HOA suing over creation of Prescott Preserve at former golf course site will seek to negotiate settlement ⋆ The Palm Springs Post

Signage indicating that a defunct golf course would become a 120-acre preserve was shown during the announcement of the preserve last year.

A lawsuit filed more than a year ago over the creation of a 120-acre nature preserve at the site of a former golf course may be headed for resolution, The Post has learned. If that happens, it would clear a possible hurdle for the organization backing the project to receive much-needed grant money.

Last summer, Oswit Land Trust (OLT) announced with fanfare the purchase of the defunct Mesquite Golf and Country Club course off South Farrell Drive and detailed intentions to turn the land into the Prescott Preserve.

Less than a month after that announcement, however, the homeowners association at Mesquite Country Club named OLT in a lawsuit that also involved the former owner of the land, claiming that a lease agreement with that previous owner states that any owner “is prohibited from changing or redeveloping the golf course without the (HOA’s) prior written approval.”

The issue has caused tension among the owners of 600 condominiums surrounding the property, forcing some to choose between backing the HOA lawsuit or the preserve. At times, the conflict has become heated, leading to at least one attempt to oust board members who supported the litigation.

In an email Thursday, Don Olness, vice president of the HOA, said board members have been in negotiation with OLT for the last few weeks and that they have agreed to meet with the organization “to try to find a negotiated settlement for our lease dispute.”

Neither OLT President Jane Garrison nor the nonprofit’s attorney provided comments to The Post. Previously, Garrison had pointed to the looming lawsuit as a possible roadblock in securing a $7.7 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB).

Until the lawsuit is resolved, a judge ruled last December, OLT must maintain the status quo of the former golf course and not make major changes, including any significant restoration.

Unless that grant is received, Garrison said earlier this year, OLT cannot complete its vision of restoring the land and transforming it into a “central reserve” similar to Manhattan’s Central Park. That work includes clearing the golf course of all non-native plants and turf grass, planting new native plants, removing golf cart paths, and more.

The WCB had been scheduled to vote on funding approval for the Prescott Preserve project in August, but that consideration failed to make it onto the agenda.

At the time, a representative from the state organization said it had been pushed to this month’s meeting. However, the preliminary agenda for the Nov. 15 meeting has been posted online, and the project is not slated to be considered.

Scott McFarlin, a restoration and development manager with the WCB, confirmed Thursday that the OLT grant application would not be on the final agenda for the meeting.