A New Proposed California State law Compels cities: Build more, or we’ll do it for you

Every California city is required to build a certain amount of housing to meet the state goals, and many cities are ignoring it. The new law proposed in Sacramento would force cities to comply, or the state will push the projects forward. It is SB 35 and if passed then each city may be forced to fast track building projects. This takes control from the local level to the state. Most cities don’t like such bullying. It has not been written fully just yet, but it has been proposed by new state senator Scott Wiener. Other similar proposals sank in the senate. Initially the proposed law will allow control locally, but it may be more how a city will comply and not whether they comply. A San Francisco housing initiative pushed for 3,600 new homes every year through 2020. Other San Francisco Bay Area districts will create 160k new homes in the same period. We don’t have the figures for Los Angeles County, but the push from Sacramento is build, build, build regardless of location.

Notice of Violation and What it Means to Vacant Land Parcels

Many property owners over the years and especially in the 80’s received a Notice of Violation. This is a notice from LA County Regional Planning that a parcel was subdivided improperly. Typically properties that have a dotted or dashed line around them have a notice of will get one. According to LA Regional Planning FAQ: If my parcel is represented by a dashed line on an Assessor’s Map Book Page, does that mean that my parcel does not have a certificate of compliance? Such a dashed line only indicates that the parcel was not created by parcel map, tract map or parcel map. It may have been created by parcel map waiver or by deed, and it may have already received a certificate of compliance. The only way to be sure whether or not a certificate of compliance has already been issued for such a parcel, is to do a preliminary title search-i.e. ask a title company to determine that for you. Alternatively, you could apply for a certificate of compliance and the Department will do such a search for you; however, if a previous C of C is uncovered, the Department will keep $453.00 of your filing fee, with return of the balance of your application to you. If you have dashed lines on your parcel plat map, but your parcel has not received a notice of violation then when you sell the parcel your parcel then you will not have to do anything. Most buyers will require a property owner to get a COC to satisfy a Notice of Violation, but if non Notice was ever filed then a property owner will not need to get a a COC. A Certificate of Compliance (COC) costs $1755 plus $171 Fire Referral. Most COC’s are not charged the additional $483 fee. If a property owner wishes to develop a parcel and it has dashed lines, but no Notice of Violation. Then LA Regional Planning will likely require the property owner to get a COC before they develop the property. WHY IS THE COUNTY SO CONCERNED ABOUT MY “ILLEGAL” PARCEL? State law requires that Los Angeles County, along with other counties and cities, regulate and control the subdivision of land. In this way streets, drainage, sewage disposal, fire access and other factors associated with good subdivision planning can be provided fo HOW DO I APPLY FOR A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE? Forms and instructions are at our Los Angeles office and in our field offices. They may also be downloaded from the Planning Department website: http//planning.lacounty.gov. Applications submitted through the mail cannot be accepted. All applications must be submitted at our Los Angeles office or one of our field offices. There is a fee. For additional information or questions, please contact them directly. You can also see http://planning.lacounty.gov/view/certificate_of_compliance_faq/

Rural Land in Antelope Valley May Soon Lose Significant Value, While Other Areas will be Subject to a SEA Zone Restrictions

