L.A. Times Interview
Summer is coming to a close, and the long-awaited La Quinta Council Special Meeting for the proposed Coral Mountain Surf Resort is quickly approaching. La Quinta residents have been receiving regular mailers from proponents of the project as part of a last-ditch marketing effort to convince us of the supposed benefits of this unsustainable and irresponsible development for our community. But why should we take them at their word while they threaten OUR water supply? Anyone who has recently flown out of Palm Springs, been hiking in Mount San Jacinto State Park, or looked on Google Earth, can see the acres of drought-stricken dust collecting pans that should be recharging our aquifer in Palm Springs.
While CactusToCloud Institute might not be sending you spam mail, we did help shed light on this atrocious development project this month with a larger audience, the Los Angeles Times! Times reporter Ian James visited Coral Mountain with CactusToCloud board member Colin Barrows, who had this to say about the project:
“There simply isn’t enough water anymore for miles of grass and artificial lakes, especially as the hotter, drier climate takes a worsening toll on the Colorado River.”
You can read the full LA Times article by Ian James here.
CactusToCloud Institute does not exist to oppose development in our community. However, unsustainable projects like this are a step in the wrong direction and make our work to build a more resilient future even more challenging than it already is. It’s a simple fact that we can only suck up so much water from the aquifer before we, the community members, will face shortages. Or that heat waves that will dramatically impact the evaporation rates of the surf basin are no stranger to our area. Or that climate change is here and our ongoing drought is a reality that we as community members and our local elected leaders cannot and should not ignore. For this and many other common-sense reasons, we urge you, our neighbors, to contact the La Quinta City Council to express your concern.
Unfortunately, the City of La Quinta has decided to no longer offer the option to join the city council meetings via Zoom, which we fear will undermine the ability of several residents to attend the meeting. Therefore, if you are available, please plan to attend the meeting on September 21 at 5:30 PM in person. We recommend eating beforehand and bringing your reusable water bottle in case the meeting runs long. If you can’t make it, please send your written comments to cityclerkmail@laquintaca.gov, the City Council, and City Staff noted below by 3 PM on September 20, or no later than noon on the day of the meeting.
Below is a list you can copy and paste in the “TO” section of your email, which includes the email address for Mayor Linda Evans, Mayor Pro Tem Katheleen Fitzpatrick, Council Member John Peña, Council Member Robert Radi, Council Member Steve Sanchez, City Manager Jon McMillen, and Consulting Planner Nicole Sauviat Criste.
levans@laquintaca.gov
kfitzpatrick@laquintaca.gov
jpena@laquintaca.gov
rradi@laquintaca.gov
ssanchez@laquintaca.gov
jmcmillen@laquintaca.gov
consultingplanner@laquintaca.gov
