Barstow Industrial Park LLC acquires property with a $22,500,000 mortgage

According to records available from various San Bernardino County agencies, on 12.18.06 an entity known as Barstow Industrial Park LLC acquired from another entity, Overland Lenwood LTD, approximately 26 parcels of land (see: parcel map) within the 1,200-acre Barstow Industrial Park (adjacent to the BNSF railroad tracks and within one mile of a public works project financed in part by federal earmarks and known as the "Lenwood Road Grade Separation").

Records indicate there is a $22,500,000 mortgage with Guaranty Bank FSB on the properties. Overland Lenwood LTD made a killing on the sale of the property.

According to records available on the San Bernardino County Property Information Management System the 26 properties had a previous total assessed value of $2,841, 914 in 2006 when they were owned by Overland Lenwood LTD but after they were sold to Barstow Industrial Park LLC the properties were assessed at a total value of $15,060,000 -- a 530% increase in assessed value after the property changed hands. Although the City of Barstow's web site indicates land in the Barstow Industrial Park is zoned M-1 Light Industrial, San Bernardino County's Property Information Management System indicates much of the property is "agricultural" which tends to carry a lower valuation.

• Barstow Industrial Park LLC is a Delaware corporation with an address at 515 SOUTH FIGUEROA ST, STE 1600, Los Angeles, CA 90071. The entity's California agent is noted as Murad M. Siam. The entity registered in California on 10.16.06.
  


• Overland Lenwood LTD is a California Limited Partnership with a one-time address at 147 EAST OLIVE AVE. , MONROVIA, CA 91016. The entitiy's agent was noted as Andrew Hsu located at 18725 E. GALE AVE, STE 233, INDUSTRY, CA 91748. The entity registered in 1994 and has since been cancelled. Numerous other "Overland" or Hi-Desert related property owners are located at the Monrovia address.

On 2.17.05 the City of Barstow issued a press release regarding the Barstow Industrial Park and Walmart which included the following:

"From its corporate offices in Bentonville, Ark., Wal-Mart announced today that it plans to build and operate a food distribution center in the area known as the Barstow Industrial Park. Construction on the 880,000-sq.-ft. facility, encompassing 160 acres in the industrial park just north of where Valmont-Newmark is located, is planned to begin in late 2006 with service to stores beginning in 2008. The company announced that some 500 full-time jobs, providing competitive wages, initially will be created. That number could grow to 700 within the first three years."

No progress on a Walmart project are obvious in the Barstow Industrial Park despite pubic assertions by Barstow's Mayor Lawrence Dale; however, Barstow Industrial Park LLC appears to have paid more than premium prices for the land it acquired in 2006. An investment of $22.5 million on property that was previously assessed at $2.5 would have to come with some have some guarantees for the new owners. Somebody was a big winner in this transaction. And somebody(ies) intend to make even more if they were willing to overpay for the property to the tune of $22.5 million.


You may also want to review these related posts:

• Did earmarks guarantee exclusive casino developmen...
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Originally posted 12.04.07.

NAHC urges complaint to state Attorney General regarding Barstow’s CEQA-related practices

California’s Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) has urged the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe to file a formal complaint with California Attorney General Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. demanding an immediate investigation into the CEQA-related practices of the City of Barstow.

The environmental review process underway for a dual casino project to be built in Barstow by Detroit-based developer Barwest LLC has triggered awareness that local tribes routinely identified by California’s Native American Heritage Commission as having ancestral ties to the Barstow area may have been purposefully excluded from the environmental review process on that project and others since at least March 1, 2005.

In a letter dated August 13, 2007 to the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe; Dave Singleton, NAHC analyst expresses, “…the Commission is concerned that state law may have been violated if the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe was not given full and reasonable opportunity to comment on and express concerns on either a project planned under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or Government Code 65352.3,5 (SB 18). If consultation was not provided under either of these two acts of the California Legislature by the City of Barstow or its agent; then the tribe in our opinion has a right to file a complaint with the California Attorney General and the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO).”

He concludes the letter by stating, “I am of the opinion that Waiting ten (10) months from the time the City of Barstow and/or its agent receive a Native American consultation list form (sic) the Native American Heritage Commission to offer the opportunity for the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe to consult on this important project may indeed be a violation of the spirit and/or the letter of the CEQA Guidelines and Government Code §65252.3 (sic).”

