By Garrett Hottle – July 25, 2025 6:41 PM
TWENTYNINE PALMS (KESQ) A plan to build a resort near Joshua Tree National Park is moving forward after the Twentynine Palms City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to approve development plans for the Ofland Resort.
The 100-cabin project will be built across 42 acres of desert just east of Indian Cove and is expected to include two lodges, a restaurant, swimming pool, general store, employee housing and more.
But not all residents are celebrating.
“Instead of walking here and viewing this… you’re gonna look to your right, and it’s gonna be parking lots, a 100-unit resort… and a bunch of tourists and Teslas riding around out here,” said Zach Zietz, who lives near the site of the future resort.
Tuesday’s meeting drew so much public interest that it had to be relocated to a local gymnasium. Dozens of people voiced concerns about the project’s impact on traffic, light pollution, water resources, and the surrounding neighborhood.
“We presented all the facts the environmental stuff, the impact to the people in the neighborhood, the lack of third-party review,” said Travis Poston, an organizer with the group “Say No to Ofland.” “There’s been no independent study of what this is going to do for traffic, for sound, for light.”
Despite the concerns, all five council members voted to move the project forward. City officials say developers will still need to meet several conditions before any permits are issued.
“Both times that our community spoke out against it, the tone was very dismissive,” Poston said. “We felt unheard.”
Those for the project pointed to economic opportunity and job creation as key reasons for supporting the project.
While developers have more hurdles to clear before construction begins, many nearby residents say the decision has already changed their way of life.