County Reschedules Renewable Energy Listening Session

The renewable energy policy initiative (SPARC) listening session originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. has been rescheduled to Thursday, March 5 from 2 to 4 p.m., due to requests for additional time from community organizations. Many community organizations are preparing comments for the State of California's Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), currently under public review. DRECP comments are due by Feb. 23. Unlike the DRECP, the County General Plan Renewable Energy Element is a county government project that hopes to balance desert conservation with renewable energy development within the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County not owned by the state or federal government. The listening session will focus on plans for the County General Plan renewable energy element and will be held in the Board of Supervisors Covington Chambers, County Government Center, first floor, 385 N. Arrowhead Ave. in San Bernardino San Bernardino, with opportunities for video conference testimony from both the High Desert (Hesperia) and Joshua Tree county government centers. The session will begin with an overview of the county's planning progress and priorities from County Planning Director Terri Rahhal, followed by public comments on the Element Framework and Outline. The listening session will be the third round of public exchange on the County General Plan Renewable Energy Element process. Additional public workshops will follow in the spring. During the meetings, the public can participate via videoconferencing at the Jerry Lewis High Desert Government Center, 15900 Smoke Tree Street, Hesperia; or the Bob Burke Joshua Tree Government Center, 63665 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree.