High Desert Agencies Ask For Input From Community Members

Take a few minutes to give your input on resource allocation and community planning in Victorville, Town of Apple Valley, and neighboring communities of Phelan in the Snowline Joint Unified District.

Reading time: 2 minutes

The Town of Apple Valley and City of Victorville are in the midst of conducting the Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Planning will span over 2017 through 2021 and will establish community goals and guide resource allocations. The 10-minute survey asks about thoughts on living conditions, costs of housing, public safety concerns, and feelings about issues such as blight, economic development, and public services.

Previous Assessment Studies

Much of the issues queried in the survey parallel a previous study conducted through the High Desert Forum in 2015. The High Desert Forum was a stakeholder roundtable comprised of public service providers, residents, and professionals in the area led by Children’s Fund. The forum asked participants to view the High Desert area concentrated in a 20-mile radius of Adelanto, touching outlying borders of Victorville through the perspective of children and pregnant women to better understand the limitations and needs that the impact quality of life for growing  families.

Stakeholders found that the greatest weaknesses were the lack of programs, resources, transportation, stable housing, employment opportunities, and communication infrastructures.

Another study conducted by First 5 San Bernardino in 2013 brought residents and professionals in the High Desert region together to assess needs in the city of Victorville. The study also found youth services, transportation, and public infrastructure of walkable neighborhoods to be lacking according to the group. Desires for family education and communication resources stood out, indicating a desire for family enrichment and high community engagement potential in the High Desert.

If you’re a resident or work in Victorville or Town of Apple Valley, take some time to provide your thoughts.

Take the Apple Valley / Victorville Community Needs Assessment

Snowline Joint Unified School District Seeks Community Input

Likewise, if you are in the Snowline Joint Unified School District encompassing the communities of Wrightwood, Phelan, Pinion Hills, and Baldy Mesa, the Snowline Community Cabinet is asking for 2-minutes of your time to collect your input on the needs that interest you the most. The survey asks questions regarding value of school readiness events, senior health fairs, winter readiness, and public safety issues.

San Bernardino County Public Health and St. Joseph Health, St. Mary awarded the community cabinet with $25,000 to improve food systems, speaking to a finding also mentioned in the First 5 San Bernardino community needs assessment in 2013 that is unrelated to the Snowline Community Cabinet. According to coverage on the award in the Victor Valley Daily Press, decision making for the grant investment will be held on December 7, 2016, but notes specific directions to invest in. There are community programs that are already in place to address food access needs that they intend to support, as well as developing food access infrastructures including refrigeration, cold storage facilities, and community gardens.

Map of Snowline Joint Unified School District

Take the Snowline Community Cabinet Survey

County of San Bernardino is Planning for the Future of the High Desert

If you have even more to say and you live in the Wrightwood area, connect with the County of San Bernardino’s Countywide Plan Workshops. The countywide effort seeks to collect input from selected areas in the region to get insights for future development and to understand local needs. The next meeting will be for the Wrightwood community. Other high desert cities planned for community meetings include Oro Grande, Pinion Hills/Phelan,  Baker, Daggett, Yermo, Oak Hills and other locations.