The Southern California desert is undergoing rapid change amid an influx of urbanites seeking to escape city life during the pandemic. But many longtime residents say transplants are pricing out locals and disrupting the fragile ecosystem.
Some of the recent changes have improved daily life, according to Clint Stoker, a Yucca Valley planning commissioner. The town recently replaced aging septic tanks with a sewer system, new restaurants and cafés are popping up and roads are being repaired.
“This place was a ghost town in the ‘80s. You had to drive all the way to Palm Springs to do some shopping,” he said. “Now, there’s a lot more to do. It’s been a positive thing for us.” “We watched family members have to leave. We watched friends have to leave,” said Yucca Valley resident Breana Violanti. “We don’t care where you’re from. The biggest problem is that they’re not coming to stay here.”
The landlord initiated the process last year, around the same time Violanti and her husband were both laid off from their jobs because of the pandemic, she said. Violanti was able to remain in her rental for another year because of the state’s eviction moratorium, but that expired at the end of September.Joshua Tree, Calif., in the Morongo Valley.Realtor Madelaine LaVoie estimated that home prices in the Morongo Basin have increased some 35 percent since the pandemic began.
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