ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Ofland Resort, a 100-unit hotel proposed for Indian Cove neighborhood, faces battle—more than 30 public comments insist on further environmental review, while the City staff recommends pushing forward
If the words “Mitigated Negative Declaration” (MND) don’t catch the eye then perhaps words like “glamping resort” will, because that is the topic of this Wednesday’s upcoming meeting of the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, which will take place 5 pm at City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road. This special meeting is a reschedule of the regular June 17 meeting. City staff confirmed that the original meeting was cancelled due to insufficient notice of the public hearing in the local newspaper.
Aside from approval of last meeting’s minutes, a public hearing on the Ofland Resort Project is the only item on the agenda. There’s a 500-page report attached, with a City staff recommendation that the Planning Commission greenlight a chunk of development code amendments and zoning changes for City Council consideration for the project to proceed to its next steps.
Standing in the way of the project are various zoning ordinances, city codes, state legislation, an endangered species or two, environmental advocates, and some very angry residents. Opponents argue the project seemingly goes against everything the City’s General Plan and the at-large community stand for, which includes preservation of the desert environment and maintaining the area’s small-town feel.1
Among the myriad of resident concerns is the project’s location in the residential neighborhood of Indian Cove, and proximity to Joshua Tree National Park and the National Park buffer zone. The City is hoping that a Mitigated Negative Declaration, or MND, instead of the more extensive and expensive Environmental Impact Report, will be enough to develop the 152-acre parcel of land. Either is required under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
The desire for a MND was forecast at a public meeting in March 2024, when Nicole Criste2, a consultant from Terra Nova Engineering, was asked about an EIR, commenting "We expect that [the project] will result in a mitigated negative declaration.” If the Planning Commission approves the Ofland Resort package, it then moves to the City Council for final approval before the development can begin.
In the past six years, the City of Twentynine Palms has dealt with three new development projects that required CEQA review—they are Reset Hotel, Project Phoenix, and a commercial hotel proposed within the Project Phoenix boundary. All three development projects received MNDs from the City. In addition, an Environmental Impact Report is being prepared for the proposed Harmony Acres solar farm.
Suffice to say, there is much more going on in this week’s one-item agenda than just a single item. Attendees may wish to bring snacks and a helmet because this meeting is going to be a long and bumpy ride–the full 506-page agenda packet for this session is available here.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
After Planning Commission announcements, residents can comment on items not on the agenda. Public comments on agenda items will be requested when the item is discussed. Fill out a green comment sheet for public or agenda item comments and hand it to the staff, usually sitting at the desk at the front of the room on the right side. Residents have three minutes to make your comments.
You may also email comments to Planning Commission members and Keith Gardner, the Community Development Director, and request that comments be read at the meeting.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ofland Resort Project
This hearing is the first time the project will have a public hearing in front of a City body since the City released its Initial Study for Ofland Resort in May 2025. Conditional Use Permits (CUPs), zoning changes and general plan amendments, all of which Ofland Resort developers are asking for, require approval by the Planning Commission and City Council.3
Ofland Resort is a proposed 100-cabin hotel to be built on a 152-acre property located at the southeast corner of Lear Avenue and Twentynine Palms Highway and is scheduled to be built in two phases. The hotel complex features lodges, pools and spas, recreational areas, playgrounds, a restaurant, and an outdoor movie screen. In addition to the hotel, the project plan also includes road construction and improvement of Lear Avenue and Sullivan roads adjacent to the property.
City General Plan and Development Code Bend for the Ofland Resort
On top of permits for the project, the developer of Ofland Resort is asking the City to rezone the Single-Family Residential Estate (RS-E) parcel that currently allows one home per 2.5 acres or approximately 61 homes. Ofland is asking that the City rezone 42 acres of the property into Tourist Commercial (TC) land to accommodate the hotel. The remaining 110 acres of the property would be rezoned into a new proposed category, “Open Space Conservation” (OSC).
OSC zoning does not currently exist and would be created through amendments to the General Plan and development code, as described in the City staff report. The proposed Development Code amendment states:
This district is intended for properties which are intended to be preserved in natural open space in perpetuity. Open Space Conservation-designated lands may be publicly or privately owned but are intended to be set aside for environmental conservation purposes. Only minimum land development is allowed in this District, and would be limited to utilities, streets, and flood control measures only.
Public comments submitted on the project mention that in the midst of an affordable housing shortage, the City would be converting land with existing electrical and water access zoned for residential homes to commercial tourist to accommodate this specific resort project, despite an abundance of commercially zoned land available elsewhere in City limits.
