Commission approves Oak Fruitland master plan, EIR addendum for large cannabis and retail project

The Desert Hot Springs Planning Commission unanimously approved an EIR addendum (No. 25-4), Conditional Use Permit 24-11 and Track Map 24-2 for Oak Fruitland, a 14.41-acre master-planned commercial and industrial development that will combine a large cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and distribution facility with retail and office components.

Planning staff said the addendum to the city’s certified 2020 general plan EIR concluded the project would not create new or more severe environmental impacts under CEQA (Guidelines sections 15162 and 15164). Staff described project components including a roughly 210,662-square-foot single-story cannabis facility, a two-story 22,930-square-foot office component, a one-story 8,218-square-foot multi-tenant retail building with four retail spaces and a 3,311-square-foot drive-through restaurant pad. The proposal includes 358 parking spaces, exceeding the city’s 348-space minimum requirement, and nine truck-parking spaces.

Applicant designer Saeed Shontier of LA Design Group described the project’s materials, landscape palette of desert‑appropriate species, and a phased approach that would focus planning on the more complex cultivation and lab components. Commissioners asked whether the retail components could be built first; the applicant said the cannabis component is central to the master plan and phasing depends on financing and operational commitments.

Following limited public comment, a motion to approve the EIR addendum and associated permits passed unanimously. Staff and the applicant said they will coordinate remaining design details and necessary building permits.