Coachella/Stagecoach Private Parking Lot Permit Denied

The lot in question is a four-acre vacant lot owned by Sara and Victor Cuecuecha. On March 14 the Planning Commission unanimously denied the couple a permit to operate the lot as a parking facility for concertgoers attending Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival April 13-15 & 20-22 and the Stagecoach country music festival April 27-29.

According to The Desert Sun newspaper, the couple will appeal the decision to Indio’s city council.

“I feel really that my property rights have been usurped,” Sara Cuecuecha told The Desert Sun. “I can’t do anything with my property. I have a lot of issues with this.”

Chances are the Cuecuechas probably have thousands of issues with the planning commission’s decision.  In past years the couple charged up to $20 to park on the vacant lot and made more than $8,000 “on a good night,” the newspaper reported. Coachella expanding to two weekends this year meant the Cuecuechas could have doubled down on their indie parking biz.

Why did the planning commission deny the Cuecuecha’s permit request? “A change in traffic and pedestrian flow” means concert goers will not be walking along Monroe Street near the couple’s vacant lot into the Empire Polo Grounds, according to the newspaper.

The Desert Sun also reported that the city has been working with the area’s residents regarding concerns “such as jaywalkers and trespassers who urinate and defecate on property and ride people’s animals.”