Public comments on the Initial Study were accepted for 20 days up until June 2, although there were multiple comments accepted after the date. The gargantuan staff report includes 33 comments submitted by various members of the public, including City residents, non-profit organizations, attorneys, environmental groups, the San Bernardino County Fire Department, the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, and various Native American Tribal and Cultural authorities, including Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation—and well as the City’s responses to each statement.
Most of the comments opposed the Ofland Resort with only one in favor, written by a resident of Palm Springs. City staff responded extensively in the 502-page report to comments, contradicting virtually all of them.
Residents have voiced the need for a full environmental review of the project, concern for the local water quality, desert tortoise sightings, preservation of night sky light ordinances, and as well as an increase in noise and traffic in the region.
Environmental Approval Remains Unchanged Despite Suggestions from State Agencies
The Desert Trumpet took a deep dive into the Initial Study when it was released in May. In those documents, the City revealed that they would be opting to make a MND for this project. The MND allows the resort to move forward without first having to perform and submit a more in-depth and expensive Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
Although statements submitted by organizations such as the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District and the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District outline basic construction guidelines, dust mitigation requirements, and necessary fire safety features typical of almost any development project in County limits, comments submitted by environmental advocacy groups and residents alike point to weak environmental review thus far in the development project.
An attorney letter dated June 12, 20254 submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity alleges that the City of Twentynine Palms is failing to properly adhere to CEQA guidelines, citing a plethora of statutes and legal precedent to back their claim.
The Center has reviewed the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (“MND”) and is concerned that the MND fails to properly disclose, analyze and mitigate potentially significant environmental impacts to biological resources, water quality, air quality, and traffic, among other effects. Because the Project may have a significant environmental impact, the Center urges the City to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) to fully analyze and mitigate the Project’s impacts to the City’s water, air, and habitat.
The CBD is a national non-profit environmental advocacy organization whose mission statement is “to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction."
The California Department of Transportation, or CalTrans, also submitted criticism regarding the modeled traffic impact of the resort as being suspiciously low.
The [trip estimates] total appears low given the project context—a rural resort with 100 glamping units, on-site food service, and event space. Please clarify whether event-related and staff trips are included in the analysis and whether the internal capture reduction accounts for all applicable land use intersections.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), which has joined the project as a responsible agency, also criticized the research behind the MND:
Additionally, the general biological resources assessment that was conducted on October 26, 2023 did not follow the 2019 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) survey guidance, which is the CDFW recommended protocol, and thus focused surveys for desert tortoise are needed to appropriately assess presence/absence of desert tortoise.
The CDFW suggested corrections to the mitigation measures outlined in Ofland’s development plan and also stated the need for an additional mitigation measure to protect special status plants.
In their response to comments, the City rejected adding the additional mitigation measure, and opted not to include the majority of the language that the CDFW offered. These mitigation measures are meant to protect endangered desert tortoises, nesting birds, burrowing owls, American badgers, and pallid San Diego pocket mice that live in the area. The City report does note that the final approved study will be updated for desert tortoise requirements due to its now endangered status.
Projected Effect on the Endangered Desert Tortoise
The Mojave desert tortoise has been officially listed as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). This uplisting occurred on June 12, 2025, after being listed as threatened since 1989. Tortoises are also protected under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife is the authority for CESA’s enforcement.
Many statements submitted in opposition to the project mention the desert tortoise, permanent destruction of tortoise habitat, and the potential impact to other native animal species such as the burrowing owl and American badger.
Although an initial study of the Ofland Resort site was based on a field survey conducted by a biologist in October 2023 that found no tortoise activity or evidence of tortoises at the project site, the mobility of the desert tortoise is acknowledged in the MND as well as the project’s potential impacts on desert tortoise habitat. Eyewitness reports and longtime resident accounts of the property are contrary to the October study, and the desert tortoise’s prevalence in the area is well known.
If determined to be appropriate, the CDFW may issue take permits to developers anticipating interactions with endangered species at project sites. Cost of issuance of these take permits is based on a percentage of total project costs. A take permit is required for all projects that would potentially and permanently alter, impact, destroy, relocate, and/or kill an endangered species.
There is an application process before a take permit can be granted. The CDFW offers different categories of take permits for various activities, which include scientific collection permits, experimental fishing permits, state-listed plant species permit, and an incidental take permit. This project would fall under the incidental permit category, which is intended for projects that may “incidentally” injure, harm, threaten, or kill an endangered or at-risk species.
To comply with CESA, the CDFW can require developers to comply with state-mandated mitigation efforts for project-related impacts before a take permit is granted.
