Indio Planning Commission To Discuss 200 New Affordable Housing Units

A meeting that was scheduled for last night’s Indio Planning Commission was rescheduled to tonight, taking place at Indio City Hall.

Planning commission members are set to discuss the 200 unit affordable housing project along Highway 111.

Many community members have shown they are in favor of this new development.

Non-profit, Lift to Rise gathered signatures ahead of tonight’s meeting, in an attempt to show the need for affordable housing in the area.

With just around 60% of residents within the City of Indio considered rent-burdened, many of them are looking for solutions.

“There’s really not a lot of availability, as I’ve discovered, you’re looking at 1600 to $2,000 a month, and so that makes someone like me have to be actually extremely rent burden where 50% of my income would go just to rent alone.” Anna Lisa Vargas, an Indio resident says.

Residents like Vargas say it’s a struggle to find housing even with the amount of affordable housing already in the community.

Many neighbors are forced to maintain more than one job to keep up with the cost of rent every month, but Lift to Rise is determined to change that.

They’re asking Indio City Officials to approve plans for what they say is much needed, 200 units of affordable housing. 

“Projects like this will help our families who are in need of affordable housing because it’ll be a project that they’ll have a rent according to what they can pay, right? What they could afford at the time.” says Joe Mota, the Director of Resident Engagement for Lift to Rise.

For many residents, housing they can afford is a priority concern, as Indio is one of the largest cities in the Coachella Valley.

Now, if approved, these units would help fulfill the city’s commitment of building 3000 new units for low and very low income residents by the year 2030.

They hope these units could potentially be spaces for younger individuals looking to start their careers. 

“Teachers, we’re talking about folks that want to be doctors that have to, you know, start that first phase of the residency, right? They don’t make a whole lot and they want to come home and serve. So that’s going to create an opportunity, a space that they can have their own and be able to afford it and not have to, you know, work, two jobs or a third job.” Mota adds.

Officials with Life to Rise tell us, the goal is to have over 10,000 affordable housing units across the Coachella Valley by 2028.

As far as these specific units, the Indio Planning Commission is expected to make a decision this evening, as to whether or not they will approve these 200 units of affordable housing.

The meeting started at 6pm, at Indio City Hall, tune in to NBC Palm Springs at 11 p.m., for the latest updates.