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Board approves contested Thermal Ranch specific plan after hours of public testimony
Summary
After more than six hours of testimony, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved the Thermal Ranch specific plan and accompanying final EIR, moving forward infrastructure commitments including a proposed IID substation and a 5-million-gallon water reservoir; opponents urged further study of air quality, manure management and equity impacts.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 4–0 on Dec. 16 to tentatively approve the Thermal Ranch specific plan and certify the project’s final environmental impact report, after a daylong public hearing that drew about 30 speakers and extended debate.
The proposal would transform roughly 6,190 acres in the Thermal area into a mixed-use complex built around an equestrian center, accompanied by workforce housing, an RV park and commercial components. County staff and the applicant said the project includes community-scale utilities that do not exist today: the applicant has committed to build what staff described as a 50‑megavolt-ampere class IID substation and construct a 5-million-gallon water reservoir in conjunction with Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD). County planning staff said those infrastructure elements are preconditions for…
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