Concerns about clustering of social services raised at meeting about 115-unit affordable housing project

Palm Springs residents raised concerns and sought clarification about a proposed 115-unit affordable housing project during a community meeting Monday evening at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center.

About a dozen residents from nearby neighborhoods attended the meeting to hear details about the San Rafael Apartments, planned for the northwest corner of McCarthy Road and West San Rafael Drive, directly adjacent to the city’s Navigation Center.

The project, proposed by The Pacific Companies, has not yet received Planning Commission or land-use approvals. The Palm Springs City Council is scheduled to consider a request for city financial assistance this week, including a $2.25 million loan to assist with land acquisition and authorization to structure certain development fees as repayable city loans.

Darren Berberian, a principal with the developer, presented the project to residents and answered questions about how the site was selected, who would live there, and the project’s timeline.

Several residents questioned why that particular location was chosen for the development. Berberian explained the city’s housing department reached out to affordable housing developers about three years ago because Palm Springs needs more affordable units.

“There’s not a lot of sites left. There’s not a lot of sites that are zoned,” Berberian said. “The site actually came up for sale, and we presented it to the city.”

Councilmember Grace Garner, who attended the meeting, clarified that the city makes general calls to attract affordable housing developers but doesn’t direct them to specific properties. Developers then evaluate available sites throughout Palm Springs.

“They then look at Palm Springs, the entirety of Palm Springs, and they say where could we potentially build something like this,” Garner said. “So this is just a general call out that the city will do to attract people.”

ShaCoya White, a nearby resident, pressed developers and Garner about the concentration of affordable housing and services in the area. She pointed out that the Navigation Center and associated services provided by Martha’s Village and Kitchen, as well as a warming center, are all located nearby.

“I understand that we need affordable housing. What I’m having an issue with is them all being in the same area,” White said. “We have the warming station, we have Martha’s Village, we have the Navigation Center. Why can’t some of these be spread out, so it’s not just us in this area dealing with all of that?”

White also expressed frustration about what she saw as a pattern of development decisions affecting her neighborhood without adequate consideration of residents’ concerns, citing the Navigation Center as an example.

“I felt like we should have had a say so in whether or not Navigation Center went there, because that’s going to affect us,” White said. “And now something else is going up right there. And I felt like we should have had a say so in whether or not we wanted that there.”

Garner acknowledged the concern about concentration but said the location wasn’t chosen to cluster services.

“This just happens to be a lot that was available that was able to be purchased,” Garner said. “It wasn’t that we went out and said, let’s put it near the Navigation Center.”

Residents also raised questions about infrastructure impacts. One resident asked about traffic impacts, particularly during construction. Another wanted to know if the development was receiving special variances.

Lisa Hoff of The Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs (ONE-PS) questioned whether the project aligned with the city’s housing element and regional housing needs assessment numbers. She also asked if the developer had reviewed the city’s master plan and housing element before selecting the site.

“Could this handle this many units?” Hoff asked of the land proposed for development. “I was just wondering how all those things were taken into consideration.”

Berberian said the project would use state density bonus law for affordable housing, which allows certain waivers or concessions, though he said the development is mostly within the city’s zoning ordinance.

The project would serve households earning between 30 and 80 percent of area median income. The development would have 56 one-bedroom units, 29 two-bedroom units, 29 three-bedroom units, and one manager’s unit.

Berberian said the project will next go to the Planning Commission on Jan. 27 and then to the city’s architectural committee, likely in February. Construction is projected to begin in early 2027 if all approvals are obtained, with completion expected in early 2029..

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