We have posted before regarding the upcoming proposed changes by Los Angeles Regional Planning under their Town and Country Plan. Many parts of the valley are changing from rural residential land allowing one home per 2 acres currently to Rural Land 20 (RL-20) allowing one dwelling per 20 acres. This is happening all over the valley from the far west to the far-east in places like High Vista, and east of Lake Los Angeles. Other areas like of Redman, and Roosevelt and Tierra Subida. Other areas are changing from the current one home per 2 acres to one home per 10 acres for a domicile RL10. This may drastically reduce the value of many parcels that are not in the city limits of Lancaster or Palmdale. A great number of these parcels are under 5 acres and even if you own a 10 acre lot but the zoning in that area maybe changing to RL 20 you may only be able to build one home on the property. It appears that parcels that are currently 2.5 acres will be allowed to build one home on the property. But parcels that are 20 acres or more with a zone change to RL 20 will only be able to build one home on the property, so property owners with large parcels of 40 or 80, or even 160 acres will only be able to build one home on that property per 20 acres. This will make a huge impact on larger parcels, and less on smaller parcels. Most of the west side county areas are targeted to be zone RL-10 with some exceptions. The county seems to want these rural areas to be country ranch land or farmed land. The best solution for these areas maybe farming if there is enough water, or alternative energy if approved. There have been meetings and invitations have been sent out earlier this year, and there last meeting was on September 27th 2014. Other changes are SEA zones. SEA zones are Significant Ecological Zones. These are areas where burrowing owls, kangaroo squirrels and the desert tortoise live. They will also include areas where the Joshua trees and poppy flowers grow naturally. Most of these SEA zones are near waterways like the Little Rock wash, and even near the duck ponds between Hwy 14 eastward to 10th Street West from Ave H north to Ave E. In this area virtually everything north of Ave G maybe in a SEA zone. The SEA zones run along the mountains along the west side from generally Lake Elizabeth area to Centennial and Gorman. The good news is that many areas the zoning has change positively. 90th east to 105th East running on Palmdale Blvd is proposed to all be Commercial Zoning. Also from Ave F south to G and almost all of the area from Division to 15th Street East will be industrial/Manufacturing zoned M1 or M2. There is also some land west of Division near Sierra Hwy that will be Industrial zoned. Additionally, land running along Hwy 138 from 72nd Street East to 90th Street East is proposed to be Commercial land, and a few areas will be Industrial. The maps and the details of these proposed zoning changes can be found via the Los Angeles Regional Planning’s website under their Town and Country plan. LA County doesn’t want much growth in the outskirts of Lancaster and Palmdale. There may be some influence from UN Agenda 21, which we have written about not long ago. Agenda 21 is implemented locally, but push globally to reduce development drastically to its current levels and allow much much more open space and areas for plants and animals.

Significant Ecological Area Changes in LA County Hearing

Dear Property Owners in Antelope Valley, LA County is progressing on making significant changes to the zoning in the County land Areas in Antelope Valley. Some of the changes will make some land parcels worthless unless you buy all the neighbors properties. They plan on only allowing a home to be built on 10 or even 20 acres on the far east side in High Vista Areas. The changes will also not allow you to build in areas where there are endangered plants and animals. There is a new hearing this week, so you need to do your research quickly and send a letter to Richard Bruckner and Supervisor Antonovich to slow this process to at least debate it more. The following is a sample letter we forwarded. More help is needed. Thank You property owners County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning 320 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CA. 90012 Attn: Mr. Richard Bruckner Aug. 2, 2014 RE: The Pending Hillside Management and SEO Hearings It is our understanding that the Los Angeles County General Plan 2035 includes two ordinances within it; the Significant Ecological Area (SEA) and Hillside Management Area (HMA). These two ordinances will drastically affect any future housing needs and job creation within the county of Los Angeles if adopted as it is currently written. our opinion is that these changes go too far and are unneeded, and the amount of land that these plans affected is enormous. We request that the Planning Commission move to a continuance on any further discussion on the SEA and HMA. Allow property owners to review this and debate it further. Sincerely, Property Owner Cc: Supervisor Antonovich

Is Los Angeles County Regional Planning Implementing UN Agenda 21 in Antelope Valley and LA County?