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)
The NAHC is the state commission responsible for advocating preservation and protection of Native American human remains and cultural resources. NAHC maintains confidential records concerning places of special religious or social significance to Native Americans, including graves and cemeteries and other cultural places. The NAHC reviews CEQA documents to provide recommendations to lead agencies about consulting with tribes to mitigate potential project impacts to these sites.

The NAHC is responsible for maintaining a list of California tribes and contacts for each respective tribe; and is responsible for identifying which tribes have ancestral lands or cultural places within a particular local government’s jurisdiction.

"Cheat Sheet" on Native American ancestral claims for Barstow's Mayor

Open letter to Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale

August 31, 2007

Mayor Lawrence Dale
City of Barstow
Barstow, CA 92311

RE: Your Recent Assault on the Ancestral Heritage of Local Native American Tribes

Dear Lawrence,

California's Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) and the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as well as Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are responsible for determining what Native American tribes have ancestral claims to Barstow.

Not You!

Not your friends at Detroit-based Barwest LLC!

And not their hired "experts" from Missoula, Montana!

It certainly must be embarassing to realize that after seven years as the Mayor of Barstow and now as president of SANBAG you didn't know this.

You really should familiarize yourself with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA Guidelines available from the the Governor's Office of Research and Planning; and certainly the City of Barstow's General Plan. It might be best to get some counsel on these matters from someone other than Barwest's Michigan lawyers.

Truly,
Your friends at TVT

P.S. Let us know if you find the Big Lagoon Rancheria or the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians on these lists.

* * *

Here's a little "cheat sheet" paragraph you may want to cut and tape on the inside cover of your day planner.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Preface – Native American Concerns
(pages IV.2.6 – IV.2.7)

"Therefore, any project must involve consultation with and involvement from local and regional Native American cultural entities as listed by the Native American Heritage Commission. The local Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains a listing of representatives of Native American groups who claim an association with the Barstow area; specifically the Serrano, Kaaiisu, Fort Mojave, and Chemehuevi."

Barstow's Mayor isn't familiar with his City's General Plan; nor is he a scholar of Native American history or culture

Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale isn't a local historian nor scholar of Native Americans despite recent representations.

And it appears that Mayor Dale has failed to study and familiarize himself with his city's General Plan too.

Recently Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale, in his official capacity, has mistakenly written,

"To the contrary, the Barstow General Plan lists 15 tribal groups, including the Cahuilla and Cupeno, as having ties to Barstow…"

Mayor Dale misrepresents the truth for the benefit of Detroit casino syndicators.

First, the Barstow General plan does not provide a list of 15 different tribes that have ancestral claims to the modern-day Barstow area as Dale seems to imply. The General Plan mentions various Native American groups throughout its 54-page technical report on cultural resources management, but in no way does that report indicate each of those tribes had ancestral connections to Barstow.

The Barstow General Plan does, however, recognize that the California Native American Heritage Commission maintains a list of those tribes that have ancestral claims in the Barstow area. The General Plan also acknowledges that the Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management recognizes four tribes specifically as having ancestral claims in Barstow.

Perhaps Lawrence Dale should familiarize himself with those official lists.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Preface – Native American Concerns
(pages IV.2.6 – IV.2.7)

"Therefore, any project must involve consultation with and involvement from local and regional Native American cultural entities as listed by the Native American Heritage Commission. The local Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains a listing of representatives of Native American groups who claim an association with the Barstow area; specifically the Serrano, Kaaiisu, Fort Mojave, and Chemehuevi."

Contrary to Mayor Dale’s representations, the Barstow General Plan does not represent that the Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians have ancestral claims in the modern-day Barstow area. The General Plan’s Technical Report section provides a discussion that simply mentions the Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians were believed to have had relationships with the Serrano Indians (San Manuel Tribe). The Serrano are referenced for discussion because they are a Native American group most like the less understood Vanyume Indians who had ancestral lands including modern-day Barstow – but there are no representations that the Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians had ancestral lands in Barstow.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Cultural/Historical Overview - Ethnography
(page IV.2.27)

"Since little is known about the Vanyume, and most existing information, though not universally accepted, suggests certain affinities to the Serrano, relevant behavioral information with applicability to the Vanyume was extrapolated from the Serrano..."

"Coalitions with other Serrano clans were based on reciprocal ceremonial, marital and economic relationships. They also established alliances with similarly organized Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Gabrielino, and Cupeno (Strong, 1929; Bean, 1972)."

