Planning commission approves Snyder Logistics Center with ban on data‑center and ICE uses

The Desert Hot Springs Planning Commission on June 9 approved Development Permit 26-2 for the Snyder Logistics Center, a proposed industrial warehouse and distribution facility on a 64.58-acre site. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve an addendum to the General Plan environmental impact report and the development permit while adding a condition prohibiting use of the building as a data center or as an ICE facility.

Staff described the project as a warehouse/distribution facility with slightly more than 1 million square feet of floor area, including a roughly 55,612‑square‑foot mezzanine, 158 truck loading docks, and 781 parking spaces (498 truck spaces and 283 employee spaces). Staff estimated the site would support about 983 employees working staggered shifts over a 24‑hour operating period. The site would be merged from two parcels, is zoned light industrial and is in an established industrial corridor within city limits. Staff reported that an addendum to the General Plan EIR and mitigation measures would reduce environmental impacts to less‑than‑significant levels.

Applicant David Snyder, CEO of the Snyder Company, and Mar Snyder, president of operations, presented project details and economic claims. They said the project would generate substantial construction activity, citing roughly 1,500 construction jobs and estimating the permanent jobs associated with a future tenant at about 1,000 (staff’s operational headcount estimate was 983). David Snyder said the construction cost could be in the range of $200–$225 million and that anticipated permit and development fees could total more than $10 million. He also said the company had agreements intended to ensure union labor and was in discussions with environmental groups about mitigation.

Opposition speakers raised concerns about water consumption, air quality, truck traffic, impacts to sacred desert land and regional health effects documented in other warehouse corridors. An environmental commenter asked which water agency would supply the project and pressed the commission to consider water usage during construction and operation. Lorraine, a resident who identified herself during public comment, described the desert as sacred land and said the community should not permit further large‑scale warehouse development.

Supporters and neutral speakers urged job creation and local hiring. Several residents asked whether tenants would prioritize hiring Desert Hot Springs residents; applicants and staff said that permanent jobs would be created by future tenants and that tenants commonly recruit locally, but no binding hiring quota was offered by the developer.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant whether the project could be restricted from becoming a data center or an ICE facility; the applicant agreed to a condition, and commissioners included that prohibition in the motion that approved the project. The motion to approve the addendum to the General Plan EIR and Development Permit 26-2 passed unanimously.

The applicant said the construction and start of operations would be market dependent and no firm start/finish dates were specified during the hearing. The permit and EIR addendum record contains staff‑recommended mitigation measures and public comment letters (including those from the Sierra Club) that will inform any subsequent permit compliance and monitoring.