Palm Springs OKs Golf Course, Faces Showdown

Hoping to reclaim a spot on lists of the best places to golf, the City Council this week approved a swank golf course to rival the ritzy links that continue to spring up in nearby cities.

But now a federal agency and the Sierra Club, which were prepared to drop lawsuits against the city, vow to continue on.

After two years of highly charged wrangling, the City Council voted 3 to 2 late Wednesday night to support a course that will offer sweeping views of the Coachella Valley.

But the site is home to 25 endangered bighorn sheep and the backdrop of one of the resort town’s oldest neighborhoods.

“It was the residents and the sheep against the City Council,” said Sharon Lock, chairwoman of the Palm Springs Coalition of Neighborhoods. “And the council was willing to sacrifice a precious wildlife habitat and the sanctity of a historic neighborhood for a golf course, bar and restaurant.”

Supporters of the Mountain Falls Preserve golf course say it is Palm Springs’ hold on the polo shirt crowd that is endangered. There now are more than 100 golf courses in the Coachella Valley, most of them in cities to the east. Palm Springs has only six public courses and three private ones; none hosts a major tournament.

“Golf is the No. 1 reason people come to Palm Springs,” said Ray Lovato, president of the Palm Springs Hotel Assn. “We need a course that will beat any other in the valley.”

Earlier this month the council voted against the project but postponed its decision on the advice of a city attorney. Officials feared that the rejection would allow developers to sue the city for fees they already have spent.

Wayne Brechtal, attorney for the Sierra Club, said the council’s go-ahead has ensured more litigation. “This is clearly under the umbrella of the Endangered Species Act,” he said.