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Bob's Towing, previously located on
National Trails Highway near Kelly's Chevron Station, has moved to Nopal Lane.
The business is associated with
Bob's Towing Services & Recovery, Inc.
of Walnut, California, that has branch locations in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.
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Concentration of BIG RIG salvage wreckers.
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County continues to trash Newberry Springs.
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Door sign at previous National Trails address.
May 22, 2015
Prior to last years' Board of Supervisors' approval of a
rezoning and Conditional Use Permit ("CUP") for Needles based Active Towing wrecker service,
to occupy a Newberry Springs corner at National Trails Highway and Nopal Lane,
the county's Planning Commission and the Board were pre-advised of numerous faults in
the county's Land Use Services Department's processing and approval of the application.
In short, the corrupt Land Use Services Department has continued
a historical record of finding it much easier to simply ignore the full scope of the
California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") and to designate applications with a Negative
Declaration on environmental issues than following and fully applying the state environmental
law.
As previous released in earlier blogs (links below), the original
application for Active Towing's siting on National Trails Highway, that was launched in a
scam
application before the county for rezoning and a CUP, was filed by
Spike Lynch and the corner's property owner, Thomas Stickley (pictured right). A sale of
the property to Active Towing was reported dependent upon the county's approval of the application.
Bob's Towing new location at 31112 Nopal Lane in Newberry Springs.
Another regular violation has been the county's willingness to
flip-flop on the county's General Plan and spot zone for special interests. In the
case of Active Towing, on June 3, 2014, the county Board of Supervisors led by the local
district's supervisor, Robert Lovingood, voted for what amounts to improper spot zoning,
to allow Active Towing to operate, what would otherwise be, an illegal operation in the
General Plan.
The spot zoning might not be technically illegal for Active Towing because
Land Use Services attempted to skirt the law by including three additional parcels adjacent to the
subject two CUP parcels; thereby, establishing a block of parcels extending beyond Active Towing's
two parcels. The courts however have often ruled against such obvious shams to sneak-in
such deceptive spot zoning; especially when designed to highly benefit one property owner when
the zoning change does not have a true benefit to the surrounding community.
The three additional parcels were included in the zoning change
at the objection of residents who warned that the rezoning would permit Active Towing or
another similar operation (such as Bob's Towing) to expand towing/storage/impound services
in the largely residential zoned area.
The residential nature of the area has been harmed by the conflicting
land use change to enable an incompatible 24-hour, industrial-style operation.
Spot zoning may be ruled invalid as an "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable
treatment" of a limited parcel of land by a local zoning ordinance. While zoning regulates the
land use in whole districts, spot zoning makes unjustified exceptions for a parcel or
parcels within a district. [Eves vs. Zoning Board]
Well, it took Bob's Towing only about three months after
the Board's approval of Active Towing to initiate a
pre-application
(September 2014) to prove the dissenting residents correct. A formal filing
was submitted on the first of April 2015 and is being currently processed.
Yellow parcels 04 and 05 in the illustration (left) are Bob's Towing's new site.
Adjacent parcel 16 is the 5th parcel earlier rezoned by the Board. Use of parcel 16
would double the junkyard appearance along National Trails Highway.
A few days after the Board's approval of the Active Towing rezoning and
CUP, local district supervisor Robert Lovingood stated that he favored the rezoning against
the General Plan because he feels that property owners should have the right to do whatever they
want with their property; and that if an adjacent property owner doesn't agree with the proposed
change in zoning, then that adjacent owner has the right to buy-out the property proposed for
the change.
What Lovingood appeared to be saying, is if an adjacent residence wants
peace and quiet at night, and if the next door property owner wants to convert his property for an
incompatible 24-hour wrecker service that isn't allowed by the existing General Plan, than the
residential owner needs to raise tens of thousands of dollars to maintain what is promised in
the General Plan.
By giving-in to the request of Active Towing, Robert Lovingood leading
the Board, violated the value and the property rights of all the surrounding residential parcels
in the area. Sounds at night travel far in the silent, open desert, and establishing
24-hour BIG RIG wrecker tow services within a residential area is simply stupid planning.
Ron Frame, Supervisor Lovingood's local representative in Newberry
Springs, appeared shocked a few months back when first learning of Bob's Towing's preliminary
application. Frame stated that he remembered Active Towing's application quite well
and that only the two parcels involved in the CUP were to be permitted for towing/storage
service on the five parcels rezoned. The cat is, however, now out-of-the-bag.
The dirty scam was easily prophesied by the residents and the county
officials should have listened. But then, listening and caring about the community
are two different things.
A Bob's Towing's 14-wheel truck turns off Fort Cady Road
onto National Trails Highway. Bob's Towing's new site is two miles from
Fort Cady Road and three miles from Interstate-40's Exit 18 at the Chevron station.
Bob's Towing in Newberry Springs has been permitted for truck dispatch only. Temporary
storage or impounding of wreckage (as pictured above) by Bob's has not been legal in
Newberry Springs.
The licensing of such mammoth trucks and trailers upon narrow
residential Nopal Lane is pure county lunacy. The noise of chains, diesel engines,
hydrolics, and the off-loading of wreckage (and later onloading) is unacceptable in a
residential area, especially late at night.
The National Trails roadbed, that was constructed the better part
of a century ago, was not designed for such heavy truck loads and is now showing excellerated
deterioration. The county can not afford replacement, only patches that fail to hold.
Obviously, the Supervisors would never agree to such in their own
neighborhoods; but for Newberry Springs, its O.K. to trash the residential area with Active
Towing. Now with Bob's Towing, the county can double-down.
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