Overview
- Ofland Hotels, which announced Thursday it had halted its Twentynine Palms resort, said changing market and financial conditions no longer support the investment.
- A letter to the city reported the planned land deal fell out of escrow after a prospective buyer stopped responding to extension requests.
- The CEQA lawsuit is paused for 90 days as Ofland and the city work to decertify a mitigated negative declaration and unwind approvals, a step that replaces a full environmental impact report with a shorter review.
- Neighbors and the Center for Biological Diversity had sued over risks to wildlife, disputing a developer survey that reported no desert tortoises in a known corridor near Joshua Tree National Park.
- City officials called the retreat a loss, estimating $500,000 to $800,000 a year in foregone tax revenue and about 40 full-time jobs, while nearby residents said the site was wrong for a commercial resort.