Riverside County commission approves exception letting King's Schools modernize Cathedral City campus

RIVERSIDE COUNTY — At its December meeting, the Riverside County Airport Land Use Compatibility Commission voted unanimously to accept findings submitted by King's Schools and to find the school's proposed zoning ordinance amendment and conditional use permit consistent under county policy 3.3.6.

The project would add a 27,121-square-foot gymnasium and three classroom buildings totaling about 9,049 square feet on the private King's Schools campus in Cathedral City, located on roughly 5.26 acres inside Palm Springs International Airport influence zones D and E. Staff told the commission that, using the compatibility plan's adopted building-code (floor-area) methodology, the project's calculated occupancy intensity exceeds Zone D limits (100 people per average acre; 300 people per single acre). Staff recommended the commission find the proposal inconsistent with the compatibility plan unless the applicant could demonstrate no feasible alternative outside Zone D and strict compliance with quantitative intensity criteria.

Don Delaire, a founder of King's Schools, told commissioners the campus has operated for more than three decades with a typical enrollment of about 300 students and that the proposed buildings are intended to move existing outdoor activities indoors rather than expand enrollment. "We currently have 300 students on campus," Delaire said. He told the commission peak events that could push campus population higher occur "three or four times a year" and last only a few hours.

Andrew Firestein, Cathedral City's community and economic development director, told the commission the city's planning commission had recommended approval and made a finding of consistency with the city's 2022 general plan on the basis that enrollment would not increase. "We have been working closely with King's Schools for well over a year," Firestein said, urging the county commission to allow the project to proceed through the city's conditional-use-permit process.

Commissioners debated safety and the practical effects of denying an exception. Several members said denying the exception would leave children in older modular buildings and that, in the commissioners' view, constructing more permanent masonry buildings could offer better protection. One commissioner framed the choice as a trade-off between strict application of compatibility criteria and the practical reality that the school already operates on the site.

Chair Steve Manis closed the public hearing at 10:38 a.m. and a motion to apply countywide policy 3.3.6 and find the zoning ordinance amendment and conditional use permit consistent based on the applicant's findings passed unanimously; commissioners present voted in the affirmative.

Staff noted that enforcement of any conditions limiting on-site occupancy would fall to the local jurisdiction (Cathedral City) and not to the county commission. Next procedural steps are for the applicant to continue processing their conditional use permit with Cathedral City under the conditions adopted by the commission.

The commission's motion and staff report cited the Riverside County airport land use compatibility plan, the State Public Utilities Code, and the State Airport Land Use Handbook as governing authorities for consistency determinations.