Greetings!

Next Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting will be a major moment in the E-Group Solar Farm approval process and a major opportunity to make opposition voices heard.

See Agenda items here. Note how much material the Planning Commission is being asked to vote on! The packet contains hundreds of pages of detailed information that is largely brand new to us. The content of those pages will largely determine whether the solar plant will be built and what parameters apply if the project goes ahead. It’s a lot.

SO: Do the best you can to prepare a 3-minute comment on whether you want the Planning Commission to deny the project, approve it, or receive more time to read and understand the all-important, suddenly released materials. Chose one or more issues you are concerned about to talk about. Dust? Tortoise impacts? Community character? Aesthetic impacts? Something else? Fill out a comment card in the lobby outside the meeting room and hand it to a staff member before the meeting begins at 5 sharp.

Where: Twentynine Palms City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road

When: Tuesday February 17, 5:00 pm

Also: The Desert Trumpet is requesting that you send them the letters you all have written recently in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Report. They would like to include excerpts in the Planning Commission Agenda Preview. Please consider forwarding your letters to: editor@deserttrumpet.org. Letters need to be sent by 5PM today (Friday).

And if you haven’t joined our Facebook group, we could use as many members as possible. If you are already a member, forward to anyone you know who might be affected by this ill-advised project.

Thanks!

The folks at Desert Trumpet trumpeted an important news flash this morning. Tonight’s Planning Commission meeting starts at 5 p.m. and as always is taking place at City Hall on Adobe Road in downtown Twentynine Palms. Come, listen, learn, and be heard!

Tonight’s meeting will be short-it will go straight to Public Comments. To speak, fill out a green comment card and hand it to the staff (you will see cards in the foyer outside the meeting room.) Residents have 3 minutes to speak.

This is a perfect opportunity to express your thoughts about the proposed E-Group solar farm. What are the risks to our community? What are the benefits? Why is the project being considered at all? As a community, we are free to say Yay or Nay to the Developer. This is the time to be heard!

Have a good day!

If you didn’t get your DEIR comments in yesterday, here is some good news. Comments will still be accepted over the weekend if you email them in.

Submit comments to: Keith Gardner, Community Development Director at this address: kgardner@29palms.org

Copy the City Clerk on your email by cc’ing Cindy Villescas at cvillescas@29palms.org

Thank You!

BACKGROUND:

A large industrial-scale solar facility is being proposed near homes in Twentynine Palms (north of Two Mile near Harmony Acres.) The site is on pristine desert soil close to homes, roads, and not far from the Stater Brothers supermarket on Encelia and Highway 62.

The site is occupied desert tortoise habitat. The site is not flat land, rather, it is a wavy, rolling landscape with rocky outcroppings. Therefore, the project now calls for “MASS GRADING” – a huge amount of earth moving. to level out the land. Mass grading of this scale has been problematic, even within the solar industry.

Now the City has released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). You can read it here. Remember: This project is not inevitable. Due to its large environmental impact, it is very controversial. Even so, the project may well be approved. Learn what is happening and help them make a wise decision! Public comments are due January 22, 2026!

Why your voice matters

If you live near the project, your personal experience and concerns help the City and agencies understand real impacts. Even a short letter counts. If you do not live in Twentynine Palms, your thoughts still matter. We can all make a difference!

Key issues

• Mass grading: The developers have misrepresented this site as “flat. Now the DEIR discloses ~528,000 cubic yards of earth moved — roughly 50,000 dump trucks of soil. with this level of earthmoving the desert cannot be restored to its natural desert condition.
• Desert tortoise: The DEIR identifies the site as occupied desert tortoise habitat. Mass grading and the other planned industrial-scale changes threaten tortoises in this important piece of occupied habitat.
• Dust & health: Twentynine Palms is windy. Mass grading can create fugitive dust (including fine particles) during construction and potentially for years during operation/maintenance and later decommissioning. Dust storms could be more frequent and severe.
• Homes & sensitive receptors: Nearby residents, kids, seniors, people with asthma, and “quiet-use” places like the cemetery can be affected.
• Wildlife corridor: The site functions as habitat/movement area (including desert tortoise and other species). Fencing and mass grading can fragment habitat so wildlife cannot move through their range as they require.
• Alluvial fan / drainage: This is a dynamic desert landscape with washes. Grading can change erosion, flooding patterns, and sediment movement.
• Economy & community character: The DEIR acknowledges Significant and Unavoidable aesthetic impacts. Dust/visibility and gateway impacts can affect tourism, Highway 62 travel experience, and property values.
• The DEIR classifies the project as causing “permanent aesthetic damage which cannot be avoided.” This by itself is sufficient reason to deny project approval.

