Commission approves Toll Brothers’ Ascena plan for 119 homes with changes, sends design issues to subcommittee

The Palm Springs Planning Commission on Sept. 9 approved final planned development (PD) plans from Toll Brothers for 119 single‑family homes in Planning Areas 5A and 7A of the Ascena community, subject to a set of conditions and referral to a subcommittee for architectural review.

Toll Brothers’ staff and design team presented four floor plans across three architectural styles (international, modernist and mid‑century) and showed lot sizes ranging roughly from 4,050 to 9,000 square feet. The project includes two one‑story plans (Darien and Judd) and two two‑story plans (Mayer and Vincent); the two‑story heights range to approximately 25 feet at the roofline but conform to the PD height limits identified in the packet.

Leah Mogae, a Toll Brothers representative, said the product will be the most attainable new‑home offering within Ascena and emphasized the company’s prior work in the community. The Ascena Homeowners Association president, Rich Gordon, told the commission that a productive meeting with the builder had resolved most HOA concerns and that remaining items were technical landscaping and easement details.

Commission discussion focused on design consistency with the Ascena design guidelines, four‑sided architecture (the appearance of all elevations, not just front facades), window shading and proportions, and landscaping along Gene Autry Trail and other perimeter areas. Commissioners asked for more explicit streetscape renderings, two street trees per home, irrigation and lighting plans for common areas, and for the developer to add a wall on the Grandview frontage in the southern portion to match existing community walls.

The commission motion approved the final PD with conditions that require the applicant to: provide a streetscape drawing/rendering; address four‑sided architecture and added shading/projections; show two street trees per lot; provide a full landscape, irrigation and lighting plan for the Gene Autry frontage and other common areas; install the wall along Grandview as shown in the applicant’s revised concepts; and ensure the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) sees the revised material. Commissioners also asked that identical floor‑plan/elevation combinations not be placed next to each other.

The motion passed by roll call vote; all commissioners present voted yes. Commissioners also formed a small subcommittee to review architectural details and to coordinate with ARC; the commission asked Toll Brothers to submit preliminary sketches in advance of the subcommittee meeting.

Why it matters The approval advances a 119‑lot buildout in a long‑running planned community. The commission’s conditions and subcommittee referral aim to protect neighborhood character and ensure built forms meet the community’s design guidelines, while allowing the project to move forward to ARC and subsequent plan check stages.

Actions and outcome - Action: Approval of final development plans for 119 single‑family residences in Planning Areas 5A and 7A (Ascena PD‑231), with conditions and subcommittee review. - Outcome: Approved, unanimous roll call in favor. The commission required follow‑up design work and an ARC review.