Plan for Mountain Camp Blocked : Inner-City Group Charges Protest of Proposal Is Racist

A black philanthropic organization bought a five-acre, pine-covered lot in the San Bernardino Mountains to fulfill a long-held dream of starting a retreat for urban minority youths and seniors.

The Brotherhood Crusade of Los Angeles paid $400,000 for the property in Crestline. The inner-city organization spent another $50,000 to spruce up five dilapidated cabins on the lot that once served as a bar and restaurant center. The dream was shattered on Oct. 10, when the San Bernardino County Planning Commission, bowing to a well-organized group of angry local residents, denied final approval for the project.

“We were absolutely flabbergasted,” said Danny Bakewell, president of the non-denominational fund-raising group. Bakewell said the Brotherhood Crusade had operated all along with the approval of San Bernardino County planners.

But when residents of the adjacent Valley of Enchantment Trailer Park learned of the Brotherhood’s intentions for the site, they petitioned against the project.

Stunned by the action, which it believes was racially motivated, the Brotherhood Crusade plans to appeal the decision before the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today.

“We will bring hundreds of people to the hearing to show our concern,” Bakewell said. The opposition, he added, “cannot accept the fact that they don’t own the mountains.”

Planning Commission officials agreed that the project complies with the county’s general plan for the area. It does not, however, meet the requirements of a local community zoning plan.

What’s more, the residents of the mobile home park presented a “strong and well-organized” case against the project, Steve Wilson, deputy director of the planning commission, said.

At public hearings on the issue, Wilson said, local residents expressed deep concern that the camp, a half-mile south of a city of Los Angeles youth camp and a few hundred feet away from an elementary school, would create excessive noise and traffic congestion in the area, among other things.

“One individual testified this was a unique community for the elderly, retired and unsociable young families who do not party,” Wilson said. However, he also said many of the protesters were “gang-plankers who got what they wanted and now don’t want to let anyone else on the boat.”

Jim Davis, manager of the trailer park, could not be reached for comment.

Troubling Rumors

Especially troubling for the Brotherhood Crusade have been the rumors, which have dogged the project from the start. One rumor held that the camp would cater to rehabilitating drug abusers and gang members, which could increase crime and drive down property values.

Bakewell insisted the facility would serve a maximum of 50 people at any one time. Most of these, he said, would be children and elderly people and community and church groups from the inner-city who would not otherwise be able to afford such a place for extended periods of time.

“People have said we’d play loud music and dance all night long,” said Bakewell. “These people are obviously racist.”

Won’t Condemn Property

Planning commission officials said if the Board of Supervisors turns down the appeal today, they will not move to condemn the property.

Nonetheless, Bakewell said he was considering taking legal action against the county if the organization loses the appeal.

“If you close your eyes, you could think this was happening in the 1930s or 1940s,” Bakewell said. “The reality is we would use this facility for black, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic and white people.”