Water Table Concerns
Residents expressed concern that an on-site wastewater treatment facility for the resort would sit near a local aquifer and also produce unpleasant odors. The City is also still looking for $100,000 in funding to perform a study with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for a groundwater study that would also consider threat of leaching from septic systems in the City.
Indian Cove Residents Want More Caution Before Development
Finally, residents of Twentynine Palms themselves chimed in to express the need for a more in-depth environmental review before development can break ground. 20 out of the 33 comments directly expressed that they would prefer an EIR instead of an MND for this project, chief among the reasons why were preserving quality of life and environment in the Indian Cove neighborhood. Residents cited concerns of night sky ordinances, traffic increases in residential neighborhoods, wildlife impacts, and the increased demand a resort of this size would bring to a low-income area that already outsources police and fire services to the County.
The Ofland Resort talks first started in 2023 when a November 1 public meeting was announced with newspaper ads and mailed postcards. At the time, the project was referred as the Yonder Resort, and developers were met with steadfast local opposition. Since then, the project has been renamed Ofland, the capacity of the resort has been scaled down, and the construction has been turned into a two-phase plan.
Since then, resident pushback has only fortified— a change.org petition against the project has gathered more than 1,000 signatures, and a local group known as Say No To Ofland has formed, echoing sentiments of other opposition groups for developments that are facing a work stoppage due to active litigation or have since fizzled completely into desert dust— these include the Stop LoveMore Ranch formed by Joshua Tree Village Neighbors; Stop Wonder Inn, a failed resort project that was proposed for a residentially zoned area in Wonder Valley; and the now-defunct Flamingo-640 development project, thwarted by County Supervisors in 2023.
According to SNTO, the group is “in favor of responsible development in appropriate commercial zoning.”
City Opens Itself Up to Potential Legal Liability
The comment submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) alleges that the City did not notify the public of the public comment period within a proper manner or time frame. The CBD attorney’s letter concludes with the admonishment:
Given the possibility that the Center will be required to pursue appropriate legal remedies in order to ensure enforcement of CEQA, we would like to remind the City of its duty to maintain and preserve all documents and communications that may constitute part of the “administrative record.” As you may know, the administrative record encompasses any and all documents and communications which relate to any and all actions taken by the City with respect to the Project, and includes “pretty much everything that ever came near a proposed [project] or [] the agency’s compliance with CEQA . . . .” (County of Orange v. Superior Court (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 1, 8.)
The attorney’s allegation stems from the City’s 20-day public comment period for the MND, instead of a typical 30-day period which the CBD contends is required by law.
The City also received comments from both the Desert Tortoise Council and Union Local 11, who inquired about the existence of “an active list of ‘Interested Parties’ or ‘Affected Interests’ with regards to development within the city limit,” which the City is required to maintain under CEQA.
The City’s response to these comments, likely vetted by the City legal team prior to agenda publication, contends the 20-day comment period was sufficient, and that proper public notice was given:
The City provides public notice regarding CEQA documents by posting on the City’s website, publishing in the newspaper, and posting with the County Clerk. There is no requirement under CEQA for notification of individuals, unless that individual has requested notification, which the commenter had not. The City will also notify surrounding property owners of public hearings for the project, pursuant to its Municipal Code requirements.
The newspaper notice mentioned in the City rebuttal was not published prior to the deadline for comments.
Author’s note: Correction added June 23, 2025 to header image caption to indicate the site project description as being east of Lear Avenue and south of Highway 62.
NOTE: Desert Trumpet staff members Cindy Bernard, Kat Talley-Jones and Heidi Heard live in the Indian Cove neighborhood, adjacent to this proposed development project, and are on the executive committees of Indian Cove Neighbors and Say No to Ofland.
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These priorities were highlighted in a recent community survey conducted by the City of 29 Palms that asked residents where they see the City in 2030, and what community priorities are in light of strategic planning sessions
In addition to representing Ofland on this project, Criste also represents the City on the proposed solar farm.
We dive deeper into the projects history in previous reporting, including our 2024 Development Recap, Ofland Resort Takes Another Shot at Winning Over Indian Cove Residents, and "We have a housing crisis, not a recreation crisis" from December 9, 2023.
Public comment on the Mitigated Negative Declaration closed June 2, 2025.
Hi folks,according to the posted map, this site is South of the hwy and East of Lear. The stated sites location was North of the hwy and West of Lear. Im not trying to be difficult,simply feel accuracy here is important
Hi Neighbors ~ On Wednesday June 25, I'll be unable to attend the Planning Commission meeting to comment on Ofland. What's the deadline time for email comments and what address should they be sent to? Thanks for all.