"SURF" by Jose Barragan is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
There has been a lot of talk over the past couple of years about a surf park coming to the Coachella Valley as, I can only guess here, driving two hours to the gigantic natural surf park that is the beach is just too much for some, and Tuesday night one planned resort got the go-ahead from the Palm Desert Planning Commission.
The commission voted 3 to 0 (with two abstentions) to allow plans for DSRT Surf to move forward, according to KESQ. The development would include a surf lagoon, wave machine, restaurant space, two hotels, and villas.
Nearby homeowners opposed to the project voiced concerns before the vote, including the plan to install 80-foot-tall (!) lighting poles and just where all the water will be coming from as, a reminder here, this is a desert we are talking about.
But the planning commission says that, while some people can’t find a way to get to the free waves at the beach, they will find a way to pay to use the surf resort while staying in its hotels.
“A lot of people wouldn’t have access to this kind of water environment,” Commissioner Nancy Delano said during the meeting (via Desert Sun). “In a healthy way they’ll learn water sports; they’ll learn water safety; they’ll learn a sport skill surfing. It allows families to do something as a family regardless of their skill level.”
As for the water, the folks from DSRT Surf claim that, since they are removing a million square feet of surrounding golf course, water usage will be “net zero” because the water that would be used for grass will now be used for surfing – which really isn’t a “net zero” in terms of the environment and water supply, but, hey, terms like net zero” sound really good, so sure, let’s go with that.
The project will now need to be voted on by the city council and, should the waterpark actually be built (we have been promised so many of these things before), developers say they could open in 2022.
