Land as a Hedge Against Economic Collapse

The stock market keeps moving up to all-time highs the past six years, and gold continues to drop, yet many people don’t believe this economies “growth” is real. There are a number of books like Crash Proof by Peter Schiff, The Death of Money by James Rickards, The Coming Collapse by Harry Dent, and the research firm Stansberry & Associates who reference that the US deficit, demographics and a potential collapse of the dollar will bring hard times in the America. There is also loan obligations in mortgage insurance, and underfunded social security and Medicare benefits compound the US deficit into the tens of trillions. The dollar is currently the world’s reserve currency, but in the future that may not be the case due to debt obligations and a dollar currency collapse will change the way of life in America. These authors suggest a number of protective remedies to a collapse, and a main remedy maybe physical gold and silver in the form of coins or bars. These are a hedge against inflation, but they may also may be the money of the future. As currencies may go back to the gold standard. Central Banks may be forced to back fiat currencies with gold in their vaults. Additionally, land is also a means to preserve your wealth or investment in the event of a stock market crash and loss of the dollar as a reserve currency. Farm land can be ideal as it can be used simply to feed your family, and to grow enough to sell in a collapsed economy. Any commodity that can be sold will help you get by when the US has been turned upside down. Land is better than real estate with improvements in an economic collapse scenario as there is no maintenance, taxes are lower and an angry mob can burn down your rental home or building. Also, if there is an economic collapse then residents and commercial tenants can’t pay their lease or rent so a building with a mortgage and taxes can cause insolvency. Land also doesn’t lose a lot of value over time. It may fluctuate with the real estate market, but as long as you bought at a reasonable price then your land will hold its value. Most of the time land is bought with cash so it is a safe haven in hyperinflation When the collapse runs its course then you can sell your land later at a higher price when development comes you way. We have property at vacantlanddeals.com that may just fit a depression or longer term recession scenario.

AV College ready to sell 5 acres across from campus

Article from AV Press-The Antelope Valley College is putting up for sale five acres at 30th Street West and Avenue K that now is a vacant lot covered with California juniper bushes but which once was to get the college $1.25 million and be turned into a shopping center - before the "Great Recession" intervened. Under state law, the college first must offer the land to another government agency or a charity at fair market value, which the college is not disclosing, before it could be sold to a shopping center developer or other private buyer. "We've had several indications of interest," Antelope Valley College President Edward Knudson said Wednesday. "We couldn't act on it because we have to go through this process." Owned by the college for decades at the southwest corner of the intersection, across the street from the campus, the land once was described as an environmental study area, then was offered in the late 1980s as a potential site for a performing arts center. Posted there now is a real estate sales company's sign advertising "retail center coming soon." Lancaster officials in 2009 agreed to use the city's redevelopment agency as an intermediary, buying the property from the college for $1.25 million and selling it at the same price to a Newport Beach-based developer that planned to build a shopping center with 35,000 square feet of business space, including a restaurant. But the sale never took place, and college officials have declared the land is surplus to the college's needs, Knudson said. "I think because of the recession and the business climate, the developer or developers was not able to complete the work," Knudson said. College officials expect that whatever is built at the corner will be compatible with nearby neighborhoods, college students and traffic, he said. The property has a zoning designation of Commercial - Planned Development, which means any project proposed there must undergo a public hearing before the Lancaster planning commission and receive a permit setting conditions for its development, City Manager Mark Bozigian said. Any government agency or nonprofit organization interested in buying the land for fair market value must notify the college by Aug. 26, records show. If none does, the college can move forward with putting the land up for sale to private buyers, Knudson said. The property up for sale at the southwest corner of Avenue K and 30th Street West is different from the controversial site of a separate proposal at the intersection's southeast corner. Neighbors objected to the 8-acre project proposed at the southeast corner by J.P. Eliopulos Enterprises of Lancaster.

Cal High Speed Rail has been approved another 114 Miles From Bakersfield to Fresno adding to the Connection from Madera to Fresno

This is an article in part by Reuters from a CalHighSpeedRail press release. California's high-speed passenger rail project won approval from federal officials at the Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday to construct a 114-mile section from Fresno to Bakersfield. The line will be the second section of a larger statewide high-speed rail line plan, which runs 500 miles from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin. The Central Valley stretch will be subject to environmental considerations, noted the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates railroad and transportation matters. On Tuesday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority announced it had selected ARCADIS U.S. Inc to oversee a 60-mile section of rail from Fresno to the Tulare and Kern County line. ARCADIS would be responsible for the design and construction oversight and could receive nearly $72 million for the work over a five-year period, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The total $68 billion high-speed rail project is estimated to be completed by 2029 and will transport passengers across the state in under three hours. The state has already started construction on a 29-mile stretch from Madera to Fresno. (Reporting By Robin Respaut reuters

