Concerns over Palm Hills continue after 30 years

Public Record, The, Jul 02, 2002 by Apfelbaum, Sharon

By the end of this year, a project that's been beaten around for the past three decades is set for yet another public hearing. The Palm Springs Planning Commission will consider an alternate plan for the 900-acre hillside project proposed as Palm Hills in the 1970s.

It's been five years since the last application was filed, and project spokesman James Schlecht says the developers are submitting an alternate plan as requested by the commission.

In this plan, the hotel has changed location to a less prominent hillside site to mitigate visual impact from the valley floor. For the same reason, golf holes have been moved further up the mountain. To the developer, that results in fewer homes and golf holes with good views. A final draft of the Environmental Impact Report, costing $230,000, is still not ready. Granted, it's a complicated project, whose vast size, scope and hillside location predict court challenges.

Besides the hotel, the development includes timeshares and home sites. The property owner, represented by Schlecht, has no interest in developing the project. Presently, a San Francisco firm is doing due diligence to act as the main developer. Dealing with the two primary bugaboos-elevation problems and critical habitat-the developer will submit both the original and alternate plans. An approved subdivision has existed from the early 1980s.