Banning Council Receives Tribal AB-52 Approval On The KB Homes Project

BANNING, CA— During Tuesday's Banning City Council Meeting, the council received an update from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians regarding the KB Homes Vista Robles housing development adjacent to the Saint Boniface Indian School cemetery.

Per the letter presented to Community Development Director David Newell, Morongo stated, "the city has followed all of the required procedures of AB 52, and has taken all necessary steps to ensure there are no issues impacting resources at the project site."

Moreover, according to Morongo's Realty and Planning Administrator Karen Woodard, there is an ongoing cooperative agreement regarding the cemetery site between the Morongo Tribal Leadership and the Morongo Tribal Historic Preservation Office, staff, the developer, and city representatives to ensure the cemetery remains preserved.

According to Woodard's letter, the Catholic Church and private landowners formerly owned the cemetery before Morongo took ownership of the 15 acres of the St. Boniface Indian School Cemetery in July 2024.

Per their agreement with the developer and the city, Morongo has pledged to safeguard and care for the cemetery site.

"As the city is aware, this site holds immense cultural significance to Morongo and other Southern California Tribes and Morongo has been and remains fully committed to protecting these sites in perpetuity," Woodard wrote.

Work is being expedited to erect a wrought iron fence around the cemetery and gravesites. Visitors and residents of the new KB Homes development will likely notice the fenced-off portion surrounding and marking the cemetery.

Meanwhile, the nearby KB Homes Vista Robles development site will ultimately have 143 single-family homes near West Gilman Street and Jackal Drive.

The housing development map, provided by KB Homes, currently shows nine properties sold and 19 sites available. Four model homes are under construction or have been completed.

During the Tuesday council session, two residents of Banning commented on the agenda consent item, which was just a "receive and file" document.

Banning resident Pat Murkland told the council she's studied the Saint Boniface school site since 1987.

"I'm grateful that Morongo is doing what it has done," she told the council. "The people in that cemetery are from all over the world. There are people buried there from Ireland and England, and I feel it's significant to all here and to the world. I appreciate all of the work being done there and the attention it's getting."

Ultimately, interim city attorney John Pinkley stated that the Morongo Band of Mission Indians is responsible for the site.

The council will hear updates following a meeting with Morongo on April 3.

Morongo has worked for years to preserve the former Catholic Diocesan cemetery and honor and protect those interred there, according to Woodard.

Before receiving the grant deed for the property in July of 2024, Morongo and other area Tribes, the city of Banning, and the developer worked to ensure the cemetery would not be impacted or damaged in any way by the proposed housing development.

"Studies conducted in 2023 and 2024 with ground-penetrating radar identified the location of all gravesites, both within and outside of the existing cemetery fencing. A 2019 survey was also conducted with cadaver dogs," Woodard wrote.

During all construction grading, the Tribe has provided cultural monitors for the residential development, including all work done adjacent to the cemetery. There have been no issues of concern to date.

"The Tribe, including current tribal members who attended St. Boniface Indian School, and those who have relatives interred at the cemetery, maintain an abiding concern for protecting the cemetery and respecting the dignity of those buried there.

"Morongo will continue to work with the city and area Tribes to preserve this important location that remains forever intertwined with the tribal history of the region."