HomeMy WebLinkAboutRefuge+Presentation+6-25-2026Community Meeting
6/25/2024
Meeting Topics
FAQs Construction
Activity
Project
Resources
Next Steps Project
History
Q & A
Questions Received
Does the city
and or the
developers plan
to address the
sand damage?
Can you remove dirt piling against wall to reduce the
blow sand onto neighboring property?
Pulte answer: Yes, this is completed in some areas and will be
completed as we move through the grading. Some dirt needs to
remain due to providing soil cover to existing wall foundations. This
is a required grading bench.
Who receives dust control calls?
Pulte answer: Ulrich Sauerbrey receives the calls and is listed on
the PM10 sign posted onsite.
What is your turn around time in returning calls?
Pulte answer: Goal is to make contact by end of business day. All
contact will be based on urgency of message or call. Depending on
urgency, contact will be made by the following day. Emergency calls
will be priority and will be addressed immediately.
Daily Dust control measures per PM10?
Pulte answer below:
•Daily watering all active areas being graded and disturbed. This
includes cut/fill areas and access routes.
•PM10 spray inactive areas that have been completed or remain
inactive for more than 72 hours
•Maintenance of construction entrances. Clean as needed.
•Daily City inspections
•Weekly MSA Consulting inspections
Additional dust mitigation steps?
Pulte answer:
•More frequent spray and respray with 6 month green colored polymer Envirotec.
•Added two 4,000 gallon water trucks that are working after hours and weekends. Monday –Friday 5:30am-8pm and Saturday & Sunday 6am-8pm.
•Temporary fencing with wind screen installed on south and southeasterly pads to help trap PM10 debris.
•Street sweep as needed on Julie Drive and Gerald Ford Drive
•Pulte will commence all permanent perimeter walls upon approval of plans and certification of pads.
Daily PM10 Measures & Additional Measures (Water Trucks,
Water Spray, Water Towers):
Daily PM10 Measures & Additional Measures –Continued
(Polymer Spray, Street Cleaning, & Additional Fencing):
Questions Received
•Why did the city allow the developer to build a man-made eleven-foot-high
elevation behind our homes when a less than six-foot-high elevation would
have solved the drainage "problem" on the site?
•The Palm Desert Municipal Code does not have a standard on raising the
existing elevation of a site.
Questions Received
•How is it that the KB neighborhood was put at risk of flooding in order for the
new development to save money in solving the drainage problem and make
more money selling their homes with views on top of the man-made eleven-
foot-high plateau?
Why is the 11 foot elevation change needed and how does
the grading design improve the drainage situation for the
surrounding residents? (Pulte answer below)
•The original existing site was in a sump condition( a sump
condition is where water is trapped and cannot flow out). The new
hydraulic design is intended to minimize the amount of flow to the
south and greatly reduce flood risk.
•The recently completed grades/pad elevations allow the storm
water flows to drain away from the adjacent south and east homes
and instead drain to the retention basins north near Gerald Ford
Drive.
Why can’t Pulte and City explore lowering those
elevations? (Pulte answer below)
Pulte did explore lowering the pad elevations with our Civil Engineer
and the existing graded condition would not allow this to happen
without significant impacts to the existing residents and the Pulte
project.
These impacts include:
•Directing potential storm flows toward the neighboring properties;
and
•Substantial extension of the timeline to complete the grading and
land development improvements.
Questions Received
•Are there other options for enforcing the wall besides
the bench option?
•How will the walkway around the property be
maintained and how often will it be maintained? Are
they public?
Questions Received
•How is an eleven-foot-elevation change an appropriate
transition in scale?
•How are the existing Woodward Drive residents’
signature views of the hills and mountains preserved?
•When was the elevation changed?
Public Comment
Meeting Type Date Notes
Community Outreach 8/23/202
2
36+ people attended.
Comments on views, dust control, and traffic
Planning Commission
Hearing
10/18/20
22
Three public comments: Public transit, views, traffic. One comment of support
City Council Public
Hearing
11/17/20
22
No public comments
Community Outreach 8/2/202
3
~12 people attended.
Comments on construction phasing, walls, and heights
Planning Commission
Hearing
10/18/2
022
No public comments
Planning Commission
Hearing
3/5/2024 2 comments; drainage on south and height
Architectural Review
Commission
4/23/202
4
ARC conditions to thicken crushed rock
Community
Engagement
5/13/202
4
~20 attendees; Comments on elevations, heights, and landscaping
Planning Commission 5/21/202
4
Four (4) commenters: Concerns on boundary buffer, sand mitigation, drainage, and question on
age restriction
Questions Received
•Who will repair the KB development wall adjoining Refuge? Who will pay for general
damages and extra maintenance to homes and pools as well as deep cleaning, duct
cleaning, replacement pool filters,etc. at the end of the project?
•Some residents who work from their homes had to leave due to noise and shaking from
the grading and digging of the trench behind our walls. Who will pay for this?
•Who will pay for flooding damages?
Pulte answer: Pulte will pay for damage to neighboring properties that was caused by the
Pulte operation, to be addressed on a case by case basis.
Questions Received
•Will the project be for rental or for sale?
Pulte answer: “Owner occupied. We have CC&R restrictions on short term rentals in
virtually all our Del Webb Communities. We do allow long term rentals, but don’t market
that.”
Q&A