Lancaster May Build 2 Controversial Streets

The Lancaster City Council is considering building two new streets through a desert woodlands area dotted with juniper and Joshua trees even though the area’s preservation had previously been made a top city priority. The streets would improve students’ access to an elementary school.

The 3-0 council vote earlier this week was a victory for parents at the Nancy Cory School, which opened in September. They had complained that it was unsafe for their children to walk through the desert area to reach the school from the south or the east, where there are no streets.

Preservationists bitterly criticized the decision, arguing that the new street segments will lead to destruction of the area’s trees and sand dunes. Past studies have described the 72-acre area as a unique example of Antelope Valley desert habitat.