Developer Lindsay Ross was granted a one-year extension Tuesday for his proposal to subdivide this lot in the Ironwood Country Club neighborhood in south Palm Desert. (Photo: Redfin)
As daunting as it can be to navigate Palm Desert’s development code in order to build a project, having to do so in accordance with the rules and regulations of the over 170 Homeowners Associations in the city can cause major confusion for neighborhood developments in the city.
Such was the case at the Palm Desert Planning Commission Tuesday, where developer Lindsay Ross was granted a one-year extension for his proposal to subdivide a lot in the Ironwood Country Club neighborhood in south Palm Desert. At that same meeting, it was revealed that the HOA timeline for approval on a proposed home for the development had run out.
Ross said he contacted the Ironwood Homeowners Association multiple times for formal subdivision approval in anticipation of building homes on the lots, receiving no reply. Ironwood representative Lynn Hawes said that they were waiting for a satisfactory report on stormwater drainage plans from Ross before approving his subdivision.
“We didn't understand, or don't believe that that's an HOA matter to deal with,” said Ross.
Previous city actions have sent mixed signals about what Ironwood could or couldn’t approve. The subdivision was initially approved in 2024 despite opposition from Ironwood because it went against their own rules on subdivisions.
Nevertheless, it passed with the condition that the proposed development obtain HOA approval of any stormwater drainage plans. If that failed though, a drainage plan could still be approved without HOA approval through a stricter city process.
“It's kind of a long way of saying yes and no,” said Flores to the council. “We don't have a specific condition saying they must secure HOA approval, just because that is outside of what we could require within the subdivision map act.”
Chair Lindsay Holt recommended Ross hire an engineer to “review all of the necessary items that the city would be requiring and the HOA would be requiring” before the new February 2027 deadline.
After the hearing ended, Commissioner Joshua Nickerson said that twice this year the commission received comments from HOAs related to improvements and subdivisions inside them, and that there “seems to be a big confusion on who's responsible for what.”
Councilmember John Collum said that in his experience HOAs often don’t understand the development process. “The HOA thinks that they have some ability to approve a project, and they don't,” he said.
Deputy Director of Development Services Carlos Flores explained that “when it comes to policing the CC and Rs, we hold short of that. When it comes to enforcing them, we hold short of that,” and said that conflicts that arise between an HOA and a resident like Ross would end up as a civil issue between them.
“I don't know what else can we do to satisfy the HOA and the city other than do a report and build retention basins that comply with what the engineer's suggesting, and then the city approves that. What more can we do than that?”
Though Nickerson asked staff for ways to clarify existing responsibilities, Flores recommended the city “stay out of it, you know, and we just don't get concerned with that,” viewing it as two separate processes for a developer to navigate.
Meanwhile, Ross left the meeting still unclear as to whether Ironwood could effectively halt his project based on the provided conditions of approval.
“I don't know what else can we do to satisfy the HOA and the city other than do a report and build retention basins that comply with what the engineer's suggesting, and then the city approves that, you know, what more can we do than that?” he asked.
The initial two-acre lot was initially subdivided into three lots plus a retention pool. The 2024 proposal subdivides the third lot into two more, with a smaller retention pool. Ross said Tuesday the smaller retention pool includes a deeper basin that was approved by a previous engineer, who has since quit the project.
Ross has pursued residential development at the site since at least 2013, planning to demolish a then-existing large home with a swimming pool on a single two-acre lot in favor of two to three single-family homes subdivided into three parcels. In 2024, Ross applied to further subdivide one of the lots to the consternation of neighbors.
Joanne Ross, project applicant for the newest subdivision wrote in a letter to the commission that the homes needed to be sold before they could be built.
“The market has changed leading to delays in sales which we required to move forward,” she said. “The custom homes have been marketed on the basis of pre-sales.“
The entire two-acre property is listed on real estate website Redfin for $2.9 million, and is advertised as a “rare chance for a developer to create three, possibly four, new custom homes.” The ad says two homes are permit-ready with HOA approval, but Hawes said at the meeting those approvals have expired.
“Technically there are no homes that have been approved because they're out of date, just so Lindsay's aware too,” said Hawes.
Both the small JFK trail subdivision and a precise plan for 384-unit development Vesta Apartments were already expired when the commission gave them extensions. A Highpoint Communities representative said high interest rates had stalled the project’s financing.
“We are continuing to look for additional equity partners to bring forward this job to fruition,” she said.
The commission also approved a new zoning category for golf cart vendors, which require less stringent window glazing and parking requirements. As golf cart vendors are mostly found in less pedestrian-heavy areas, the previous standards were deemed unnecessary.