2021-08-06 BruceAugust 6, 2021
City of La Quinta
78-945 Calle Tampico
La Quinta, CA 92253
Attn: Ms. Nicole Saviat Criste
Dear Ms. Saviat Criste:
RE: Response to Draft EIR Coral Mountain Resort
I am writing in response to the Draft EIR for the Coral Mountain Resort development. I have
owned a home in La Quinta for 20 years. When my husband and I first built a home in La
Quinta I loved that the city motto was “Gem of the Desert” and “Growth with Charm”. You don’t
see the “Growth with Charm” anymore and this development certainly flies in the face of that
motto! I have many concerns about the development but I think it must be said that this DEIR
was so long, convoluted and hard to understand it was almost unreadable. The fact that the
entire report was hired and paid for by the developer also presents huge concerns to its validity.
Another concern is that most of the study was completed during COVID which certainly affects
the traffic study and noise to some degree. Here are my concerns:
Lighting – Seventeen 80 foot tall lights surrounding the wave pool will certainly have an effect on
everyone living around this development. Most homes in the neighborhood with mountain views
look towards Coral mountain. What they will see in the future is light poles during the day and
light glow at night. What happened to the Dark Sky ordinance? Well, the City Council voted to
remove the Dark Skies ordinance from the Municipal Code in May, 2021. How convenient! Yet
the people living here say that the night skies are precious part of their community. Ads on the
internet extolling La Quinta’s many virtues talk about the Dark Sky ordinance. So much for all
the people who live here and visitors too!
Noise – The noise study found no issues with noise whether it be construction or the operation
of the Wave pool. They studied the noise of traffic (during COVID) and did theoretical studies of
other aspects of the operation. One of their conclusions was that sound would be absorbed by
rock. Really? Since when does rock absorb sound? And if it did, why can I hear hikers near
Coral Mountain when I’m standing on the corner of 58th and Madison? Theoretical studies don’t
replicate reality and this area needs real world study.
Traffic – As mentioned before the studies were done during COVID. In my development (Puerta
Azul) none of the Canadians made it to La Quinta in the winter of 2020 which is a significant
number of owners. The rate of COVID in early winter was also very high keeping some
homeowners from coming as well as visitors. I heard a presentation from the developer
admitting that the study may not reflect non COVID traffic amounts but if there are stop lights
needed they would help pay for them. For a light at 58th and Madison, which I can’t see NOT
having, they would contribute 10%. If that is correct then the homeowners living around this
PRIVATE development end up paying for a light that wouldn’t have been needed. How in the
world is that fair?! This development is in a land locked area with very few roads to get people
to it. Someone needs to really look at what will happen with traffic especially with planned
events of 2500 people. I can think of the traffic jams from the PGA concerts a couple of years
ago as perfect examples of what happens when thousands of people try to squeeze into an
area with few roads. If this were to happen on Madison thousands of people would be unable to
leave their developments. Any emergency vehicle would have trouble reaching any destination
on that route. This needs serious attention.
Water – We are in a serious drought. The entire west coast and beyond is suffering in ways no
one anticipated happening for many years because of Global Warming. The water numbers in
the DEIR are calculated using information from the Lemoore surf park. The climate there is
different from La Quinta, we have many more and hotter days, the proposed pool is bigger than
Lemoore (more area to evaporate) yet no one attempted to extrapolate what that would mean
for water consumption. I heard an engineer at the City Council this week say that the
development was at 99% of their total water allotment. That’s not much of a cushion! What
happens if they need more water? And let’s be clear: this is drinking water! Someone needs to
look at this carefully.
Bats – No one mentions the bats when they talk about this project but the bat study in the DEIR
says that night time light is the biggest concern for the multiple bat species living on and near
the proposed development site. Light disrupts feeding, roosting, maternity and raising of the
young. The study recommends that all lighting be “dark sky compliant”. Does La Quinta care
about this anymore since they removed Dark Sky from Municipal Code? And how compliant can
the custom 80 foot lights be? At that height they will disrupt any creature flying anywhere near
the wave pool. What mitigation can be made for bats, a protected species? Is there really any
reason people need to surf at night? You certainly can’t do that at the beach, why should this
be any different?
Zoning – I realize that zoning isn’t part of the DEIR but it must be addressed. What homeowner
buys a house where they’re researched all things that could impact that important, expensive
decision, only to have something like this happen? How can a homeowner trust their Mayor and
City council to look out for their best interests when a developer comes along with a proposal to
change a swath of land located in the middle of a number of neighborhoods zoned low density,
residential to Commercial, tourist? I don’t see another area in La Quinta that is as quiet and
residential as this area. It defies logic why this would be the place to build something like what
is proposed and to allow a zoning change along with it.
I appreciate the time you’ve taken to read my concerns. I hope that all parties involved in the
decision making will take the time to study the issues, be open minded and see that this
development belongs in another area.
Sincerely,
Nancy Bruce
nbruce@me.com
80843 Calle Azul
La Quinta, CA 92253
Copies to:
Linda Evans. Mayor levans@laquintaca.gov
Robert Radi, Mayor Pro Tem rradi@laquintaca.gov
Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Council Member kfitzpatrick@laquintaca.gov
John Pena, Council Member jpena@laquintaca.gov
Steve Sanchez, Council Member ssanchez@laquintaca.gov
La Quinta Planning Commission cdd@laquintaca.gov
Ms. Cheri Flores, Planning Mgr. cflores@laquintaca.gov