By Leslie Andrews 

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA- After continuation from a regular meeting, the Twentynine Palms City Council discussed their General Plan in what was reported to be a four-hour special meeting on Thursday, talking about sewage disposal systems and commercial development.  

Nelson Miller, from the Hogle-Ireland Legal Firm led most of the discussions. “As we described last time, the current policy of the regional water board is for subdivisions 10 units or more to have sewage systems,” he said. “In summary, within the city there are 12 packaged treatment plans approved for development. There are a potential for 90 plans.”  

Councilman Joel Klink remarked, “I’m for a sewer treatment plant for the downtown area. But it will be a trillion dollars to put in a wastewater treatment plant. Where is the money coming from?” 

Councilman Steve Spear adds, “Does anybody know what triggers them to say ‘Thou shalt build a sewage system?’ We certainly don’t know where the money is coming from.” 

Jay Corbin, a future City Council candidate and from Corbin Planning responded, “We had a lot of discussion and there are a lot of unanswered questions. The state will require wastewater treatment for the city. We risk contamination of the groundwater. Look at those facts so that you can make the right decision for the community. And the nitrate levels in Yucca Valley are high and for 29 Palms.” 

Nelson added that as the city grows, septic systems become a problem. “Yucca Valley is four to five times the size of Twentynine Palms. They have reached a point where it becomes a problem. As rural areas become denser, it becomes a problem.” 

City Manager Michael Tree adds, “We have been meeting with Yucca Valley and the county. The dollars are few and if it’s not a regional issue, they’re not likely to get funding. They are having a difficult time finding any money.” 

Mayor Steve Flock stated, “I don’t want to mortgage our children’s future. We’re not that far yet. We may go in that direction. This city has for 22 years avoided development fees. I think we need to address blight, roads and streets downtown and I’m talking about development fees. I think we should move ahead with the regional plan and look at alternatives as to how we finance it.” 

Besides the talks about the sewage wastewater plan being favored, the council also favored a plan to expand commercial areas near the Stater Brothers Shopping Center, but they also denied a tourist commercial area west of Lear adjacent to Highway 62.