DSRT Surf Resort Gets Final Approval from City Council

DSRT Surf Resort, the $200 million community centered around a Wavegarden Cove wave pool, was unanimously approved by the Palm Desert City Council on Thursday, November 14th. The community spoke out at the public hearing with 12 people speaking in favor of the project and 3 speaking against it.

The concerns cited by the opponents included water usage, traffic, noise and lighting. These concerns are not new to the environmentally conscious DSRT Surf team, so they were addressed once again during the proceedings.

Dave Middleton, a local resident, told the Desert Sun “Many residents did our duty to conserve water during the drought and it now seems that our sacrifice was to benefit visitors and out-of-town businesses.” By removing irrigated turf around the golf courses, DSRT Surf Resort will reduce the total consumption of Desert Willow by 34.8 million gallons a year, or 106.8 acre-feet — 40% more water than the lagoon is estimated to use in a year. DSRT Surf Resort has other strategies for reducing water usage as well.

Ian Osur from Montecito raised concerns about the nightclub, saying the noise would interfere with the quality of life of nearby residents. Eric Ceja, principal planner for the city, said there would be amplified music at the nightclub but it would be indoors. “We’ve been able to show there would be no impact to the surrounding area,” Ceja said during the meeting.

The supporters included Mayor Prot Tem Gina Nestande and some Desert Mirage High School students who are members of a surf club started by their teacher, Krysten Gonda.

Gonda used previously took her surf club to Huntington Beach to learn to surf. ““I cannot lie, it was a struggle the first few thousand times,” one of her students joked. “But when I finally caught it, it was like an ‘Oh, my god,’ moment. And after that day, I just kept thinking about how incredible it would be to have that experience close to us.”

“This is an economic game-changer,” Mayor Pro Tem Gina Nestande told the Desert Sun.

The DSRT Surf Resort will cover 14.6 acres including a 5.5 acre wave pool. The DSRT Surf team will purchase the property from the city of Palm Desert for $2 million.

Doug Sheres, a partner with Desert Wave Ventures, hopes to be pumping out waves in 2.5 years.

For more research and news on DSRT Surf, click here.