Palm Springs has not approved homes at Bel Air Greens, and the land remains designated Open Space, Parks & Recreation. Draft minutes record that the item was pulled from the September 22 agenda until a date uncertain, with no hearing or vote on the proposal.
What the city is deciding
The proposal would change the General Plan, the city’s land use blueprint, from open space to Very Low Density Residential, allowing 2.1 to 4 homes per acre. The Planning Commission would only recommend a change; the City Council decides. Even if approved, the change would take effect only with a later zoning approval that meets the golf course conversion rules.
Where and who it affects
The former golf course covers about 35 acres west of South El Cielo Road, north of East Sonora Road, south of Sunny Dunes Road and east of Compadre. Existing neighboring homes line its southern boundary. The golf course closed in 2014. The land is held in trust by the federal government for individual members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and the applicant is the leaseholder.
What it could mean for your property
The city’s conversion rules require at least half the property, 17.5 acres, to remain open space. That open space must adjoin existing residential properties, generally around the perimeter, creating a buffer between existing homes and new development. Here, the existing homes are to the south.
Staff calculated a theoretical maximum of 70 homes. The flood plain and required buffer location would likely reduce that number. It is not an approved home count.
The earlier concept showed 74 lots and only 5.5 acres of open space to the north, in the flood plain. Staff said its open space amount and location did not meet the rules. The September item did not evaluate or approve that layout, and the application included no subdivision map or development permit.
Questions to ask before you buy or build
- Has a tract map or other zoning application been filed for the former course?
- Where would the required open space buffer sit beside existing homes?
- How many homes would a later development proposal seek?
What happens next
The documents do not say why the item was pulled or when a hearing will occur. The draft September minutes are listed for approval on October 13. No recommendation on the conversion has been made. For the September date, notice went by mail to addresses within 500 feet of the site.