported that both organizations were strongly in favor of the Sphere expansion. He emphasized that he believed Cathedral City’s word has been good, that we have followed through with what we said we would do, and he felt it was now time to resolve this matter by LAFCO approving our application. Barbara Smith spoke next and introduced herself as the representative of the Ivy Ranch HOA and stated that it was clear Palm Desert was not going to want jurisdiction over Thousand Palms and that their HOA was in favor of Cathedral City’s Sphere being approved to include all of Thousand Palms. Patricia Saleh next spoke on behalf of the Thousand Palms Community Council and reported that the Council had voted in support of the Cathedral City application. She went on to report some of the dynamics that have occurred related to this application but urged that LAFCO act that day and not postpone their decision. Don Donnelly was then the last speaker in favor and reported that he had been opposed to the original Cathedral City proposal, but he had changed his position and was now in full support. He expressed that by joining with Cathedral City, it would keep Thousand Palms whole and after working with representatives from Cathedral City, he was currently very supportive of the comprehensive plan Cathedral City has for the area. He too urged the LAFCO Board to reject the requests for continuance, believing that there had been more than adequate time for the various parties to address whatever concerns they had. Those in opposition then spoke and included the Community Development Director from Palm Desert, an attorney who is also a Board member from the Burger Foundation, and the Riverside County Fire Chief. I believe there was also one or at most two letters from individuals from Thousand Palms that had been received in opposition and were read into the record. Mike Gialdini representing John Benoit also spoke but identified the Supervisor’s position as neutral. Therefore, as you can see, other than the letters from at most two individuals and the three people who spoke against our application, the testimony that the Board heard from other than Cathedral City’s representatives came from Thousand Palms citizen representatives who were, in effect, representing many others who were supportive of our application. Importantly, they spoke as representatives of the primary organized groups of HOAs, residents, merchants, and the Thousand Palms Community Council that exist in Thousand Palms, clearly showing it was a strong cross-section of the entire community that had come together over the last three years to consider and now support our application. Clearly, not all from Thousand Palms would support this decision, including the one citizen quoted in the article, but when comparing those who spoke in favor versus who were against at the Hearing, the sentiment of support, as expressed by the Thousand Palms citizen representatives who were representing the many others, was overwhelming in favor. This, together with what I believe was a very compelling presentation on our part, and all the background work that had been done by the Mayor and Council members, particularly the subcommittee of Bud England and me, and staff particularly Andy and Leisa Lukes, led to the unanimous decision to approve our application and not delay it to a later date. Needless to say though, this decision is not the end but merely the beginning of working on what I believe will prove to be one of the most significant milestones in the histories of both Cathedral City and Thousand Palms as we continue to nurture relationships and further develop partnerships for the economic betterment of our communities.
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Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 09:20 |
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Battle against air pollution is far from lost |
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Tuesday, 19 July 2011 14:12 |
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Are the days of crystal blue skies in the Coachella Valley over? One would think after the recent Desert Sun article “Pollution in paradise.” We shouldn't accept the premise that brown skies are our future.
The article focused on the poor quality of the air throughout Riverside County but there also was good news. “The Coachella Valley, too, has seen the number of days exceeding the federal standard shrink from 61 days in 2006 to 55 last year at a Palm Springs monitoring station. At the Indio monitoring station, the number of days in the unhealthy range dropped from 28 in 2006 to 22.” The article went on to discuss that federal and state budget cuts might reverse this trend and put us back on a road to dirty air.
I contend that local governments and transit providers have put in place key programs that will continue to reduce the air pollution in the valley. These include:
An all-CNG (compressed natural gas) or hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet at SunLine Transit.
Converting taxi fleets to CNG vehicles.
Cathedral City and Palm Desert requiring that their solid waste hauler have only alternative-fuel trucks service their communities, which means the entire valley no longer has diesel-fueled trucks in our neighborhoods.
The Coachella Valley Association of Government coordinating a valley wide bike trail system and mandating all street-sweeping vehicles to be of alternative fuels and public CNG refueling stations in a number of valley cities.
