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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5C Public CommentAnthony Mejia From: Omar Cobian <OCobian@swcarpenters.org> Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 9:22 AM To: City Clerk Subject: Agenda Item 5C 2021-2029 Housing Element NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Good Morning, My name is Omar Cobian and I am a resident of Palm Springs, I am sending this email in regards to Item 5C 2021-2029 Housing Element. I wanted to express my concerns on the lack of requirements our of Housing Construction has had in the past, Contractors are building in our city with No local hire requirements, No Apprentice program requirements with a rampant cash pay market that is taking Palm Springs Tax Dollars away for our local community. The city of Palm Springs should require projects to be built utilizing a local and skilled and trained workforce. This requirement will boost Tax Revenue and allow Carpenters and other Union Trades to work close to home. Thank You for your time, Omar Cobian ICRA Specialist Mobile:(909) 501-1453 Southwest Regional Council of Carpenter www.icrahealth�care.com `�pZRalry��P O OQ �:J +0 Download our app: Goggle Play I iTunes ADD Store Disclaimer ITEM NO. r-S C u� I zz4 ouzl The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Anthony Mejia From: Juan Munoz <jmunoz@swcarpenters.org> Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 9:18 AM To: City Clerk Subject: 7-26-21 agenda item 5c NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. My namer is Juan Munoz, I am a representative with the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, I represent members in the city of Palm Springs and surrounding areas. I would like to comment on Item C and discussion of draft 2021-2029 Housing Element. There are many aspects that will be discussed on this agenda but we must not forget about who will ultimately be building the project. We need to utilize a skilled and trained workforce now more than ever. Currently, there is a drain in and around the city of Palm Springs of skilled and trained workforce. They travel 2 plus hours into the Los Angeles/Orange County to looking forjobs that compensates them for the quality of work they provide. I ask that you us the opportunity to build our own city. Thank you for your time Best regards, Juan Munoz Southwest Regional Council Carpenters Office: (951) 697-6700 Fax: (951) 309-4010 Cell: (213) 216-5335 Jmunoz@swcarpenters.org Carpenters Local 951 6147 River Crest Dr Riverside, CA 92507 Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. r"> NO. �5 C Anthony Mejia From: Julio Flores <JFlores@swcarpenters.org> Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 8:55 AM To: City Clerk Subject: 7-26-21 City of Palm Springs meeting Agenda item 5C NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Good morning, My name is Julio Flores, I'm a Representative for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, I represent many of the members that reside in the City of Palm Springs, and I would like to comment on Item 5C/ Review and Discussion of Draft 2021-2029 Housing Element, Draft Land Use Plan and Proposed Buildout. I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this but In a recent 2020 report titled "Putting California on the High Road: A Jobs and Climate Action Plan for 2030" the California Workforce Development Board concluded that "investments in growing, diversifying and upskilling California's workforce can positively affect returns on climate mitigation efforts. Moreover, just this year, the South Coast Air Quality Management District found that the "use of a local state -certified apprenticeship program or a skilled and trained workforce with a local hire component" can result in air pollutant reductions. Local Skilled and Trained Workforce requirements can boost economic development and mitigate transportation and greenhouse gas impacts by minimizing vehicle miles traveled. Thank you for your time and I hope you guys would consider the hiring of local, skilled and trained workforce for these projects moving forward. 7ulio Flores Special Representative rMM NO. j �- 1 0-71 Mobile: 909-503-8590 Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters swcarpenters.org T(B@(* Download our app: Google Play I iTunes ARR Store STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY & DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this email message is confidential, intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copy of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by replying and delete the message. Thank you. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Worden Williams LLP Trusted Legal Services Since 1975 7/27/2021 City Council City of Palm Springs 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 Re: Discussion of Draft 2021-2029 Housing Element, Draft Land Use Plan and Proposed BuRdout Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council: I am writing on behalf of the Sierra Club to address a question that arose during the workshop on July 22, 2021 regarding the ability of the City Council to amend the General Plan in a manner that lowers the allowable density within the Palm Hills Special Policy Area. The current General Plan regulations for the Palm Hills Special Policy Area allow for potential "residential and resort development at a maximum of 1 dwelling unit/hotel unit per acre, not to exceed a total of 1,200 units", subject to preparation of a Specific Plan. (General Plan, Page 2-8.) A suggestion was made that the Special Policy Area be redesignated as Open Space Mountain ("OS Mountain"), which allows 1 dwelling unit per 40 acres. In response, I understand the City Attorney stated that the change would result in a "taking" because it would deny development rights. The Sierra Club urges the City Council to not accept this opinion as the end