College Of The Desert Sued By City Of Palm Springs

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — The City of Palm Springs is suing College of the Desert for what it alleges is a lack of transparency about the community college's proposed west campus, while the college claims it has kept the city fully informed.

Tension between the two escalated Monday, with Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton announcing the lawsuit from the steps of City Hall. The college also issued a press release Monday alleging the city is blocking progress on the new campus development.

"The college’s lack of transparency around campus development in the western Coachella Valley forced the city to seek answers through public records requests," the city complaint alleges. "Unfortunately, instead of responding to the City’s requests in the manner required by law, the College continues its pattern of stonewalling, evasion, and delay. The City therefore brings this action to compel the College to comply with the California Public Records Act ... ."

State law requires public agencies to make public documents available upon request in a timely manner.

On Dec. 8, 2021, the city allegedly sent the college a request for public records related to the new campus planning. Since that time, the college has been "unresponsive to producing records documenting its plans for the current or future use of the Palm Springs Mall site [as a west college campus]," according to the city.

The city is blaming the "stonewalling" on a change in the college’s administration. In October 2021, COD’s new Superintendent/President Dr. Martha Garcia wanted further review of the proposed campus, which was originally slated to be constructed on a 119-acre property at the northwest corner of Tramview Road and Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.

That property has become contentious.

In April, COD officials went in front of the Palm Springs City Council to provide an update to the community about the proposed campus. The public learned that COD wanted to sell the Tramview Road site, and that the college had purchased the old Palm Springs Mall site on Tahquitz Canyon Way for $22 million for the purpose of developing a "West Valley Campus" (since renamed the Palm Springs Development Project).

The city originally purchased the Tramview Road site in 2007 from the federal government for $2.1 million and in 2010 transferred the property to COD at no cost to the college, according to the city. As part of the deal, COD had to construct the campus and enroll at least 10,000 full-time students, the city alleges.

Changes in the college’s development plans were made without public input or explanation, according to the city. The college maintains the changes were made long ago in consultation with the city.

"In 2014, the City and COD announced the move from Tramview to the mall site based on the request from the City," according to the college's Monday news release. "Beginning January of 2016, representatives from COD met with representatives from the City to discuss the Tramview Property, and the parties agreed that the Property was not suitable for COD’s Palm Springs Development Project ... ."

At the time, the city did not object to the college selling the property nor did the city request any payment as a result of the sale, the college claims.

In July, however, the city announced otherwise. The city offered to buy the Tramview property from the college for $5.7 million, the same dollar amount that developer Watermarke has proposed to pay.

"One could argue that it ought to be returned outright as the City would not have bought this property simply to facilitate market-rate residential development. The offer to pay not once, but twice, for the property reflects the importance of this property in advancing social equity in North Palm Springs," according to a July 27 offer letter from Palm Springs City Attorney Jeffrey Ballinger to COD legal counsel Andreas Chialtas.

Chialtas responded to the offer in a Sept. 12, 2022, letter without giving a direct answer, but instead said, "there may be a path to an agreement whereby all parties, and the community, benefit."

Chialtas suggested in the letter that the two sides and Watermarke officials meet, but he slammed the allegation that COD has not been transparent.

“COD absolutely worked, planned, and followed a sale process for the Property with the City fully informed and in agreement. Again, to suggest otherwise is not even remotely accurate,” Chialtas wrote.

COD entered into a purchase agreement with Watermarke on August 17, 2020, and the college alleges that all of the $5.7 million from the sale will be spent on the new campus at the mall site. The college claims the city is delaying the proposed sale and is using the deal as leverage to direct COD’s decision-making regarding the mall site development.

The city bought a full-page advertisement in Sunday's Desert Sun that expressed concern about recently downsized plans for the mall site campus. According to the ad, the west campus would be about one-third the size it was once promised to be, but the price tag would be the same — likely making the new campus the most expensive construction project per square foot in the history of the Coachella Valley.