Ironically, that very same section of the Barstow General Plan that mentions relationships between the Serrano and various other Indians, includes the following two references that seem to support representations by the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe that its ancestors included modern-day Barstow among their rightful homelands.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Cultural/Historical Overview - Ethnography
(page IV.2.26 & IV.2.28)

"The Vanyume became extinct through missionization in the 1770s, with the Chemehuevi, Mojave, Serrano, and possibly Chumash moving into their area after contact (Greenwood and McIntyre, 1979:28); Forbes, 1963; and, Barker and Schlanger, 1974)." IV.2.26

"It is reported that during the 17th and 18th centuries, the central portion of the Mojave was abandoned by the Mojave Indians and the area was occupied by the Chemehuevi." IV.2.28

It seems that at the suggestion of those behind Detroit-based casino developer Barwest LLC, Mayor Dale disregards any such claims by the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe or any others; even when those claims are supported by language in his city's General Plan.

What or whom would compel Lawrence Dale to use the office bestowed upon him by the people of Barstow to make the false representations he has made about that city's history and its General Plan documents.

Parcel identified for development in Barstow Compacts does not exist

The Gaming Compacts the Big Lagoon Rancheria and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians each have with the State of California specify land in Barstow that the Big Lagoon tribe will have transferred into trust for future casino development as APN #0428-171-69 (see Big Lagoon Compact - Exhibit D; and Los Coyotes Compact pages 10, 14 & 80). That parcel number, APN #0428-171-69, does not exist on any local parcel map.

The parcel identified two years ago in the still unratified gaming Compacts has been inactive since December 2005, just three months after the tribes and their developer Barwest LLC concluded negotiations on the Compacts with Governor Schwarzenegger’s staff but prior to the Compacts' formal introduction to the state Legislature for ratification.

According to records available from the San Bernardino County Tax Collector, the original parcel identified for development by the Big Lagoon Rancheria and its developer has been merged and split with other parcels several times over the last two years:

Parcel #0428-171-69 was combined with Parcel #0428-171-70 (acquired from the San Bernardino County tax Collector) to create New Parcel #0428-171-71 in December 2005.

And then, Parcel #0428-171-71 was split into two New Parcels #0428-171-72 and #0428-171-73 in November 2006.

And then, Parcel #0428-171-72 was combined with Parcel #0428-171-64 (acquired from Barstow land speculators PGMC Investors) to create New Parcel #0428-171-74 in December 2006.

And then, Parcel #0428-171-74 was split into two New Parcels #0428-171-75 and #0428-171-76 in March 2007.

The parcel map for the general area where old parcel #0428-171-69 was located no longer identifies a parcel with that number.

Barstow General Plan Documents name tribes with historical ties to the greater Barstow area

From the City of Barstow's General Plan:

IV.2 ARCHAEOLOGIC AND HISTORIC RESOURCES
CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN
Technical Report


IV.2.26 - CULTURAL/HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Ethnography
At the time of Spanish contact, the project area was occupied by the Vanyume Native American group. Little is known of the Vanyume other than they appear to be a small population of hunters and gatherers exploiting a large area between the Kitanemuk to the west, the Serrano to the south, the Kawaiisu to the west, and the Chemehuevi to the north and east (Greenwood and Mcintyre, 1979:28). Their territory centered along the Mojave River from the Daggett-Barstow area eastward about one-third of the way from the river to the Providence Mountains, and westward to the Serrano territory...

...The Vanyume became extinct through missionization in the 1770s, with the Chemehuevi, Mojave, Serrano, and possibly Chumash moving into their area...

General Plan states any Barstow project must involve local consultations, names 4 Tribes acknowledged by BLM

From the City of Barstow's General Plan:

IV.2 ARCHAEOLOGIC AND HISTORIC RESOURCES
CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN
Technical Report

IV.2.5 - Native American Concerns
Another category of resources which is included under prehistoric resources, includes ethnographic elements pertaining to Native American issues and values. It would be presumptuous for any non-Native American to draw conclusions about the special concerns which the local Native American community may feel towards a specific project. Native Americans recognize all prehistoric sites within their territory as art of their heritage. Potential disturbance and destruction of any resource can adversely affect the values of their culture and their ability to transmit these values to future generations. Therefore, any project must involve consultation with and involvement from local and regional Native American cultural entities as listed by the Native American Heritage Commission. The local Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains a listing of representatives of Native American groups who claim an association with the Barstow area; specifically the Serrano, Kaaiisu, Fort Mojave, and Chemehuevi.