Cathedral City Verano residents say blowing sand still a persistent issue despite developer, city efforts

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) - Residents of the Verano neighborhood say blowing sand from a nearby undeveloped property is still a persistent issue, leaving them vulnerable to health issues and property damage. 

News Channel 3 first reported on the issue last May, when Cathedral City officials said the sand was the responsibility of the developer, Northlight Partners, who is also apart of Verano's Homeowners Association. However, Northlight said the lot was left undisturbed due to a burrowing owl population that prevented complete mitigation efforts. 

Now the developer ays they have relocated the owls and will implement sand mitigation measures recommended by the city. 

Cathedral City officials said in a statement to News Channel 3 that they recently met with Northlight and an environmental blowsand expert to discuss mitigation efforts, like wind fences, soil stabilizers, water by sprinklers and trucks.

However, officials say all of those efforts have failed so far and need to be maintained on a 24-hour, proactive basis. They say they also directed Northlight to clear existing blowsand deposits.

Residents who have dealt with the issue for years say they have doubts on how effective those efforts are. They also claim mitigation has not been taken as seriously as needed, and wind fences erected have done little to keep the sand away.

"My front yard has been under as much as three feet of sand coming from the developer's property," Rob Strickland said.

They say the issue has hurt their wallets and health, as they pay upwards of thousands of dollars to remove the sand and face rising HOA fees to clear it.

"The blow sand has just been coming in the seals of our house and through our windows, through the doors. It's creating a lot of respiratory health issues. We've been having ongoing coughs and colds. Every time it's windy, we're getting sick," Krystal Barto said.

Both neighbors claim they've been cited by their HOA for sand that has blown onto their property from the development.

Barto says she's also filed numerous complaints with the South Coast Air Quality Management District, who issued Northlight a notice to comply requiring the construction company to implement measures to minimize dust and windblown sand. AQMD officials said failure to comply would result in fines.

In a full statement to News Channel 3, Northlight Partners said they're looking forward to greater mitigation efforts now that two burrowing owls have been moved off the property.

"Northlight has been the developer of the Verano project for the past few years. We appreciate that blowing sand is an issue given Verano's location next to the desert. Adding to the blowsand challenges, we encountered several burrowing owls in late 2024.  For approximately 15 months we were unable to do any work, including blowsand mitigation, while we were working with the state regulators on a viable solution to passively relocate the owls. Many of the issues that residents have encountered were a direct result of our inability to work on the site during that period. Since completing the passive relocation plan, we have been working with the city to bolster our mitigation efforts. The Northlight team met with city officials yesterday (June 10th) for their ideas on how to further mitigate the blowsand impact.  This was an insightful conversation and Northlight intends to implement their recommendations immediately. Additionally, Northlight has engaged a blowsand engineer to provide additional insight on best management practices. We will be receiving their report shortly and plan to add their recommendations as well. As you are aware, heavy winds bring sand from across the desert, but we look forward to working with city officials and residents to help alleviate this problem while we finish the development."