Antelope Valley’s Expanding Medical Centers

Portions contributed by Jim Skeen in AV Press article Palmdale Regional Medical Center opened in December 2010, it ended Palmdale's 14 years of being the largest city in California without a hospital. According to a recent AV Press article the facility has 157 beds and can increase to 230. According to the article, the region does have to do a better job at building up the number of primary care physicians. There appears to be a lack of initial care facilities, and not more primary care facilities, but not enough primary care doctors. We previously wrote about the new Kaiser Medical center in Lancaster. It will open this month on 5th Street West at Ave L. This is an expansion for Kaiser as they have been in the area since the late 60’s. They have expanded this past decade as well with a Palmdale clinic in 2003, and expanded the Lancaster facility in 2008. Part of the need for this growth by Kaiser is its own growth. They have over 100,000 members in the valley today with over 10 increase over this past decade. Antelope Valley Hospital on 60th West near the prison was the main hospital in the Valley for decades. It currently serves about 200,000 patients. It has been the only full service facility in the Valley for decades. The AV Press article indicated that there are lack of mental health facilities in the valley. Due in part to the lack of psychiatrists. Our research has shown that Psychiatry has become merely a pharma drug pushing practice. They have gone away from the talk therapy, and happy left the lobotomies, electric shock treatments and strait-jackets in their past. Just this past June High Desert Regional Health Center Opened a $141.5 million High Desert Regional Health Center opened at Avenue I and Third Street East, which is run by LA Dept. of Health. Antelope Valley has seen a number of medical groups, and hospitals open or expand. This shows that these facilities see populations expanding in the valley spurning growth of these facilities. Growth and expansion is what the Antelope Valley needs to ensure a vibrant future.

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

EIR (Environmental Impact Report) is Under Way for Thousands of Future Solar Acres of Land in Lancaster and Los Angeles County

The Lancaster City officials recently authorized an environmental impact report on a proposal to install solar panels on 1,350 to 1,500 acres in west Lancaster. The Sustainable Power Group (sPower) (formerly Silverado Power, LLC) has filed a conditional use permit (CUP 14-10) for the development of 250 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic solar Power on approximately 1,500 acres. Due to the size of the proposed project, the preparation of an EIR is required as part of the approval process. Lancaster Planning Dept. on May 27, 2014 had a request for proposals (RFP) for the preparation of an EIR for the proposed project was sent out for consideration to 12 environmental consulting firms. Seven proposals were submitted to the City by the deadline of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, 2014. Staff and the developer have reviewed the consultant proposals, and staff is recommending that the City retain the services of Stantec to prepare the EIR. Stantec will prepare the environmental impact report at a cost of more than $246,000. The cost would be paid by the Sustainable Power Group, which also would be required to pay a $25,000 deposit to cover city administrative costs. A recent article by the AV Press indicated that the 250-megawatt project is the largest ever proposed within city limits, though other larger solar plants have been approved elsewhere in the Antelope Valley. The planned solar area is generally bounded by 80th and 105th streets west, Columbia Way (Avenue M) and Avenue K-4. Just last month sPower Group received approval from Los Angeles County planners for six solar power fields proposed to cover nearly 1,000 acres around Antelope Acres and west of Lancaster. This 1500 acre Lancaster Solar Project is similar to the Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One which was approved for 230 megawatts on 2,100 acres at Avenue D and 170th Street West. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's has a 579-megawatt Solar Star development is 3,230 acres straddling the Kern County-Los Angeles County line between 110th and 190th streets west. The Silverado Power/Sustainable Power Group projects approved last month by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission are proposed on Avenue B east of 110th Street West (20 megawatts, 240 acres), Avenue K west of 110th Street West (40 megawatts, 157 acres), Avenue G west of 70th Street West (35 megawatts, 135 acres), Avenue I west of 112th Street West (20 megawatts, 160 acres), Avenue D at 35th Street West (5 megawatts, 38 acres), and between avenues J to H-8 between 85th and 97th streets west (52 megawatts, 256 acres). In giving their approval, county planners attached a condition to the project at Avenue J and 85th Street West that requires the developer to provide an air filtration system for the adjacent Summerhaven Ranch All-Nations Retreat Center prior to construction. A condition was added to the project on Avenue K west of 110th Street West that requires the developer to dedicate one-third of the site as permanent open space. The Antelope Valley is quickly becoming the Solar Capital of the US. This bodes well for land owners on Lancaster’s West side. Buy land and wait still holds true in Los Angeles County.

Silverado Power Advancing the RAM Program

The California Public Utilities Commission created Renewable Auction Mechanism RAM program to drive utilities to procure more distributed renewable energy generation projects of twenty megawatts or less as part of the States 33% by 2020 plan. The RAM program established a regulated auction in which developers bid to sell at their lowest price and, because projects rely largely on existing transmission and distribution infrastructure. This has created numerous smaller solar projects. Silverado Power (SP) have won power purchase agreements (PPAs) with California utilities Southern California Edison (SCE). Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) in RAM auctions. These six new solar PV projects amount to a total of 41 megawatts. They have projects in San Bernardino County called Expressway A and Expressway B, each with two megawatts co-located in Victorville, CA. Also co-located in Victorville are Victor Mesa Linda A, a two-megawatt project with an SCE PPA, and Victor Mesa Linda B, a five-megawatt project with an SDG&E PPA. The Lancaster projects are Western Antelope Blue Sky A at 110th West at K on 157 acres, Western Antelope Dry Ranch 256 acres at 90th West and J. They also have American Solar Greenworks 70th West at G on 135 acres, Lancaster WAD 35th West and D using 40 acres, North Lancaster Ranch 105th West at B on 80 acres, and Silver Sun Greenworks at 120th West and I on 80 acres. This is part of Silverado’s plan to develop lots of solar with a low profile, so this could be the beginning of what could be a new trend in solar development. They indicate that they are creating smaller project to help minimize the impact on the local communities and environment. They estimate they need 5 to 7 acres per megawatt according to reports. They expect to create 200 jobs via these projects and construction running through 2016.