We all know that these measures, while laudatory, are not going to be enough to continue to withstand the pressures of car, truck and rail emissions from entering the valley. What else can we do?
Nationally, President Barack Obama has, through executive order mandated that the entire federal fleet will be on alternative fuels by 2015, and UPS has announced the same date for conversion of their fleet.
On June 29, the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Committee of the South Coast Air Quality Management District celebrated its 20th anniversary with a look back but more importantly by seeing what regions, such as the Coachella Valley, can do for the future. These measures include:
Establishing walking trails, such as El Monte has in its Arceo Walk. Residents have safe places to walk but have them next to shops, parks and homes so that walking can become an alternative to driving.
Require school bus companies to convert to alternative fuels to obtain a school district's transportation contract.
Partner with Southern California Edison and auto companies such as Nissan and Honda to build the necessary recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles to make them more practical for outlying communities like ours.
And continue signal synchronization on all valley arterials to lessen queuing at signal lights.
One of the major items that could go a tremendous way in reducing the valley's reliance on automobiles would be the expansion of passenger rail service in and out of the valley. CVAG and the Riverside County Transportation Commission are working diligently with Amtrak to make that happen and hope to have several demonstration trains in the upcoming season to show the viability of the effort.
Ultimately, government and business can lead and provide incentives, but it will be left to each of us to accept responsibility for our own actions to reduce pollution. Invest in an electric vehicle, use a bicycle to go to work or even just take a walk to the market.
This is not a fight already lost. We can and must succeed.
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Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 09:25 |
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Testimony in front of CA Redistricting Committee |
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Saturday, 14 May 2011 22:23 |
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Thank you for allowing me to speak at the hearing and to send you these comments. As I mentioned, in addition to being on the City Council in Cathedral City, I am 2nd Vice President of the Southern CA Association of Governments.
While I am not writing as representative of SCAG’s comments, I do feel it is important to have that perspective. SCAG is the six-county Metropolitan Planning Organization, representing Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties. As such, it is our responsibility to draft the Regional Transportation Plan, the Regional Housing Needs Assessment numbers and many other multi-county reports and plans. SCAG was also the agency that was the legal entity that formed the Salton Sea Authority.
I contend that Interstate 10 and CA Hwy 86 are central connections for our area and that CA Hwy 60 (at the Banning/Beaumont Pass) should be considered the dividing line for districts.
Each geographic area that is successful economically must have the proverbial 3-legged stool of financial drivers. For our area those would be 1) tourism, 2) agriculture and 3) alternative fuels. The Coachella Valley has historically been a tourist destination in the western section and is connected to Imperial County by agriculture in the eastern section. Alternative fuels are based in both areas; wind and solar in the Coachella Valley and geothermal in Imperial. The eastern Riverside County city of Blythe is also heavily agricultural in nature.
Additionally, we have a coalition of economic organizations that have worked together for years; the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation and the Mexicali Valley. The three valleys collaborate on a number of issues dealing with economic factors and occasionally transportation.
I would suggest that the Congressional district be Imperial County and eastern Riverside County from Blythe to the Banning/Beaumont/Calimesa Pass. The Assembly district would probably need to be split to accommodate population and voting rights issues; so I propose one district in Imperial County coming north to include the Coachella Valley cities of Blythe, Coachella, Indio and La Quinta along with all the unincorporated areas (Washington would be the boundary line) The second Assembly seat would run westward from Washington and include the cities of Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Banning, Beaumont and Calimesa, along with all the unincorporated areas.
Furthermore, the commission should be aware, regardless of the outcome of your deliberations, the City of Cathedral City is in the process of finalizing the expansion of our sphere of influence to include all of the unincorporated area of Thousand Palms east to Washington Avenue. We would appreciate it if Cathedral City and Thousand Palms remained in the same district, however the final map looks.
Thank you very much. I am available for any other questions.
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Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 09:28 |
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Friday, 16 November 2007 00:00 |
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Thanks for visiting my website. I hope you find it an informative resource to learn more about my background and why I want continue to serve you in the Coachella Valley.
I consider this a dialogue, so please keep up your end of the conversation by posting your thoughts about the issues, candidates and the challenges facing our communities.
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