Supervisors approve wellness guest ranch in Garner Valley

At its March 5 session, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors
unanimously approved a zoning change and conditional use permit (CUP)
for developing a wellness ranch on a 36-acre parcel on Apple Canyon Road
within the Riverside Extended Mountain Area Plan.

In her presentation to the Board, Kathleen Mitchell, county project
planner, described the project as “an eco-conscious guest wellness
ranch.”

Proposal

When completed, the facility will accommodate 72 guests and 35
employees. It will be available 24 hours per day and seven days per
week, according to Larry Markham of Markham Development Strategies LLC,
who serves as a consultant for the project.

New construction will include an administrative building, a dining area,
guest cabin buildings with 30 rooms, six glamping tents, as well as a
swimming pool, sound bath building, greenhouse, wellness base camp and
sanctuary center that will include a salt cave, steam room, quantum
room, colon hydrotherapy room, a cold and hot plunge, and six treatment
rooms.

Guests also will have access to outdoor recreational options such
swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, hiking, mountain biking, horseback
riding and rock climbing.

Zoning

The CUP requires both a zoning and zoning classification change. The
current zoning is Open Space – Rural (OS-RUR) and will be changed to
simply Open Space – Recreation (OS-R). The current zoning classification
is Light Agriculture and that will become Natural Assets.

The initial submission of preapplication review was September 2020. In
July 2021, the applicant, Ridge Wellness Inc., submitted the CUP
request.

Board Discussion and action

Board Chair Chuck Washington, 3^(rd) District, asked Markham if he had
agreed to the conditional use changes recommended since the Planning
Commission’s approval in January. He affirmed that he and his staff had
worked with the Planning Department on these changes and were aware and
in concurrence with them.

Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, 4^(th) District, asked whether the
developers were willing to discuss the provision of community benefits.
The proposed ranch was formerly in the 3rd District, but with the 2021
redistricting, it now resides in the 4th District.

“I like the project. And want to see if there is a willingness to
discuss community benefits,” Perez said and offered to arrange a
meeting.

Washington noted that these could be a variety of activities, such as
opportunities for young people or disadvantaged youth to gain work
experience. Markham and his staff said that would be fine.

“The idea of the community benefit is a way Supervisor Perez looks at
development. [It] is to help the community benefit from this development
being there,” Darin Schemmer, Perez’s communications director, wrote in
an email to the Town Crier. He also agreed that the benefit “… could
look like a variety of measures.”

“[Supervisor] Perez voted for the project to move forward and he is
interested in finding ways to work with the developer behind this
wellness ranch to bring a community benefit which could be a
contribution to the community’s infrastructure, a program or service, or
some kind of resource,” Schemmer added.

Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez (5^(th) District) asked whether an
agreement about community benefits would require a postponement of a
vote on the project’s approval. While Minh Tran, county general counsel,
concurred that a formal agreement would be best and might necessitate a
postponement, Perez stressed that he was not seeking any formal written
agreement. He wants to meet with the owner and staff to discuss the
opportunities that might be offered as community benefits.

“He wants a commitment to be willing to consider sitting down with the
supervisor,” Washington stated.

Mitchell did state that she had received one public comment regarding
the traffic around the project. She shared the traffic study, showing
how traffic would get to and from the project site, and the
environmental analysis with the person making the inquiry. Following a
discussion with the individual, she has not heard any further comments
about its approval.

The board then unanimously agreed to the zoning changes and CUP allowing
the guest wellness ranch to go forward.