Indio Planning Commission recommends approval of 50-home subdivision

The site for the proposed project is near the iconic L & G Desert Store on Jackson Street and Avenue 50.

The Indio Planning Commission on Wednesday voted to recommended that the City Council approve a 50-unit single-family home development.

The development, Estrella Estates, would be located on a 5.64-acre site east of Jackson Street and north of Avenue 50 near L & G Desert Store. Plans call for 50 two-story detached single-family homes ranging in size from approximately 2,200 to 2,400 square feet

When commissioners first saw the project during a January consultation, they raised concerns about a proposed gated entry at Avenue 50, noting that a single gated access point with limited vehicle stacking could create traffic problems.

Commissioners also pushed for better garage setbacks and improved street presence along Avenue 50. In response, the developer revised the plans to remove the gated entry entirely, aligning the project with the city’s General Plan policy discouraging gated communities.

During Wednesday’s meeting, commissioners discussed the maintenance of a landscaped walking path along the development’s perimeter. Staff indicated the project’s CC&Rs would be amended to include the walking path under HOA maintenance responsibility, ensuring the city could pursue code enforcement if the association failed to keep the area maintained.

Staff also read three conditions into the record that commissioners incorporated into their recommendation: a requirement that driveways comply with city code standards for minimum length and width; that the neighborhood park design include playground equipment, walking paths, shade structures, seating areas, and shade trees; and that each residential lot include a minimum of one 24-inch box tree in the front yard.

The homes are designed as two-story Spanish Colonial-style residences, featuring stucco finishes, clay tile roofs, recessed entries, balconies, and articulated facades. Nine different model types are proposed to provide architectural variation throughout the neighborhood.

With the commission’s approval of the project’s architectural design and tentative tract map, the project now moves forward to the City Council for final action.