Don’t Let This…

…Turn Into This

Shavers Valley is known for its dark night skies, biodiversity, wildlife, and incredible views. It is home to tortoise, bighorn sheep, fox, coyote and countless others. It is completely pristine desert located miles from any other city.

A developer is trying to push through a new city of 25,000 people on over 1800 acres in Shavers Valley, next to Joshua Tree National Park cutting through the middle of a pristine and essential wildlife corridor.

Threats Posed by the Paradise Valley Project

The development would cause devastating impacts to Joshua Tree National Park, the wilderness areas bordering the proposed development site, the Mecca Hills Wilderness area, Painted Hills, and Orocopia Mountains.  This must be stopped!

  • Around 5,000 acres of prime desert tortoise habitat will be lost.

  • Habitat on the park’s southern boundary will be physically damaged.

  • Ancient groundwater will be pumped from the Orocopia basin.

  • Invasive plant and animal species will be introduced.

  • Joshua Tree National Park’s dark night skies will be affected by hundreds of thousands of new sources of artificial light.

  • Biological connectivity between the park and other major conservation areas like the Mecca Hills Wilderness will be blocked.

What You Can do

The developer is trying to push his project through without even a project review by the environmental and wildlife agencies.

TWO WAYS TO ACT:

1. PRINT OUT AND MAIL
To print out the letter to mail click the below button.
Add your own comments and fill in the fields.

Mail to:
Planning Commission
Attn: Russell Brady
Riverside County Planning
4080 Lemon Street 12th Floor
Riverside, CA 92501

2. EMAIL
Copy and paste the below letter into an email and send to rbrady@rivco.org

*Please add your own comments and sign your name and zip code.*  

Planning Commission 
Attn: Russell Brady 
Riverside County Planning 
4080 Lemon Street 12th Floor 
Riverside, CA 92501

RE: Paradise Valley SP EIR 506

Dear Riverside County Planning Commissioners: 
I am strongly opposed to the proposed Paradise Valley project that intends to destroy thousands of acres of 
precious desert habitat. This project, while falling under the Coachella Valley Multi-Species Habitat Plan, is 
trying to circumvent the hard-won environmental and conservation protections that the CVMSHCP outlined.

As a Riverside County resident, I am asking the commissioners to strongly adhere to the CVMSHCP and its requirements. I understand that one of those important requirements is the Joint Project Review, which the applicant of the Paradise Valley project is trying to thwart. The JPR was agreed upon as a condition, long ago, for any applicant to adhere to in a Conservation Area. Please enforce that requirement. No applicant or developer should be given special treatment.

This enormous developmental sprawl is bypassing East Coachella Valley communities in dire need of growth, 
clean water, clean air and other infrastructure. This new city threatens the most remote and pristine part of 
adjacent Joshua Tree National Park, its dark skies and its life-giving springs.

Finally, “Paradise Valley” would undermine the very Habitat Plan that currently protects the entire southern 
flank of Joshua Tree and ensures that responsible development can happen quickly and easily where it ought to—next to existing urban, NOT next to this pristine National Park.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. Please disseminate to all Planning Commissioners.

Join Our Facebook Group!

All photos on this site were taken by Gary Gray, unless noted otherwise.