Council approves first reading for 204-unit Rosemont apartment project, delegates final wall design to staff

The Cathedral City City Council on Jan. 8 approved the first reading of ordinances and entitlements for a proposed 204-unit apartment community that would require a general-plan amendment (GPA 23-002), a change of zone (23-001) and a design review. The council found the project's mitigated negative declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act acceptable and approved the project on motions recorded in the minutes.

Cindy Schultz, senior planner, presented the project packet and detailed the proposed changes. The applicant seeks to change the property's land-use designation from general commercial to medium high-density residential and to rezone the site from planned community commercial to an R-3 multifamily district that allows roughly 11–20 dwelling units per acre. Schultz said the project includes 12 buildings (six two-story “big houses” and six three-story “stack houses”), 204 total units, 319 parking spaces (292 covered), six ADA stalls and eight electric-vehicle stalls. The maximum building height in the proposed zone is 35 feet; the tallest portions of the three-story buildings reach that limit, and the developer presented terracing and setbacks to reduce massing.

Why this matters: Council staff said the site is near schools, shopping and SunLine transit Route 4 and that the project responds to general-plan policies seeking more multifamily housing. The staff report states the property can support the change and that the project's traffic, drainage and visual impacts were addressed through mitigation measures in the CEQA documentation.

Design and neighborhood protections: Schultz and the applicant described substantial buffers to the single-family homes to the east, including a retention basin that increases the separation between the nearest apartments and existing houses to as much as 112 feet in some locations and 77 feet in others; one setback cited was 89 feet from a neighboring dwelling. The plan calls for 319 parking spaces for 204 units, club-house amenities, a pool and landscaped open space. The planning and architectural-review bodies recommended approval; staff said the application had undergone tribal consultation and that the project’s mitigation-monitoring and reporting program would become part of the approval record.

Developer comments and council changes: Stefan Vogel, the developer, said the team had modified the design after multiple reviews and said the project team would continue to refine finishes. Councilmembers discussed perimeter fencing along Date Palm Drive. Several members asked the developer to consider a decorative or exposed-concrete block wall rather than the stucco block proposed. After discussion the council approved the project but delegated final approval of the wall’s design and finish to planning staff (the council recorded its direction so staff would return with the final details administratively rather than requiring an additional council vote). Mayor Pro Tem Gregory made the motion to approve and Councilmember Gutierrez seconded; the motion carried with all ayes.

Next steps: The council read the ordinance title into the record and approved the first-reading actions necessary to implement the general-plan amendment and zoning change. Final building permits remain subject to plan check, the city’s mitigation-monitoring program and the plan-check process. The council’s delegation to staff means the project may proceed to subsequent ministerial approvals once the delegated details are finalized.