UPDATE [April 5, 2026]: The Lawsuit Is Moving Forward — And We Need Your Support

We have good news to share, and we're asking for your help to keep the momentum going.

The lawsuit against the City of Twentynine Palms and Ofland is moving forward. We're genuinely encouraged by the collaboration between Greenfire Law and the attorneys at the Center for Biological Diversity. We're currently in the settlement phase that CEQA requires, and we're working through that process carefully.

We need your financial support to keep fighting. Legal costs are real, and they're growing. If you believe Indian Cove, Joshua Tree National Park, and the Mojave Desert are worth protecting, please consider donating to our GoFundMe:

👉 Support our lawsuit on GoFundMe

The lawsuit is already making a difference. Had all other permits and approvals come through on schedule, Ofland could have been breaking ground as early as this April. The lawsuit has pushed that timeline back — and since the City Council's 5-0 approval last July, the economic landscape has shifted considerably. Materials costs have skyrocketed due to tariffs, and labor is increasingly scarce. All of this could turn out to be very good news for the outcome we're working toward.

The fight has grown beyond our original scope. We've had to take on attorney fees related to First Amendment free speech and Brown Act issues that have grown out of the lawsuit. When the City of Twentynine Palms attempted to penalize nonprofits for litigating against them by denying fee waivers for use of public buildings our lawyers pushed back, and the City stood down. We're also pressing the City for transparency on closed sessions, including those that appear to involve discussions of our lawsuit.

A recent win shows this work matters. Many of us were part of the push against the Harmony Acres solar project. This past Monday, the City Council rejected that project 3-1. That outcome is a reminder that victories are possible — and that showing up and fighting back makes a real difference. We want to carry that momentum forward.

We need your financial support to keep fighting. Legal costs are real, and they're growing. If you believe Indian Cove, Joshua Tree National Park, and the Mojave Desert are worth protecting, please consider donating to our GoFundMe:

👉 Support our lawsuit on GoFundMe

A reminder: donations made directly on Change.org go to Change.org, not to us. The GoFundMe link above is the way to support the legal fight directly.

Thank you for standing with us. The desert is still worth fighting for.

— Say No to Ofland / Indian Cove Neighbors saynotoofland@gmail.com | saynotoofland.org

UPDATE 9/8/25: On July 22 the Twentynine Palms City Council voted 5-0 to approve the Ofland Hotel development with little discussion despite considerable public comment asking them to either require an Environmental Impact Report or send the project back to the Planning Commission for further consideration.

On August 20, filing as Indian Cove Neighbors, we joined the Center for Biological Diversity in submitting a CEQA complaint against the City of Twentynine Palms and the Ofland Hotel with the Superior Court of the State of California. 

Support our lawsuit via GoFundMe!

The original anticipated cost of the lawsuit was $70,000. It's expected that cost will be halved due to $35,000 due to co-litigating with the Center for Biological Diversity. There is a small group of Indian Cove residents who signed the contract with Greenfire Law to guarantee payment. Their contributions will match the donations made through the GoFundMe to get us closer to the $35,000 quote.

Thanks for your on-going support!

Donations: Donations to change.org go to change.org NOT TO US. We need your help.  If you wish to make a donation to support printing flyers and other efforts to spread the word, contact us at saynotoofland@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Say NO to Ofland Twentynine Palms

We, the undersigned, are petitioning against the building of the Ofland Resort (formerly Yonder Hospitality) in the Indian Cove neighborhood of Twentynine Palms. 

In yet another desert land grab by feckless developers who know nothing about the region, the Ofland company proposes to build a 100-cabin resort on 152 acres that sit within spitting distance of the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. 

In a region where hotel occupancy rates and short-term rental stays are dropping, this unnecessary resort is an example of a high desert community’s way of life being destroyed for profit by a national corporation with no links to the Mojave desert–a corporation that has succeeded in building just one small-scale resort in Escalante, Utah.

We refuse to be SOLD OUT by Twentynine Palms’ Planning Committee, City Council, and City Manager. 

Property Zoned Residential? No problem! Ofland will need City approval to change our General Plan and rezone the property to commercial tourist zoning. Indian Cove is zoned as a residential neighborhood, not for business, and definitely not for resorts! The scale and scope of the Ofland Resort project will permanently alter the character and livability of Indian Cove, negatively affecting both the people and the wildlife who make their home in this area of Twentynine Palms. 

More Traffic, Noise, and Light Pollution? So What? The Ofland Resort will: 

• Consist of 100 cabins, each 336 sq ft sleeping up to 6, sprawling over 152 acres of primarily untouched desert land (75 in phase 1 and 25 in phase 2)
• Include an outdoor movie theater, restaurants, a pool, two lodges (totaling more than 4,800 sq feet), fast food "casual" service (another 1,430 sq feet), employee housing (5,200 sq feet) and more.
• Play “ambient” music outdoors between buildings from 8 am to 8 pm. Sound travels in the desert! This in addition to the sound from the outdoor movie theater, which will disrupt the natural quiet of the area.
• Increase noise and light pollution in the Indian Cove neighborhood and the National Park’s Indian Cove campground. 
• Increase traffic danger to the neighborhood and the park with a jump from approximately 269 to 894 trips a day, a significant increase in traffic congestion and pollution in this small neighborhood.

Put Wildlife at Risk? We’ll Just Move Those Pesky Tortoises Somewhere Else! The acreage Ofland plans to build their Resort on is an ecologically sensitive area in a crucial wildlife linkage that runs from the Marine Corps base to Joshua Tree National Park. Resort visitor activity and traffic poses a threat to native species, as do proposed truck deliveries to the resort via access on Sullivan Rd. (which is the northern edge of the National Park Boundary Zone).

Thoughtless developments like Ofland are why our precious Mojave Desert Tortoise was moved this year from Threatened to Endangered. What’s the next step for the tortoise? Extinction.

Neighborhood? What Neighborhood? Ofland claims the Resort will be built on the "edge" of the neighborhood, when in fact, it will divide the established Indian Cove neighborhood in half.

But Think of All the Bucks for Twentynine Palms! Per Ofland, they do not plan to offer many permanent jobs, reporting there will be around 30-40 jobs created and the majority of those jobs will be seasonal. Their employment plan calls into question their claims about creating jobs for our community. 

Ofland claims that their guests will spend $200 per cabin in Twentynine Palms, generating $4 million a year for local businesses. Because tourists will probably have driven through the better-known towns of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree to reach Ofland, it is not very likely they’ll drive farther east into Twentynine Palms. 

And in addressing the nearly 900 added vehicle trips a day, Ofland claims this will be mitigated by visitors using the onsite fast-casual restaurant. Can't have it both ways, folks. Visitors eat fast and casual in their cabins? Or dine in 29?

We believe that if this resort is built at all that it be located where it will more directly benefit the City–and where it won’t destroy the character of a neighborhood or crush the desert environment the resort seeks to exploit.

Whether the Resort succeeds or fails, once the land is cleared, there’s no going back. Please join us in saying NO to Ofland Twentynine Palms.