A few weeks ago I posted here about the Fairmont Butte Motorsports Park. This is a private racetrack facility proposed to be adjacent to Fairmont Butte, right in the heart of the Antelope Valley's Antelope Buttes - Fairmont Butte complex, where some of the best displays of native wildflowers in California regularly occur.
Unfortunately it appears this project is nearing approval by the Los Angeles County planning commission. They have updated the case website here: http://planning.lacounty.gov/case/view/tentative_parcel_map_no_26805_project_no_02_176_fairmont_butte_motorsports as of a few days ago. Included in the updates are the Final Environmental Impact Report, proposed mitigation measures, cover letters, etc. Reading the material it is plain they intend to approve, and have intended to approve since March at least. For example, on Page 7 of the Findings of Fact document, the planning commission's staff writes:
"At the conclusion of the March 24, 2010 continued public hearing, the Commission again continued the public hearing to June 9, 2010, and directed staff to bring back for the Commission's consideration...draft findings and conditions for approval...
"On June 9, 2010, the Commission made the following environmental findings and certifed the Final EIR ("FEIR") and adopted findings approving the Conditional Use Permit and Tentative Parcel Map and Resolutions recommending the Board of Supervisors' approval..."
In other words, so in-the-bag is it at this point, that the material has already been written and just "post-dated" as if it were already after the next hearing! What's more, in the EIR they admit that loss of "concentrated wildflower displays" is unavoidable and significant, but they have no plan or concern to do anything about that -- the word "flower" is never even mentioned in the Mitigation Monitoring Program documented posted at the case website now. Not to set Joshua trees against poppies, but strangely there's more attention in the EIR given to the handful of Joshua trees on the property than the hundreds of acres of intense wildflowers which are what distinguish this area and make it famous. Its incredible.
I know some people here wrote letters or emails to the planning commission in response, and these are included in the "Recent Correspondence" link that just got posted to the case website too. Twenty-two emails in opposition were recorded since the last website update, versus only two in support, and I think that a few of those came from the group here. So thank you! But unfortunately it seems to have been a foregone conclusion at this point, at least so far as the planning commission was concerned. This project has been under discussion for the last couple of years, and we just found out about it too late.
However, after the commission's approval the next step in the process will be that it goes to the LA County Board of Supervisors for approval. I imagine that the comment process will start all over at that point, directed at the BOS. The supervisors are elected representatives so anybody here who lives in LA County should definitely plan on re-submitting their comments at that time, and showing up at Board of Supervisors meeting(s) where this is discussed.
Unfortunately it seems local opposition leadership is either exhausted, dis-spirited or just ineffective. We non-locals (I'm from the Bay Area) can't take a leadership role in this. Does anybody know any local individuals or groups (Audubon, Sierra Club, etc) taking the lead on this? Or statewide groups like CNPS organizing over this?
This is a very sad report. I was down there this spring and never saw the Poppies
more beautiful. It would be nice if some agency such as The Nature Conservany
could have bought the land and saved it. However, I don't know if they make purchases.
They may rely on land be donated to their organization. I doubt that there is an
agency that could have come up with an amount of money that would have equaled
what a private developer was capable of paying the property owner(s).
Discussion
1 repliesUnfortunately it appears this project is nearing approval by the Los Angeles County planning commission. They have updated the case website here: http://planning.lacounty.gov/case/view/tentative_parcel_map_no_26805_project_no_02_176_fairmont_butte_motorsports as of a few days ago. Included in the updates are the Final Environmental Impact Report, proposed mitigation measures, cover letters, etc. Reading the material it is plain they intend to approve, and have intended to approve since March at least. For example, on Page 7 of the Findings of Fact document, the planning commission's staff writes:
"At the conclusion of the March 24, 2010 continued public hearing, the Commission again continued the public hearing to June 9, 2010, and directed staff to bring back for the Commission's consideration...draft findings and conditions for approval...
"On June 9, 2010, the Commission made the following environmental findings and certifed the Final EIR ("FEIR") and adopted findings approving the Conditional Use Permit and Tentative Parcel Map and Resolutions recommending the Board of Supervisors' approval..."
In other words, so in-the-bag is it at this point, that the material has already been written and just "post-dated" as if it were already after the next hearing! What's more, in the EIR they admit that loss of "concentrated wildflower displays" is unavoidable and significant, but they have no plan or concern to do anything about that -- the word "flower" is never even mentioned in the Mitigation Monitoring Program documented posted at the case website now. Not to set Joshua trees against poppies, but strangely there's more attention in the EIR given to the handful of Joshua trees on the property than the hundreds of acres of intense wildflowers which are what distinguish this area and make it famous. Its incredible.
I know some people here wrote letters or emails to the planning commission in response, and these are included in the "Recent Correspondence" link that just got posted to the case website too. Twenty-two emails in opposition were recorded since the last website update, versus only two in support, and I think that a few of those came from the group here. So thank you! But unfortunately it seems to have been a foregone conclusion at this point, at least so far as the planning commission was concerned. This project has been under discussion for the last couple of years, and we just found out about it too late.
However, after the commission's approval the next step in the process will be that it goes to the LA County Board of Supervisors for approval. I imagine that the comment process will start all over at that point, directed at the BOS. The supervisors are elected representatives so anybody here who lives in LA County should definitely plan on re-submitting their comments at that time, and showing up at Board of Supervisors meeting(s) where this is discussed.
Unfortunately it seems local opposition leadership is either exhausted, dis-spirited or just ineffective. We non-locals (I'm from the Bay Area) can't take a leadership role in this. Does anybody know any local individuals or groups (Audubon, Sierra Club, etc) taking the lead on this? Or statewide groups like CNPS organizing over this?
Scott
more beautiful. It would be nice if some agency such as The Nature Conservany
could have bought the land and saved it. However, I don't know if they make purchases.
They may rely on land be donated to their organization. I doubt that there is an
agency that could have come up with an amount of money that would have equaled
what a private developer was capable of paying the property owner(s).