Widening Of Bear Valley Road, New Park on Apple Valley Town Council Agenda

As stated in an article in the Victorville Daily Press, January 10, 2022, the Apple Valley Town Council will meet to discuss several agenda items. The town’s Parks and Recreation Manager David Coleman will provide an update on the proposed Pahute Park near the corner of Navajo and Pah-Ute roads. Last year, the town was awarded just over $8.4 million from the California Department of Parks and Recreation for the proposed facility. The new park includes a running track with a synthetic surface, a football field with lighting, a baseball field, two soccer fields, and an all-abilities inclusive playground and walkway. The park will also feature a small picnic shelter, large picnic shelter, dog park with big and small areas, restroom, parking lot with lighting, and landscaping and lighting throughout the park. Pahute Park would be constructed east of the Apple Valley Unified School District’s administrative offices on Navajo Road. As part of the grant award, the town will sign a 30-year lease agreement for 10 acres on the AVUSD property. The new park is expected to open by March 2025.

The Town Council will consider reviewing and approving bid documents for the Bear Valley Road widening project. Bear Valley Road, east of Central Road, has a single travel lane in both directions. On the westerly side of Central, Bear Valley transitions to a single travel lane east of Quinnault Road. A design to construct a private development on the northeast corner of Central and Bear Valley roads has been approved with a start date of early 2022. The development is the Central Gas & Mart. A condition of approval for the gas station is to widen Bear Valley Road adjacent to the parcel. If approved, the town will widen the westbound lane of Bear Valley Road from Central to Quinnault roads. Upon completion, there will be a minimum of two travel lanes of westbound traffic from Central Road to the western town limit at the Mojave River.

The council will consider a second reading of the town’s development code to create a 978-acre overlay within the regional commercial district, which would allow e-commerce fulfillment and distribution centers. The proposed overlay would extend approximately 1.5 miles to the north and 2.25 miles to the south of Interstate 15 and Stoddard Wells Road Interchange. The overlay would extend to the east boundary of the commercial district, which has a depth of approximately 1,000 feet to 4,200 feet from the I-15 Freeway. The north boundary of the overlay would be approximately 2.82 miles from I-15 and Dale Evans Parkway interchange, or 2.5 miles to the south of the proposed Brightline West Train Station.