Palm Springs wants land back from COD: 'the property would be returned to the city and its taxpayers'

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Palm Springs wants to see a College of the Desert expansion. | College of the Desert

Palm Springs wants to buy back land it originally gave to the College of the Desert, under the conditions that the land is used for the college's campus and that they have at least 10,000 full-time students. Rather than expand its campus, however, COD has tried to auction off the land to the highest bidder

According to the Palm Desert Patch, on Wednesday, the city made an offer to buy 119 acres, the same plot it conditionally gave the college in 2010.  

"One could argue that it ought to be returned outright as the city would not have bought this property simply to facilitate market-rate residential development. The offer to pay not once, but twice, for the property reflects the importance of this property in advancing social equity in North Palm Springs," Palm Springs City Attorney Jeffrey Ballinger wrote in a letter reported on by Patch. "It seems reasonable that if COD no longer intended to honor the vision to invest directly in North Palm Springs that the property would be returned to the city and its taxpayers."

KESQ reports that Ballinger's letter, sent to COD on Wednesday, proposed an offer of $5.7 million for the land. The area was originally intended to be used for COD's West Valley Campus. Additionally, the $5.7 million would be used by COD to ensure that the West Valley Campus gets completed on the new property and is open for students around December 2025. This agreement is contingent upon the college living up to terms regarding the campus.

If the property is returned to the city, Ballinger used his proposal letter to outline several ways residents could benefit, including affordable housing, commercial developments, such as a grocery store, community facilities that provide job training and child care, and more, according to the Palm Desert Patch.