The Desert Sun
Desert Hot Springs has settled a lawsuit challenging a proposed housing development at the base of the Sand to Snow National Monument, agreeing with two environmental groups that developers will have to seek further city approvals in order for the project to move forward.
The Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity sued the city in October 2018, claiming that the approval of the Mission Creek Trails subdivision was illegal because it relied on an outdated environmental report and another city approval that had expired.
In a settlement signed on May 21, the two environmental groups, the city, developer Adkan Engineers and a group of property owners agreed Mission Creek Trails would have to undergo a further environmental review and get the city’s go-ahead to subdivide its land into parcels before it could start construction.
But there is the possibility that the landowners will abandon their development plans and instead sell the 481-acre Mission Creek Trails property to a conservation group.
Edy Adkison, one of the original partners in Adkan Engineers, said he is waiting on an appraisal from the Friends of the Desert Mountains, a Palm Desert nonprofit, which is interested in acquiring the land. In the meantime, he said, his company is seeking proposals from firms to do new environmental studies so that they can submit new tentative tract maps to the city.
City spokesperson Doria Wilms told The Desert Sun in 2018 that “assurances were given” by the Obama administration that planned developments would not be impacted by the creation of the monument.
According to the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, the Mission Creek Trails site is a habitat for sensitive wildlife, including the burrowing owl and the Palm Springs pocket mouse.
In the settlement agreement, the city and the developer each denied the lawsuit’s allegations. The developer agreed to pay $40,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
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