To Download the DEIR go to the City Website and click on the large button on the Announcements page  https://www.ci.twentynine-palms.ca.us

Note: CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) requires the DEIR to be reasonably easy to read and accessible so community members can participate in the review process before decisions are made. If this project DEIR is not reasonably accessible to you, let the City staff know.

What to write (6–12 sentences is plenty)

Include:

1. Who you are: If you are a resident of our city, say “I live in Twentynine Palms.” Your comments do matter even if you are not a local resident.
2. Your concerns (pick 2–4): Major issues include mass grading (moving soil), dust, health, wildlife corridor/tortoise, drainage, property values, cemetery/quiet-use.
3. What you want: End the approval process now? Stronger enforceable protections and a more complete analysis in the Final EIR?

Sample short comment (you can personalize and copy/paste this)

I am a Twentynine Palms concerned about the proposed E-Group PS solar power plant. The project DEIR discloses mass grading of roughly 528,000 cubic yards (a volume of around 50,000 dump trucks) of soil in a location close to homes, roads, and community spaces such as the Twentynine Palms cemetery. The project site is also in a wildlife corridor where a thriving population of desert tortoise lives. In our windy desert town, this project raises serious concerns about dust, roads, public health, aesthetics, and our endangered desert tortoise and other wildlife. Please do not remove our existing ban on solar power development in city limits. I urge the City to choose the No Project alternative to protect our community and natural environment.

Where to send your comment:

• Email: Keith Gardner, the Community Development Director of Twentynine Palms at:  kgardner@29palms.org
• Mail / hand-delivery:
  Keith Gardner, Community Development Director
  City of Twentynine Palms
  6136 Adobe Road
  Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
• Deadline: January 22, 2026 (send early if possible)

Want help?

Still not sure what to say?  Here are some other sample comments for you:

Example 2

I support the No Project Alternative because the DEIR admits significant and unavoidable visual harm, and mass grading at this scale (~528,000 cubic yards) would add dust and degrade Twentynine Palms’ desert character and JTNP gateway economy.

Example 3

The DEIR includes a “No Project/No Construction” option. I urge the City to choose it because the mass grading and dust risks are too high for a windy community next to homes and community spaces. Maintain the ban on industrial solar development that has been in place since 2012.

Example 4

Please choose the No Project Alternative. Twentynine Palms is extremely windy, and mass grading on the scale disclosed in the DEIR (~528,000 cubic yards / ~50,000 dump trucks) creates unacceptable long-term dust and health risks for nearby residents and community spaces.

Example 5

I urge the City to choose theNo Project Alternativebecause the DEIR shows the project would require mass grading of about 528,000 cubic yards of soil(roughly 50,000 dump trucks) in a wildlife corridorthat includes desert tortoise habitat. This would cause long-term habitat loss and increase dust impacts in our windy community.

Deadline is January 22, 2026

Send your comments in EARLY!

The Morongo Basin Conservation Association along with the Indian Cove Neighbors Organizing Committee hosted a town hall meeting on Saturday May 31, 2025 at the Twentynine Palms Community Center to discuss proposed developments including the Ofland Hotel Resort and the industrial-scale solar power plant proposed by Slovakian energy developer E-Group. These two projects have a lot in common. Both projects seek to commercialize a patch of scenic desert that lies just east of Lear Avenue in Twentynine Palms. This piece of land is habitat for a thriving population of the Desert Tortoise (an endangered species) and lies within city limits–providing beautiful natural views, open space, other benefits to nearby residents and passers-by. Neither development has been permitted by the City of Twentynine Palms but developers have submitted their applications and review is underway. Getting buy-in from local residents and their elected representatives is an integral part of the permitting process too. Residents are organizing to express their opposition.

If you were not able to make it to the meeting, you can find a detailed discussion of the conversation in an excellent article in our local publication The Desert Trumpet titled:  Finding Balance Town Hall Recap: A Morongo Basin Conversation on Development in Our Ecosystem, authored by Eleanor Whitney. See https://www.deserttrumpet.org/p/finding-balance-town-hall-recap-a

Overall, the meeting had a “focus on community engagement, representation, and development.” As the article in the Desert Trumpet stated:

Representation, education, and community involvement were major themes of the afternoon and the Town Hall had an overall proactive tone. Guest speakers and community members brought up multiple ways that residents can stay informed, get involved, speak up, and push back against proposed developments, as well as create a proactive, positive vision for development. However, they also concurred that there could be more transparent lines of communication when it comes to development, especially at the county level.

Speakers emphasized that, in order for public opinion to count, it is important for citizens to come to the planning commission meetings and city council hearings in Twentynine Palms. This is ultimately where the decisions are being made made about the solar plant, Ofland resort, and other development projects in our community. After all, civic engagement is our right, privilege, and joy–as well as our best hope for making wise decisions that best serve us all.