Thumbs Down on Decades-Old Southern California Housing Development Proposal

A proposal for a large development in the Coachella Valley, near Joshua Tree National Park, is facing obstacles once again as the planning commission fails to recommend the plan move forward.

1 minute read

August 26, 2019, 9:00 AM PDT

By Camille Fink


Coachella Valley

Angie Jane Gray / Flickr

"Riverside County Planning Commissioners voted 4-1 [last week] to recommend that the board of supervisors deny plans for Paradise Valley, a proposed 8,400-home development east of Coachella [in Southern California]," reports Gabriella Paluch.

The project was first proposed in 2004, but the planning commission noted numerous issues that the development company has not resolved. "The primary issue — and potentially the costliest — between [the developer] GLC and conservation groups, according to the report, is how the destruction of critical habitat would be mitigated," says Paluch.

Insufficient emergency road access, concerns about affordable housing, and a lack of details about power infrastructure for the project are other issues that the commission cited. “All but one commissioner said they believed there was no path forward to finding a solution, since the developers had been unable to solve problems over years of consultations,” writes Paluch.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019 in Desert Sun

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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