UN Agenda 21 if implemented in its entirety would make George Orwell’s 1984 look like a picnic. Agenda 21 would force all humans into city centers leaving roughly 90% of the US solely inhabited by plants and animals. The agenda 21 map shows most of the US underpopulated. In the darkest sense humans would have to ride treadmills, and bikes to produce their own energy daily. You would get nourishment cubes instead of eating animal and plant by products. There wouldn’t be cars for you just mass transit only within habitable zones, or human powered buses. Part of this Agenda is the need to depopulate the planet from its current 7 billion and projected 10 billion people by 2050. Recently at the World Economic Forum 2014 both Al Gore and Bill Gates agreed that contraception was the key to reducing climate change. As part of Agenda 21 Book by Harriet Park, you would not marry but would be paired with a partner as the government knows better who you should live with and your child will be raised by the government and taken away from you. Sounds impossible right? No it is slowing taking place without your knowledge and may take a catastrophic event of many years to be fully implemented. Both the right and left appose this. The book Agenda 21 by Harriet Park and Glenn Beck outlines what it may look like. Also democratesagainstunagenda21.com is another site with the book Behind The Green Mask by Rosa Koire outlining the plan for you. LA Regional planning has a General Plan 2035, and with that they had proposed zoning changes for LA County land in Antelope Valley called Town and Country. They were supposed to have it within the approval process by this year, but it looks like they are delayed. The Town and Country plan would change the zoning in many parts of the AV from Rural Residential and Agricultural currently allowing one home per 2 acres (in most areas). This would change dramatically in the far-east side and west side to one dwelling every 10 to 20 acres. We wrote about these changes a year or so ago. This would mean that many property owners with 2.5 and 5 acre parcels in the County zone would be worthless unless they bought the neighbors parcel to get to 10 acre or more. This looks to be part of UN Agenda 21 which is implemented by ICLEI, ICLEI is an International Association of Local Governments committed to sustainable growth head quartered in Bonn, Germany. Los Angeles County is part of ICLEI. ICLEI is the arm of the UN that bypassed the State and Federal Governments and works directly with local governments on the “sustainable development”, and your current lifestyle is not sustainable. LA Regional Plannings website talks about General Plan 2035 by encouraging infill development, pedestrian-friendly and community-serving uses near transit stops. Their goal is to encourage walking, bicycling, and transit use. They prefer mixed use and high density uses (commercial and residential) development along major commercial corridors near transit stations. They want to expand SEA zones. Significant Ecological Zones. A Significant Ecological Area (SEA) designation is given to land that contains irreplaceable biological resources. This is habitat supporting valuable and threatened species. In addition it would include corridors to promote species movement. Is LA County going to create trail signs for deer and squirrels to roam? Yet a great deal of this land in privately held and the County recognizes that for now. They also want to keep farmland as farmland and not change it to incompatible uses. So, no condos next to the farm. UN Agenda 21 is a very, very scary agenda on your future freedom and civil rights. It is essential for property owners in LA County and within the State to know and understand what this means to you and your family.

Wind Turbines and Solar Projects Moving Forward West of Lancaster, Ca. in Los Angeles County areas of Neenach and Fairmont Butte

According to the Los Angeles Times recent article, Element Power of Portland Oregon is planning to erect a 230-megawatt green energy facility with solar and wind generation abilities. The planned installation is very prettily and non-threateningly named “Wildflower” and is set for 2,200 private acres of former grazing land where the current property owner operates a horse ranch. Healy Ranch runs west of Fairmount Butte south of Ave E along 160th Street West. Most of the ranch is south of Ave F between 160 to 170th street West to the aqueduct at approximately Ave H. It also runs south of Ave G to 130th west in a u shaped form.
The company will have to tread carefully wind energy and solar power projects proposed in California often attract opposition from residents worried about encroachment, or animal rights groups concerns with endangered species and others with a host of complaints. A number of solar projects have been given the green light such as AVSolarRanchOne a close neighbor, Tuusso Energy at 100th West at H, and E-solar, Sunlight Partners closer to down in Lancaster. Wind projects are abundant in Kern County primarily in Tehachapi. Previously a wind project was proposed by Scottish Power near Fairmount Butte but that was rejected. Element Power US LLC has an uphill climb on its wind proposal, but Solar projects have been successful in the valley.
Element has filed an application for the project with the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning. The company is gearing up for environmental studies and research on how much local property tax revenue will be linked to the proposed facility.
The wind and solar farm, to be located on Antelope Valley’s west side and it is expected to create more than 300 jobs during construction in an area currently suffering a 17% unemployment rate. The site will produce enough power for more than 70,000 California homes, which will be sold to a utility through a power purchase agreement.


