SPRAWL ATTACK OR HOW TO DESTROY THE DESERT WITHOUT REALLY TRYING - Oread Daily

Since 1995 reports the Desert Sun, local governments, developers and conservationists have worked together to create the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, which sets forth a vision of development and conservation for the Coachella Valley's next 75 years. Millions of dollars have been invested in this plan. Much compromise has been made through this process. The plan is not perfect, but it is an attempt to balance development and the desert's sensitive natural assets.

I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know that now if developers get their way, a new city of 45,000 people - urban sprawl with 15,000 houses, resorts and golf courses - would pave more than 7,200 acres of California open space in easter Riverside County's Shavers Valley, a natural scenic area in the Sonoran Desert 15 miles east of Indio.

This unsustainable development would sprawl between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mecca Hills Wilderness, well outside of the Coachella Valley's current urban boundaries.

The Los Angeles based investment group known as Glorious Land Company (GLC) has proposed a new city which would sink the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan’s goals.

Golf California.com gushes the massive plan calls for an 800-acre golf resort with "several" golf courses and a golf academy. It could also include 10,000 housing units, shopping center, restaurants, business center, parks, community center and a concert hall. Golf tourists could stay at an 89-acre international resort with timeshare units and hotels.

It would quite simply destroy Shavers Valley.

The investors behind what they call Paradise Valley have been quietly working on the project for more than 5 years, records show.

They bought property for Paradise Valley in 2000, paying an average of $398 per acre for 85 parcels under the corporate name Joshua Tree Village. Since then, the company’s operatives have been quietly laying the groundwork to get environmental and land-use permits.

Riverside County’s General Plan would generally prohibit consideration of a large rural development project until the next scheduled update of the land-use planning document in 2008, said Deputy Planning Director Jerry Jolliffe.

But Jolliffe said that during public hearings late last year, Glorious Land persuaded county supervisors to include language in the plan that specifically excludes Paradise Valley from the rule.

The project is headed by architect Eddie S. Wang. "The market is there," Wang said in an interview with the Desert Sun. "I do believe that if we do it right, it will be a good example."

Of what, for God's sake?

The new community’s northern border would be within walking distance of Joshua Tree National Park, in federally protected habitat for the threatened desert tortoise. Joshua Tree National Park officials fear that with Paradise Valley the serenity of their wilderness refuge is threatened once again by fast-growing urban development.

"It’s hard to say what we’re going to be left with in 20 or 30 years, as far as a resource base in the park," said Joshua Tree spokesman Joe Zarki. "We are a wilderness landscape in an increasingly urban setting."

Zarki told the Desert Sun almost all urban developments bring barking dogs, lawn mowers and exhaust-spewing cars. He said Joshua Tree already has the worst air quality in the national park system on some days of the year.

What would the new GLC city in Shavers Valley look like?

• A 2,323-acre residential community built along lakes and golf courses with bicycle and walking trails.

• An 800-acre golf resort with several courses and a golf academy.

• A 220-acre shopping center with designer boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

• A four-mile-long business center covering 208 acres along Interstate 10.

• Parks, community centers and a concert hall covering 111 acres.

• An 89-acre "international resort" with timeshare units and hotels.

• A business and technology college and primary and secondary schools covering 70 acres.

• A 48-acre Christian retreat with views of the Salton Sea.

• An 18-acre medical center.

Not to mention:

*45,000 people - twice as many people as the nearby city of Coachella

* over 7,200 acres of rooftops and pavement

* increased traffic congestion

* increased air, water and noise pollution

Shavers Valley is critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise and home to bighorn sheep and other distinctive wildlife. It is also a vital corridor for wildlife, allowing animals to travel between Joshua Tree National Park, Mecca Hills Wilderness and Orocopia Mountains Wilderness.

Shavers Valley is also important for recreation, providing open space for Californians and visitors from across America and the world.

Likely ground subsidence and permanent loss in the aquifer's water-storage capacity caused by Paradise Valley could dry up desert waters such as Hidden Springs, Sheephole Oasis and Cottonwood Springs - each critical to the survival of desert's web of life.

GLC’s proposal would increase smog and traffic along Interstate 10 and cause more sprawl in surrounding areas, all far from towns or infrastructure. The cost and impact of providing new infrastructure and services where none currently exists would be tremendous.

Environmental consultants who surveyed the Paradise Valley property in 2001 found one active desert tortoise burrow, several abandoned burrows and tortoise carcasses. In addition, they discovered scat and tracks from a threatened peninsular bighorn sheep.

The land is crisscrossed by washes that harbor ironwood trees, blue palo verde and desert lavender, according to the environmental assessment.

Upland mesas are dotted with ocotillos, barrel cacti and creosote bushes. Alligator lizards, rattlesnakes, quail, jack rabbits, coyotes and ground squirrels forage on the property.

What Natural and Cultural Resources Would Be Lost as a result of Paradise Valley?

* Over 7,200 acres critical to the survival of the threatened desert tortoise

* Over 7,200 acres vital to bighorn sheep and other wildlife as they

travel between Joshua Tree National Park and Mecca Hills wilderness

* Recreational and aesthetic opportunities for the burgeoning

population in the Coachella Valley (also in Joshua Tree National

Park and Mecca Hills Wilderness including Painted Canyon)

* Precious groundwater, springs and seeps - including Cottonwood

Springs and Sheephole Oasis.

* Important Native American cultural sites

There are numerous other reasons to prevent a new city in Shavers Valley, such as the encouragement of unauthorized off-road vehicle use, loss of cultural sites, increased potential for wildfires, and increased light and noise pollution.

In addition, according to preliminary planning documents, Paradise Valley residents and golf courses will use 7 million gallons of water per day at build out.

The Coalition to Save Shavers Valley has been formed to stop the development. The coalition consists of California Native Plant Society, California Wilderness Coalition, Center for Biological Diversity, Citizens for the Chuckwalla Valley, Defenders of Wildlife, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club-San Gorgonio Chapter and The Wilderness Society.

Feel free to write and give your opinion to:

Supervisor Roy Wilson

4th District, Riverside County

73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 222

Palm Desert, CA 92260

Or you can take a Nature Trip organized by the Center for Biological Diversity set for Dec 10-11, Shavers Valley, CA (near Palm Springs/Coachella Valley) with the Coalition to Save Shavers Valley. The Shavers Valley trip will focus on the proposed sprawl city near Joshua Tree National Park and BLM wilderness within the California Desert Conservation Area, and how people can work to protect the area. Sources: Center for Biological Diversity, Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA), Community ORV Watch, Golf California.com