Palm Springs Planning Commission to consider move that would help Prescott Preserve project move forward

The Palm Springs Planning Commission will review an amendment to existing city rules next week that would help advance a plan to restore a former golf course to its native desert habitat.

The project, proposed by the Oswit Land Trust (OLT), aims to convert about 90 acres of the 120-acre former Mesquite Golf and Country Club property into desert habitat, creating the Prescott Preserve. A “minor amendment” to the approved landscape plan on the property will be at issue for the Planning Commission.

To date, the planned preserve has encountered numerous issues, including pushback from nearby homeowners and a delay in obtaining needed grant funding.

OLT has been cited for unauthorized activities, including the removal of vegetation and trees without proper approvals. Neighbors have also raised concerns about an increased presence of coyotes since the property changed hands in August 2022, and owners of surrounding homes have sued both OLT and the former property owner.

The lawsuit was filed less than a month after Oswit announced acquiring the land in August 2022. In it, homeowners at Mesquite Country Club claim that a lease agreement with the previous owner states that any owner “is prohibited from changing or redeveloping the golf course without the (HOA’s) prior written approval.”

The chance that the project may not move forward has other community members concerned that the preserve will never come to fruition, leaving yet another vacant golf course to turn fallow.

“I nor anyone else I have spoken with opposes this project,” wrote Russ Uthe, chairman of the Sonora Sunrise Neighborhood Organization, comprised of 1,800 homes near the proposed preserve.

“What we are concerned about is waking up some morning and finding ourselves in the same predicament as the Palm Springs Country Club, which laid fallow for about 20 years and has gone wild and unsightly, as well as Bel Air Greens for 15 years with no resolution.”

In the report prepared for the Planning Commission meeting, city planner Edward Robertson wrote that approval of the amendment is expected to resolve code enforcement issues and move the project forward. He notes that “lingering maintenance and security issues” must be addressed through conditions placed on the project.

If the Planning Commission approves the amendment, the restoration would establish 39 acres of desert dry wash woodland, 49 acres of Sonoran creosote bush scrub, and two acres of desert fan palm oasis. Some existing ponds and trails would be preserved.

In addition, the applicant would be required to employ full-time rangers to patrol the preserve regularly to address security concerns. Also, trails would remain open to the public at all times, maintaining the site’s status as open space in accordance with its original approval in the 1980s.

Pending any appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision, OLT would have two years to begin work on the restoration project. That might buy the organization time to resolve the lawsuit, which its leadership claims is hampering its ability to secure millions of dollars in grant monies that would help complete the project.

There could be signs of progress in the lawsuit. Last week, The Post learned that the Mesquite HOA’s board of directors announced to its 600 owners that the board had parted ways with its lawyers after frustrations mounted as litigation dragged on for the past two years.

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More information: The Planning Commission meeting will be held at City Hall, and viewable online, at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. You can see the meeting agenda here. It includes information about how to submit comments and participate in the meeting.

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