of the story. There is no state or federal rule that a reduction in density is an automatic, or "per se," taking of property rights. To the contrary, a per se taking only occurs if a regulation denies all economically beneficial or productive use of land. (Lucas v South Carolina Coastal Council (1992) 505 US 1003, 1020.) A reduction of density consistent with other adjacent hillside lands within the City certainly would not qualify as a per se taking. Of course, a regulation can still result in a taking if a court finds that it goes too far. When no per se taking exists, courts examine a number of factors to determine if the regulation "goes too far" such that a taking has occurred. Factors considered include the economic impact of the regulation on the claimant, the extent to which the regulation interferes with distinct investment -backed expectations, and the character of the governmental action. (See Penn Cent. Transp. Co. v New York City (1978) 438 US 104, 123 and Kavonau v Santa Monica Rent Control Bd. (1997) 16 C4th 7611 775.) Areas Of Practice Real Estate Estate Planning & Administration Business Land Use & Environmental Litigation Public Agency Attorneys D. Wayne BrechteL Kristen McBride Jason R. Schingler Tomer T. Gutman D. Dwight Worden Re tired W. Scott Williams Re tired Office 462 Stevens Avenue Suite 100 Solana Beach California 92075 (85 8) 755-6604 wordenwilliams.com ITEM NO. rJ 071 Z 2-(L0-J City Council July 27, 2021 Page 2 The analysis is complicated and varies with each case. But in the end, if a substantial use of the property remains, no taking will be found. (See Bridge Aina Le'a, LLC v. Land Use Commission (9th Cir. 2020), 950 F.3d 610 [applying Penn Central factors, reclassification of land from urban to agricultural did not result in a regulatory taking.] Sierra Club appreciates that the laws governing regulatory takings are extraordinarily complex and that each regulation must be evaluated in light of the unique property rights involved. However, the Sierra Club urges the Council to not accept any opinion that redesignating the Special Policy areas of Palm Hills to OS Mountain would result in a per se taking. To the contrary, the Sierra Club is confident that a thorough analysis of the proposal would result in a finding that it would simply place the Special Policy area on equal footing with surrounding mountainous properties already designated OS Mountain. The City's designation of those properties as OS Mountain did not result in a finding of a "per se" or other regulatory taking because the properties retain substantial economic value. If follows that a redesignation of the Special Policy area for Palm Hills would also not result in a taking. Very truly yours, WORDEN WILLIAMS LLP T>. Gt)reBrechtel, 511c� D. Way Esq. dwb@wordenwilliams.com SEAN LU US 1700 S. Araby Dr., #69, Palm Springs, CA 92264 1949.922.3311 1 seanluus@me.com 07/22/2021 City Clerk of Palm Springs Palm Springs City Hall 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 RE. Public Hearing #B and New Business #SC on Thursday, July 22, 2021— Canyon View Development Dear City Clerk of Palm Springs: I with this respectfully request in symphony with Oswit Land Trust, that a reasonable parameter of the Canyon View development be preserved in its naturally rich and mature state, to protect some of our rarest species of animals and endangered species such as Casey's June Beetle (unique to Palm Springs) as well as the Round -tailed Ground Squirrel (unique to Coachella Valley). We have a once -in -a -lifetime opportunity to save these endangered animals. This particular project allows a compromise with the developer to preserve perimeters for a protected habitat without impacting the number of units planned. I am an avid wildlife advocate to preserve and save the gift of our incredible natural habitats with their equally unique and fascinating inhabitants. The small steps we can take right now in working closely with city leaders, the community, and developers allow us to save these natural treasures for ourselves and the generations to follow. I thank you for your consideration and time of this request. Sincerely, Sean Luus t ITEM NO. S Anthony Mejia From: David Cordero <DCordero@swcarpenters.org> Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 8:18 AM To: City Clerk Subject: 7-26-21 City of Palm Springs meeting Agenda item SC NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. My name is David Cordero, I'm a Representative for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, I represent many of the members that reside in the City of Palm Springs, and I would like to comment on Item 5C/ Review and Discussion of Draft 2021-2029 Housing Element, Draft Land Use Plan and Proposed Buildout. -The City/County should require projects to be built utilizing a local and skilled, trained workforce that have attended or are part of a State Certified Apprenticeship program. We live here, we want the opportunity to work here as well. -Local Skilled and trained workforce requirements can boost the local economy and economic development that would mitigate transportation and greenhouse gas impacts by minimizing vehicle miles traveled. Thank you for your time and would hope you will Consider the above information. David Cordero SWRCC. 