City reaches settlement with College of the Desert that includes ending lawsuit filed in 2022
Under the terms of the agreement, COD commits to constructing the Palm Springs campus as planned. If it fails to do so, the city would get 110 acres of land in the northern section of the city back from the college at no cost.
Palm Springs and College of the Desert (COD) have reached a settlement agreement in a dispute dating back to 2022. The agreement involves land in the northern section of the city that was once intended to house a satellite campus.
During a closed session following its regular meeting Thursday evening, the Palm Springs City Council voted 4-0 — with Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein absent — to approve the settlement. Specific details are expected to be released after all parties have signed documents on Friday.
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Under the terms of the agreement, COD commits to constructing the Palm Springs campus as planned at a former mall site on 29 acres at the intersection of East Tahquitz Canyon Way and South Farrell Drive. If the college defaults on the commitment, the city will be able to acquire Tramview Road property it once gave the college at no cost. The 110-acre property was originally conveyed by the city to COD in 2010.
The settlement also resolves a Public Records Act lawsuit filed by the city against the college two years ago. As part of the resolution, the city will dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice, and COD will pay $200,000 to cover the city’s attorney’s fees.
Additionally, the city agrees to remove the deed restriction placed on the Tramview Road property in 2010. That could clear the way for housing to be built on the land.
“The documents are expected to be signed tomorrow, at which time they’ll be available to the public,” City Attorney Jeffrey Ballinger said.
The dispute between Palm Springs and COD has been ongoing, with the city pressing the college since late 2021 to provide answers about delays in constructing the new campus on 29 acres off Tahquitz Canyon Way.
At the time, city and civic leaders had claimed that new leadership at the college was attempting to scale back the Palm Springs plans in favor of campuses in the East Valley.
The conflict escalated in September 2022 when Palm Springs filed a lawsuit against the Desert Community College District Board of Trustees, alleging violations of the state’s public records act.
COD maintained it was cooperating in good faith with the city’s document requests, citing limited staff and the need to carefully review documents.
The dispute also involved concerns from hospitality industry leaders about scaled-back campus plans affecting workforce training. In August of 2022, COD officials unveiled initial plans for the former Palm Springs Mall site that showed a significantly reduced campus, shocking industry leaders who had hoped for facilities to train much-needed management staff.
The settlement appears to address these concerns by committing COD to construct the Palm Springs campus as originally envisioned. A groundbreaking is currently scheduled to take place next month.
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