NRG Solar Gets Green Light and Wins Community Backing

Patric Hedlund of the Mountain Enterprise reported, In a surprising move, the Fairmont Town Council voted March 24 to withdraw their appeal to the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission against a solar farm given a “fast track” permit. NRG Solar was given a green light to begin building its facility in the Western Antelope Valley without first providing an Environmental Impact Report, which competing renewable energy developers have agreed to perform. The council filed an appeal, then went into private settlement discussions with the company. The appeal was scheduled to be heard on March 30. At the March 24 public meeting held at WeeVill Market, Keith Latham of NRG read the terms of the agreement, which he said will not be public until construction begins in June.
Some of the points: About 40 acres of land for conservation purposes will be “dedicated in perpetuity” to the community. Fences are limited to a height of six feet and no razor wire will be used. Access for wildlife movement through the fenced solar farm will be established.
NRG agreed to plant indigenous trees around the property and “adjacent to the lower fence” to mitigate visual impact. Wildlife movement through the trees will be encouraged. Outside of that “there will be a maintained area, so people can walk and get from one side of the project to the other, without undue problems” in case there are “wall to wall” energy projects.
A parcel of land is allocated for community services. A “small amount of money” will be provided to the community annually for 20 years through a conservancy created by the town council, he said, to benefit the community.
Several of those at the meeting said they are in favor of renewable wind and solar energy, but a regional plan needs to be created— with community involvement— before it is too late.
Members of the Fairmont Town Council said they had talked with “about 80 percent” of the residents within their boundaries, and that there was consensus to accept the plan. Attorneys Pat Murphy and David Jefferies said they had been involved in structuring the deal.
Some at the meeting said that those protesting the vote do not live within the boundaries of the Fairmont Council. In turn, the legalities of a town council forming a conservancy and entering into an agreement with NRG were questioned by some Western Antelope Valley residents after the meeting.
Wendy Reed, executive director of the Antelope Valley Conservancy issued a cease and desist letter immediately, regarding the name chosen for the Fairmont Council’s conservancy. She said it was too similar to her group’s registered service mark. Jefferies is reported to have agreed to use another name. —Reported by Patric Hedund

Environmentalists Say Yes to Solar Land Development But No to MotorSports

Late last year the Fairmont Butte Motorsports Developer bowed to environmental and community opposition. In an open letter to supporters he wrote: I regret to inform you that, after more than eight years of hard work and high hopes, I have decided to discontinue efforts to create our vision for a beautiful new racetrack in the Antelope Valley. As you might imagine, it was an extremely difficult decision
Respectfully,
Thomas E. Malloy

We also located a follow up e-mail from County Supervisor Deputy
via the AV High Desert Forum site
November 18, 2010
I have been informed this afternoon the property where the Fairmont Motor Sports park was proposed to go has been sold to another buyer. The buyer is using the property as mitigation land and open space. The Racetrack is no longer a concern as County Regional Planning has been told to stop all work on the project.

Norm Hickling, Deputy to Supervisor Antonovich
Antelope Valley Field Office

The AVSolar Ranch One had passed its EIR (Environmental Impact Report) last September, but the Motorsports proposal couldn’t jump that hurdle. AV Solar Ranch One indicates on their website that their projects have environmental benefits of low visual impact panels (10 feet maximum), no water requirement to produce electricity, avoidance of Joshua Tree Woodlands, and no impact on threaten species. Both projects were situated almost across the road from one another at 170th to 150th West at Hwy 138 (Ave D).

The Joshua Tree Woodlands is part if the Significant Ecological Area (SEA), and virtually fifty percent of the Motorsports Parkway proposal was in the SEA zone. It also appears a small portion of AV Solar is within the SEA zone. LA Regional Planning indicates that the 320 acres of land the Parkway was going to use will now be mitigation land and open space, so this area at 150th West at Hwy 138 will be not be developed. It also looks like much of the Fairmont Butte area will not be developable as much of this area is SEA zone with protected plants and animal life. Property owners should think seriously about buying land in these areas as environmental groups and Los Angeles Regional have drawn a line in the Antelope Valley desert sand. Large developments in SEA zones may face environmental obstacles, but small custom homes on SEA zones have occurred as they have limited impact on the environment.