Planning Commission okays plan for Prescott Preserve to revert to natural habitat

The Prescott Preserve passed a significant milestone on Wednesday by obtaining approval from the city's planning commission allowing the former golf course to be converted into a nature preserve.

The action by the commission, deemed a "minor modification" to the landscape plan, allows the property owners to remove non-native plants and install natural desert habitat. Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor.

"This property was an incredible, generous gift from Brad Prescott," said Jane Garrison, founder and executive director of Oswit Land Trust, the nonprofit that now owns the property. "It’s not a gift to Oswit Land Trust, it’s a gift to the community. Our involvement costs us time and money and effort, but we are willing to do that because of what it provides for our community."

The property in central Palm Springs has been largely neglected for years following its purchase by Prescott and subsequent donation to Oswit. Although the site has been open to the public, and trails in it have been used by nature lovers and dog walkers, city rules prohibited the trust from making changes like removing vegetation and trees.

Oswit has, in fact, been cited by the city for previously unpermitted activities like removing vegetation and trees.

Under the plan approved by the commission, approximately 90 acres of the 120 acre site can be altered for the nature preserve. Existing ponds that were built for the golf course will be maintained. Oswit Land Trust says the nature preserve will expand habitat for many local critters and improve natural floodplain functions.

Under the new rules approved by the commission, the preserve will be open from sunrise to sunset. Multiple other conditions were imposed on the property by the city before its acceptance is final, ranging from the site receiving approval from Riverside County Flood Control to the development of a security plan.

The project has gained many supporters throughout the community, while some neighboring homeowners have adamantly opposed it. Concerns over fire, the prevalence of coyotes in neighborhoods and the likelihood of flooding have been brought up as reason to oppose the nature preserve.

A lawsuit by the Mesquite Country Club Condominium Homeowners Association attempting to block the development of the nature preserve began shortly after the project was announced in 2022 and is still ongoing. The homeowners association argues that converting the golf course into a nature preserve violates the "covenants, conditions and restrictions" that govern the community. In the initial court filing, litigants say the golf course was integrated into the HOA, and home values are dependent on the course's continued operation.

The Mesquite Country Club HOA did not respond to requests for comment.

A trial setting conference was scheduled for Thursday.

"There are so many unanswered questions that need to be resolved," Chairman of the Sonora Sunrise Neighborhood Russ Uthe said during the meeting in an effort to delay ruling on the issue. "We’re here to pull the community back together again, which is really divided because of this issue."

City officials said during the meeting the lawsuit between Oswit and the HOA did not impact the planning commission's approval.

Oswit has pushed for the project to move forward after languishing for around two years. Garrison said a $7.2 million restoration grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board was on hold due to the lawsuit and the lack of progress on converting the golf course to the nature preserve.

That money could disappear at the end of the year if the nonprofit does not begin restoring the land to its natural habitat, she said.

"We have communicated with the HOA board and those who oppose the preserve, this is truly a situation of biting your nose to spite your face," she added. "If we can’t plant, then what you see is what you get."

Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Planning Commission okays plan for Prescott Preserve to revert to natural habitat