Proposed surf park in California desert is rejected by La Quinta City Council
A plan for a surf park in a California desert community has been rejected by the town council because it would have the potential to create a traffic safety issue, according to the Southern California News Group.
A proposed surf park in La Quinta, California, would have created the potential for a traffic safety problem if the area were to become overcrowded with visitors, according to the La Quinta Daily Times.
In a vote Thursday night, council members voted 5-2 against the plan and Mayor Rick Orr and Councilwoman Patricio Cordero were absent, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In January, council members voted 5-0 in favor of the project with two council members abstaining because they had concerns about the impact the project would have on their communities’ water quality and future growth.
Earlier this month, the project gained the backing of the La Quinta City Council.
The council’s final decision makes the project the second to gain city support. A month earlier, the council voted 8-0 in favor of a water park project that would have created the potential for a traffic issue.
Last month, the project was denied by the City Council in Santa Barbara, California, after a public informational meeting. “We did not want to see people in town driving to La Quinta at night, so we did not want to put the city in the situation where we would be putting people in traffic,” said city attorney Ben Kelson.
However, the city ultimately decided to allow the project to proceed after deciding it could not justify denying the project, according to the Daily Press.
“It may not mean any water quality issues, since it’s not a water use decision,” Kelson said.
However, he said they also took into account the issue of whether the project could “cause a traffic problem” in the area.
Although the city ultimately decided not to support the project, it remains on the agenda for a future meeting, according to the Sun
