In case you missed it: Top Coachella Valley news from the week of Aug. 1
Coral Mountain developer aims to sway La Quinta opponents with lighting changes, shorter buildings and more
The developer of the proposed surf resort at La Quinta’s Coral Mountain has made a slate of changes to the plans aimed at appeasing some of the concerns raised by city council members and some residents.
The changes include:
reducing the size of the of the main wave basin from nearly 19 acres to just over 12 acres, a roughly one-third decrease in the size of the water body
reducing the height of the lighting poles around the wave basin from 80 feet to 40 feet
reducing the maximum height of buildings by 5 feet to 40 feet (and from four to three stories in a proposed "tourist commercial zone")
a transformer upgrade that would add 30 megawatts of capacity to the Avenue 58 substation
deferral of any special events at the resort during its first two years.
The proposal also offers to add a new 0.25% transfer tax on the resale of all homes within the project to support health and social programs in the area, donate at least 1,000 surf hours per year for charitable uses “and/or an annual surf camp program” available to all residents and make “a significant financial commitment” to a turf-reduction program in the La Quinta area.
La Quinta City Manager Jon McMillen said the city will likely want to know the full impacts of changes, such as the reduction in the height of lighting poles, before a Sept. 21 public hearing, since those could have broader implications.
— James Cutchin
How far along are College of the Desert's Palm Springs campus plans? Answers keep changing
College of the Desert officials held a virtual forum Thursday about a planned campus in Palm Springs. They continued to change their answers when it comes to key dates and milestones for
During the meeting, Mac McGinnis, a consultant in charge of construction of the college's bond projects, said COD will not begin schematic design for the site until later this year. In December, however, McGinnis told The Desert Sun's Editorial Board that schematic design for the project was 30% complete. He said the same in April 2022 to the Palm Springs City Council.
COD branded the event as a "community forum," but members of the community who attended the virtual Zoom session were unable to communicate with one another.
Eight panelists from COD and their partner consulting and architecture firms remained on screen for the 90-minute session, but audience members were hidden and the chat disabled. After a brief introduction including a statement from COD Superintendent/President Martha Garcia, the panelists began a Q&A session.
Viewers submitted questions to the panelists in a private chat that other attendees could not see.
— Jonathan Horwitz
Map mix-up knocks Brian Nestande out of COD trustees race, months after he launched campaign
Former state Assemblymember Brian Nestande is ineligible to run for a College of the Desert trustee seat for which he'd launched a campaign months ago.
"I’m reaching to let you know that I am not running for COD," Nestande wrote to The Desert Sun on Thursday afternoon. "Turns out my neighborhood was redistricted out of Trustee (Area) 4."
Actually, Nestande's neighborhood was not redistricted. Rather, COD posted on its website a map of trustee areas that incorrectly displayed the boundaries. The Area 4 map on COD's website shows it includes Nestande's home near Palm Desert High School.
However, the official map, approved by the COD Board of Trustees in February (months before Nestande announced his campaign) and submitted to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, shows his address is within Trustee Area 5. Represented by Bonnie Stefan, Area 5 is not up for reelection until 2024.
With Nestande out, the race for COD's fourth district comes down to a face-off between incumbent Aurora Wilson and former COD Superintendent/President Joel Kinnamon. "I will consider endorsing soon," Nestande said.
— Jonathan Horwitz
Acqua California Bistro at The River at Rancho Mirage closes
Acqua California Bistro at The River at Rancho Mirage has closed, according to a note taped to the door Wednesday morning.
The eatery, with a large outdoor dining area along the edge of the shopping center’s landmark water feature, has been owned by local restaurateur Jerry Keller since 2017.
The closure was announced on the restaurant’s website and with a note on the door to customers: “We are thankful for the loyal guests who dined with us during the time we were at The River. Acqua California Bistro has ended operations at this location.”
No explanation for the closure was given and Keller, who also owns Lulu California Bistro in Palm Springs, declined to comment. Lulu California Bistro remains open.
— Sherry Barkas
Palm Desert voters move to ‘ranked choice’ election system
Residents of Palm Desert’s District 2 will be casting their votes for city council in a different way this year, using the ranked-choice system to fill two seats up for election.
Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank up to three candidates by preference. It is a system being used in about a half-dozen California cities, including San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, but Palm Desert is the first in Riverside County make the change.
Palm Desert is broken into two voting districts. District 2 is the largest, encompassing about 80% of the population, with four representatives on the council – two elected every two years.
Incumbents Jan Harnik, the city’s current mayor, and Sabby Jonathan are up for reelection. Both have pulled papers, along with first-timers Carlos Garcia and Gregory Meinhardt.
Only Harnik, running for a fourth term, has completed the filing process.
The deadline to pull and file nomination papers is 5 p.m. Aug. 12. If an incumbent does not file, the deadline is extended by five days to Aug. 17, in accordance with California’s election code. District 1 has one representative elected every four years. The seat is currently held by Karina Quintanilla and will be up for reelection in 2024.
All Palm Desert voters, regardless of district, will vote on a ballot measure asking if the city should move from two to five districts.
— Sherry Barkas
Section 14 evictees request cash, land from Palm Springs
The Section14 Survivors Group has formally asked the city of Palm Springs to give people evicted from the land in the 1960s — or their descendants — cash payments, land, new housing and scholarships.
The proposal was outlined in a letter sent to the City Council and several top city staff members dated last Friday.
It’s part of negotiations over a legal claim submitted by the group last spring. If the sides don’t settle, the group could sue the city.
The claim submitted in April asked for, among other things, damages of over $1 million but did not name a specific dollar amount.
The new letter seeks $100 million for people who can prove they lived on Section 14 between 1959 and 1967. Such amounts sought in lawsuits or negotiations often have little bearing on what’s awarded in a final settlement or court judgment.
Under California law, filing such a claim is a necessary step before suing a municipality. Typically, claims must be filed no longer than six months after an injury or property damage, or one year for other types of claims.
— Paul Albani-Burgio
New airline for Palm Springs plans flights to 3 destinations
Avelo airline is coming to Palm Springs International Airport this fall, offering seasonal service to Santa Rosa, and Eugene and Redmond/Bend in Oregon.
The routes will start in November with twice-weekly service to each of the three destinations, Vice President of Marketing Mark Kopczak said Thursday at the airport.
“We’re excited to be coming to Palm Springs. We look forward to bringing people here who want to get a respite from the cold in the wintertime, but also for everyone here to be able to go to some of these unique places” including the Sonoma County wine country, Kopczak said.
One-way fares to Santa Rosa will start at $29, while Eugene and Redmond/Bend will start at $39 each, and can be booked at AveloAir.com. Flights to each market will start Nov. 11.
— Sherry Barkas
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Top palm springs area news headlines from the week of Aug. 1
