Developers seek early feedback from Planning Commission on three proposed housing projects

Housing development downtown is accelerating as evidenced by the Skyline apartments under construction on Oasis Street. Commissioners heard plans for developments throughout the city.

Three developers presented housing proposals to the Indio Planning Commission on Wednesday, seeking early guidance on projects ranging from a 200-unit apartment complex to single-family home developments before submitting formal applications.

Though no action was taken during the consultation session, commissioners were able to give detailed feedback on the preliminary plans, allowing developers to decide if they’re on the right track.

La Paloma Homes presented plans for the Ventana Apartments, a 200-unit multi-family residential development on approximately 10 acres east of Jefferson Street and north of Dunbar Drive and adjacent to Heritage Palms Country Club. The project would include 20 one- and two-story apartment buildings with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units, along with a community building, swimming pool and recreational amenities.

DR Horton presented two separate single-family housing projects. The first, called The Crossings Specific Plan Amendment, would develop 127 detached single-family homes on about 17 acres north of Avenue 50 and east of Jefferson Street, behind the Citrus Shopping Plaza. The second project, The Concord, proposes 121 detached single-family homes on 20 acres south of Avenue 50 and west of Jackson Street near the Barcelona community.

The Concord project would require zoning changes, increasing density from one dwelling unit per acre to about six units per acre.

Commissioners offered mixed feedback on the proposals, with some advocating for more diverse housing types while others expressed concerns about density increases.

Chair Christian Rodriguez Ceja said the city needs “missing middle” housing options rather than more single-family developments. “Our community is very expensive,” Rodriguez Ceja said. “The reality is that more of the same is actually creating less opportunities for younger families or first time home buyers to actually enter the market.”

Rodriguez Ceja encouraged developers to consider a wider array of housing types that would serve entry-level buyers and help address the community’s housing needs.

Commissioner Gloria Franz on the other hand expressed concerns about the proposed density increases, particularly for projects on Avenue 50. She noted that previous planning efforts involved extensive community input and were designed with specific density and character goals in mind.

“Barcelona is 3.5 units to an acre. And now you want to take it to [up to] eight units per acre,” Franz said about The Concord project. “This is a very dramatic change from the vision and the plan that we put a lot of time and effort into with a lot of community feedback.”

The Ventana Apartments project received more positive feedback from commissioners, who noted it would provide potential homeownership opportunities since the developer plans to eventually offer the units as condominiums for sale.

All three projects would require formal applications and environmental review before returning to the Planning Commission for official action. The apartment project would need discretionary planning review approval, while the single-family projects would require design review and tentative tract map applications.

The consultation format allows developers to receive early feedback before investing significant resources in formal application processes. Planning Commission staff encouraged more developers to use this approach when evaluating whether projects align with city goals.