Riverside County Supervisors Approve Thermal Equestrian Center Project

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a massive 620-acre development in Thermal that is set to include a 223-acre equestrian center surrounded by hundreds of homes, stores and other amenities. Supervisor Jose Medina was absent.

“There is real investment going on here,” Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said at the December 16 meeting. “So let’s be realistic folks when it comes to those efforts.”

According to a staff report, the approval allows for up to 1,362 dwelling units, 85,000 square feet of building area within the equestrian facility and 200,000 square feet of building area within the other commercial areas. 

The main equestrian facility, known as the Desert International Horse Park, would be relocated from its existing site near the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport to the currently undeveloped land southeast of 62nd Avenue and Harrison Street. 

“What we’re trying to do with this project is secure our permanent home in the desert,” Jeremy Smith, CEO of Desert International Horse Park, said. “And we have the opportunity to secure our future out here and create a permanent home for show jumping in California, and we can do that by selling homes around the horse park.”

The facility would include more than 2.5 million square feet of riding space across 19 competition rings, stables for up to 2,800 horses, riding paths, pastures and showfields, according to the staff report. The site is also expected to have 47 barns for keeping horses and supplies as well as a veterinary clinic.

Equestrian events at the facility are expected to happen during the competition season, which runs from October through March with an estimated 300 employees slated to work each horse show event. During the non-competition season, approximately 30 employees would stay on year-round for maintenance of the facility, according to the staff report.

Surrounding the equestrian facility are four residential areas, according to the staff report. The first is slated to include 110 units of larger lot residential development. The second slated to include up to 353 dwelling units with a mix of standard residential lots and condominium attached townhome type residential units. The third is slated to include up to 500 dwelling units intended for employees of the equestrian facility during the competition season. The final is slated to be an RV Park type of development with up to 300 spaces that is also intended to provide an affordable housing option for employees of and visitors to the facility.

The project also includes a commercial component that is slated to include future potential uses like hotels, dining and entertainment to support and accommodate visitors to the facility and residents as well as community oriented retail and services.

As part of the approval process, the developer will be required to build a 50 MegaVolt-Ampere substation in coordination with the Imperial Irrigation District and a 5 million gallon water tank reservoir in coordination with the Coachella Valley Water District. Both projects will provide twice the capacity needed for the project to benefit the surrounding community.

The majority of those who spoke at the meeting spoke in opposition to the project, citing concerns about potential displacement and gentrification, the lack of community investment, negative environmental impacts and lack of mitigation efforts to negate those impacts on the community.

“This is real and systemic gentrification, displacement and the poor and irresponsible use of resources in an area that is already struggling to access basic human needs,” Coachella Valley resident Stephanie Ambriz said. “We are not interested in the minute amount of property taxes that will come from Thermal Ranch. Those resources are not for us, and we know it.”

Smith characterized the opposition to the project as a “small group,” of residents that don’t speak for the entire community.

“That’s a minority group that does oppose us, and they have a lot of, I guess, long-term issues with the infrastructure in the valley, and that’s really, it’s valid,” Smith said. “But we are supported by the [Thermal-Oasis Community Council]. They recognize the opportunity this is.”

Those who did come out to support the project, touted the investment in infrastructure in an area that’s been underdeveloped for years, the economic benefits of having the project in the community including the jobs that it will bring to the area and its ability to keep equestrian activity in the region.

“This project represents a meaningful investment in the future of the Eastern Coachella Valley, and it will provide significant benefits in the communities of Thermal, La Quinta, Coachella and throughout all of the Coachella Valley Unified School District,” Superintendent Frances Esparza said. “The development of Thermal Ranch will help address the growing need for quality housing options in this region.”

Perez, whose district includes the Coachella Valley, made the motion to approve the project due to the level of investment the developers were putting into area infrastructure, but noted that there was still work to be done to ensure those investments benefited the entire community.

“There’s more work to be done, and I will be having meetings on this and bringing everyone together to talk about community benefit, what that looks like,” Perez said. “And we still have more community benefits to discuss, and I’m going to ask the developers, as well as the community, our community, to sit down and figure out what that looks like moving forward.”