Indio planning commission debates gas station moratorium as landscape, EV charging requirements move forward

Indio’s Planning Commission okayed new environmental requirements for future gas stations on Wednesday but questioned why a broader moratorium recommendation has yet to reach the City Council months after commissioners requested it.

The commission unanimously voted to recommend that the City Council require gas stations to use a regional tree palette for landscaping and exceed state minimum requirements for electric vehicle charging stations. The recommendations emerged from a seven-month review process that began after the council approved a controversial Maverik gas station project in April over the commission’s objections.

Commissioner Christian Rodriguez Ceja pressed city staff on why the commission’s September recommendation for a moratorium on new gas stations has not been presented to the council, calling the evening’s study session a delay tactic.

“This feels like stalling this moment, this study session,” Rodriguez Ceja said. “We made a recommendation…We were told this was going to be on the [council’s] agenda. It was not.”

Community Development Director Brian Kemp said staff is working to compile all the commission’s recommendations into a comprehensive package for the council.

“We’re literally working behind the scenes right now,” Kemp said. “We’re waiting for this input on these last two topics tonight, and I’m working with the city manager, the assistant city manager, to see how quickly we can get it on the agenda.”

Kemp said the presentation could go to the City Council at either the next meeting or the following meeting, with staff hoping to complete the work by the end of the year.

The commission’s review followed City Council direction in April to study gas station policies after approving the Maverik project. In July, the city’s economic development director presented findings showing approximately $18 million in unmet demand for gas stations in Indio. In September, commissioners requested a feasibility study and recommended a moratorium on new gas stations.

Rodriguez Ceja, who announced Wednesday would be his final meeting after five years on the commission, emphasized that environmental concerns about gas stations have been a persistent issue.

“Five years ago, when I started at the commission, I came and I remember the first design review that I did, and I was like, where are all the trees?” Rodriguez Ceja said. “One of the very first projects that I was also reviewing was a gas station, and I was saying, we have so many of them. We have 17. Why do we have 17?”

He noted the rapid growth in gas stations, saying the city had 17 when he began in 2020, 22 by 2023, and is now at 32 with more applications pending.

Rodriguez Ceja also raised concerns about where gas stations are being built in the city.

“These are going in low income, predominantly Hispanic communities,” Rodriguez Ceja said. “They’re not going where our richest, whitest neighbors live. So that was another question we were saying, are we adding these to the best places in our neighborhood? We’re over saturating them in areas that are already having issues of pollution.”

While the commission waits for action on their moratorium recommendation, Principal Planner Gustavo Gomez presented research on environmental strategies for reducing pollution at gas stations through enhanced landscaping and electric vehicle infrastructure.

The proposals would use the Urban Greening Guide developed by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), which identifies more than 40 tree species native to the desert climate that improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration.

The EV charging recommendations would require gas stations to exceed California Green Building Code minimums, which currently mandate four EV-capable parking spaces for developments with 10 to 25 total parking spaces.

However, Rodriguez Ceja questioned the value of requiring additional EV chargers when existing infrastructure cannot support them due to power limitations with Imperial Irrigation District (IID).

“How many of those EV capabilities have we been able to plug in because we have an electricity issue?” Rodriguez Ceja said. “The capability is there, but we can’t put a charger there.”

Kemp said it’s true the city’s power is limited in some areas, “If there’s problems with IID, that could be a private matter between IID and the person who’s building the station.”

The City Council is expected to do a second reading adopt updated California Green Building Code standards at its next meeting, with new requirements taking effect Jan. 1, 2026. 

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