A proposal to develop a large swath of vacant land in south La Quinta, California, into as many as 1,200 homes and a 100-room resort is soon heading to the city council, after the plans gained recent approval from the city’s planning commission.
Known as Travertine, the project encompasses roughly 855 acres of land. While initial plans for the project gained approval in 1995, the revised proposal — which calls for fewer homes, along with a four-hole golf training facility instead of two 18-hole courses — is making its way through the process at city hall.
A resort with 100 villas and a wellness spa, which would include yoga programs and tennis courts, are also part of the proposal, along with a sizable trail system that would run several miles around and through the site.
The proposal has drawn scrutiny from several residents, mostly from an adjacent Trilogy community, during a pair of recent planning commission meetings. The residents are not in opposition to the overall project, but rather concerned with its plans to construct an elevated access road over a berm along Avenue 62, saying it will cause noisy disturbances for residents in the area.
If Travertine is approved by the council next month, the lead developer, Newport Beach-based TRG Land, has estimated the first phase will be built by 2029, with additional construction phases expected to extend into 2033.
What the developer said
Mark Rogers, a developer with TRG Land, noted the project’s substantial reduction in scale during the planning commission’s May 28 meeting. The 1995 specific plan allowed for up to 2,300 homes and a 500-room hotel, along with two golf courses and a tennis club that were removed under the new proposal.
“Our goal, when we began to take this project on five years ago, was to right-size it,” Rogers said. “We’ve taken a project and effectively reduced it by 33 percent in total impacts and … almost half the number of units. We’ve also preserved 300 acres … in permanent open space that will add to the ambience of the trail systems that we provide in this project as one of the major amenities.”
The homes at Travertine are slated to be sold at market-rate prices, Rogers said, with home sizes ranging from 1,450 to 3,600 square feet. The first phase of the development is expected to include 600 homes.
“It’s not just another Andalusia or Madison Club,” Rogers said. “It’s really a project that’s meant to provide a range of housing that meets a range of opportunities for permanent and second-home residents.”
The 100-villa wellness resort would be on the northern end of the total development, while a four-hole golf facility, along with a wedding garden and banquet facility, is planned for its southeastern edge near the main entrance. There are also two recreation centers with pickleball courts and pools planned for the site.
Rogers also highlighted the project’s trail system, including a roughly five-mile loop around the entire development and other connector pathways. The developer is also working with the Desert Recreation District to connect the site’s trails to the nearby Boo Hoff Trail. Plans for Travertine call for an eight-foot perimeter fence designed to prevent peninsular bighorn sheep from entering the community.
Rogers also told the commission that his team is asking for all of Travertine’s homes to be allowed as short-term rentals, though he pointed to estimates from city staff that roughly 30 percent of the homes in new developments typically apply for a short-term rental license.
As part of the Travertine project, Rogers also noted his team will be a major contributor to a planned Imperial Irrigation District power substation.
What residents said
During the pair of recent meetings, several residents raised concerns mainly focused on the potential impacts of the proposed Avenue 62 crossing over an elevated berm west of Madison Street.
At the May meeting, Trilogy resident Derek Wong noted traffic data showing average daily traffic at Avenue 62 would increase from 600 cars to 6,300 with the project. He also said he can hear people talking during walks over the berm “clear as day,” despite being about 400 feet away.
“The noise (from passing cars) will be loud. It will be constant, and the houses, even though they’re 300 feet away, you can hear it,” Wong said. “With an additional 5,700 vehicles going up and down the street every day, the entrance to Travertine cannot be here on (Avenue) 62.”
Nearby residents even brought a few props to visualize their concerns. At the first hearing, Alena Callimanis brought a yellow balloon attached to 35 feet of string to demonstrate the height of the elevated roadway atop the berm, which is about 30 feet high from its eastern side.
“We are not asking to stop the Travertine development,” Callimanis said. “(But) the Jefferson (Street) extension… should be the main entrance, because it’s not going to impact Trilogy residents.”
A noise assessment for the proposal found the new traffic from the roadway over the berm would not exceed outdoor noise level standards of 65 decibels. Some of the Trilogy homes near the roadway were expected to experience noise levels between 52 and 60 decibels, according to the assessment.
Planning commissioner Dale Tyerman also noted the estimated increase in noise, while not above city standards, would create an increase of more than 10 decibels, meaning it could be considered a potentially significant impact under federal guidelines.
Explaining why the initial entrance was needed via Avenue 62, Rogers told the commission that all of Travertine’s infrastructure, such as water and sewer lines, are planned to come from the east to serve the project.
“We have to really build everything from the south, coming from Madison and Avenue 62, to get this project to have sewer and water,” Rogers said during the June 25 meeting. “When we get to 600 units, I’m hopeful that Coral Canyon will be in the game and be able to help us with the construction of (extending Jefferson Street).”
Resident Bryan Williams pushed back against the developer’s noise assessment, echoing Tyerman and pointing to federal guidelines that shows a project in which preexisting conditions are below 60 decibels requires an increase of just five decibels to be determined as a “potential significant impact.”
Other residents from Trilogy raised similar concerns about the noise assessment and urged the developer to prioritize Jefferson Street as the primary access point for Travertine.
What the commission said
After delaying its decision in May to grant the developer additional time to work through the residents’ concerns, the planning commission ultimately endorsed the project and sent it to the city council for consideration.
Commissioner Elisa Guerrero said she thinks access roads from both Avenue 62 and Jefferson Street are necessary to ensure safety during emergency events, adding she would support a condition to require access from both roadways.
“I understand the concern about noise,” Guerrero added. “The reality is if anything is built, there’s going to be more noise (and) there’s going to be more traffic.”
Tyerman said he likes the development overall, noting its reduction in scale compared to the 1995 specific plan and endorsing the open space planned in the southern end of the project site. But he reiterated his “significant concerns” with the draft environmental impact report, particularly regarding noise, and said the project’s traffic modeling is “flawed.”
“I think there is clearly an alternative that completely avoids all the concerns I’ve expressed… and that is to build a simple roadway as an extension of Jefferson off of Avenue 58,” Tyerman said, calling the option a “win-win” for the developer and residents.
Commission chair Stephen Nieto said the project’s revised scale and density are appropriate for the area, adding he has “full faith” in the environmental impact report. Commission Mary Caldwell also said she didn’t see any “fatal flaws” with the project’s environmental impact report.
The commission ultimately decided to advance the project and encouraged the access route via Jefferson Street, though they didn’t include a specific condition of approval for the council. The commission unanimously approved the project’s environmental report, while the remaining zoning plans for the project were approved by a 6-1 vote, with Tyerman opposed.
The city council is tentatively scheduled to consider the development during its Aug. 6 meeting.
