Our firm serves as counsel for the Griffin Ranch Homeowners Association (“Griffin Ranch”). Griffin Ranch has requested that we write to the City Council to express the concerns of Griffin Ranch’s homeowners regarding the proposed Estates at Griffin Lake development located at the Merv Griffin Estate.

The homeowners of Griffin Ranch have already had issues relating to the current usage of the Merv Griffin Estate, which is the site of the proposed Estates at Griffin Lake development. Generally, the issues stem from the proximity of the two locations and the use of the Merv Griffin Estate as an events center for various functions, usually by transients.

Griffin Ranch is a quiet residential community with no short-term rental activity. During and following many of the events held at the Merv Griffin Estate, Griffin Ranch homeowners deal with significant noise pollution oftentimes going into the late hours of the night. Problems also arise with traffic making it extremely hard for homeowners to reach their homes. Many of these complaints have been previously lodged with the City by Griffin Ranch residents. Now, the owners of the Merv Griffin Estate want to convert much of this area into short-term rentals which will only exacerbate these existing problems while also creating entirely new, avoidable issues.

Creating a new community comprised entirely of short-term rentals will adversely impact the Griffin Ranch community as well as other surrounding communities. Instead of only having significant issues with noise and traffic during Merv Griffin Estate events, these issues will now become a constant as a stream of short-term and transient renters who have little care for the Griffin Ranch community move in next door. These short-term renters are projected to be 80% adults by the development team and a large percentage of those will certainly be coming into town for festivals, partying, and the like, and will create issues on an even larger scale than has been seen before. This hotel-like use of the Merv Griffin Estate property is incompatible with the existing residential use of Griffin Ranch. Transients will become a nuisance for Griffin Ranch owners every single day of the year.

Moreover, the creation of a community of entirely short-term rentals directly next to Griffin Ranch will have an adverse monetary impact on Griffin Ranch’s homeowners. Many of the homeowners put a large portion of their life savings into purchasing homes at Griffin Ranch as an investment vehicle that would grow throughout the remainder of their lives, expecting that the community of La Quinta would be growing and become a more desirable place to live. Certainly, a community of short-term renters next door who will make constant noise and traffic throughout all times of day will negatively impact these owners’ property values due to unforeseeable circumstances and usage of an unrelated property next door, which would not be fair to them.

The Griffin Ranch community and unquestionably other similarly situated communities would appreciate your consideration of their concerns and interests before creating a large community of transient rentals that will only create bigger problems and negative impacts for the surrounding communities.

It follows that the proposed use of the Merv Griffin Estate as a transient rental community is incompatible with the existing residential communities that surround it, and that this proposed usage must be rejected by the City.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

GREEN BRYANT & FRENCH, LLP

Jonathan Shkedy, Esq.

JAF/JS

cc: Board of Directors, Griffin Ranch HOA; Adam Medina