Desert Hot Springs Planning Commission Approves Sixty-Four Acre Snider Logistic Center Despite Public Backlash

The Desert Hot Springs Planning Commission unanimously approved a development permit for the 64-acre Snider Logistic Center, a one-million-square-foot industrial complex, despite significant public opposition. Located on Calle de los Romos, less than a mile north of Interstate 10, the facility is projected to create nearly 1,000 jobs, with city officials highlighting the potential to retain local commuters who currently work outside the Coachella Valley, similar to the success of a nearby Amazon fulfillment center.

During the public comment session, residents voiced strong fears that the facility could eventually be repurposed into a high-utility data center or an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. In response, city leaders incorporated legally binding conditions into the approval, explicitly prohibiting the complex from operating as either a data center or an immigration holding facility, affirming its use strictly as a logistics center.

Despite these reassurances, opposition continued over the project's long-term impacts, including concerns about severe traffic congestion, increased air pollution from commercial diesel trucks, and unsustainable strain on local resources like electricity and municipal water. Residents also questioned the environmental review's validity, noting its reliance on 2019 data and the project's proximity to protected lands under the Coachella Valley Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan, raising ecological concerns and potential conflicts with sandstorm closures. City officials maintained that the project fully complied with state environmental review criteria.