6147 River Crest Dr, Riverside, CA, 92507 Dcordero@swcarventers.org Cell (619)666-8772 STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY & DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this email message is confidential, intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copy of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by replying and delete the message. Thank you. Disclaimer ITEM NO. 5L O-) 12 z Izo-. The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Anthony Mejia From: Peter Moruzzi <petermoruzzi@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2021 12:22 PM To: Christy Holstege; Lisa Middleton; Geoff Kors; Dennis Woods; Grace Garner; Anthony Mejia Subject: URGENT: Palm Hills Land Use Designation to Open Space Mountain Attachments: The_Desert_Sun_Sun_Mar_6_2005 jpeg; Palm Hills Sec 31 & 32.png NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Mayor Holstege, Mayor Pro Tem Middleton, Councilmember Garner, Councilmember Kors, Councilmember Woods, In your discussion tomorrow of revisions to the General Plan Land Use map, I strongly urge you to recommend that the land use designation of the Palm Hills area be changed from Estate Residential (the portion of Sec 32 with roads shown below) and Special Policy Area (the remainder of the property Secs 31 & part of 32) to Open Space Mountain, which is the designation of the land to the north, west and south. Some background. Back in 2005 1 was part of the group that placed the successful Measure C referendum on the ballot to rescind the City Council's approval of a massive development of Palm Hills (see our Desert Sun ad below). ITEM NO. S C-- O%/ZZIZ( Developers are proposing thousands of houses for our hillside areas: Only YES on B and NO on C will prevent hillside sprawl. •�Sj�CENEKAL PLAN n,::� 1-24 ON MARCH 8th, Please join us in voting: YES on Measure B to protect our entire mountain region from hillside sprawl. NO on Measure C to stop Palm Hills temporarily, YES on B to stop it permanently Paid for by SAVE OUR MOUNTAINS, a grassroots campaign organized by the citizens who gathered 6,000 signatures to place these measures on the ballot. Palm Spdngs can Roudsh and grow wMhout socrMcing our mountains. Please call us at 327-0197 MaWe Jo Treasvm C is a Catastrophe. e r e Now, in 2021, you have the opportunity to finally fulfill the community's desire that Palm Hills be open space. As the email from the Oswit Land Trust indicates, there is no certainty of acquisition of the property as conservation land. Now is the time to change the land use designation so that there will at least be some protection of this incredibly important natural resource for future generations. Thank you. Peter 2 Anthony Mejia Subject: RE: Public Comment for the Housing Element Discussion From: Rubyd Olvera <rubyd@lifttorise.org> Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2021 3:13 PM To: David Newell <David.Newell@palmspringsca.gov> Cc: Taylor Libolt Varner <taylor@lifttorise.org> Subject: Re: Public Comment for the Housing Element Discussion NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs --DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Best, Dear Mayor Holstege, Mayor Pro Tern Middleton, and Council Members of the City of Palm Springs, As you are well aware, long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of California and the Coachella Valley was in crisis due to the lack of housing. We at Lift to Rise and the United Lift Rental Assistance Program hear every day from Coachella Valley residents about how the pandemic has only worsened these conditions to the extreme. Palm Springs residents appear to be particularly impacted by the economic impacts of the pandemic. In fact, 1 in every 218 residents in the City of Palm Springs applied and qualified to receive rental assistance from the United Lift Rental Assistance Program. I am reach out, along with other community leaders, to help bring this reality to your attention and to urge you to see the Housing Element Update as a critical tool to exhibit bold leadership, a key opportunity to help improve housing stability and life outcomes for Palm Springs residents. Incorporating the CAN policy priorities is one concrete way the city can work to systematically remove barriers to the development of affordable housing and encourage its development through the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update. We remain very grateful for the City's partnership with us to support residents through the United Lift Rental Assistance program and in pursuing opportunities to facilitate the development of more units of affordable housing. We look forward to continuing this deep partnership. Thank you for your time and consideration. Rubyd Olvera Hernandez I Lift to Rise C 760-698-1043 • l 1/v/ -u,'z-c ITEMNO.~l !:~ 1 Rubyd@lifttorise.org 73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 100 Palm Desert, CA 92260 she/hers/ella From: Taylor Libolt Varner <taylor@lifttorise.org> Sent: Thursday, July 22, 202111:50 AM To: David Newell <David.Newell@palmspringsca.gov> Cc: Rubyd Olvera <rubyd@lifttorise.org> Subject: Public Comment for the Housing Element Discussion Dear Mayor Holstege, Mayor Pro Tern Middleton, and Council Members of the City of Palm Springs, I am writing to you as the Regional Affordable Housing Planner for Lift to Rise and as a Coachella Valley resident deeply concerned about the impact of the housing crisis to our public health and wellness, State and regional economy, educational outcomes, and more. I urge you to see the Housing Element as a critical opportunity to systematically remove barriers to and encourage the development of safe, stable, and affordable housing in the City of Palm Springs. Even before the pandemic, over 50% of renters in the region paid more than 30% of their incomes on rent, implying they were forced to forgo healthy food, childcare, healthcare, or other necessities in order to stay housed. And as you know, the pandemic has only worsened these conditions. Since June of last year, 1 in every 218 Palm Springs residents has qualified to receive emergency rental assistance through the United Lift Rental Assistance Program. Lift to Rise's Housing Stability Collaborative Action Network (CAN) is a cross-sector network of dozens of local partners dedicated to radically increasing the supply of affordable housing to increase housing stability in the Coachella Valley. We recognize that only by working cohesively as a region, recognizing the interconnectedness of housing issues for each of our local jurisdictions, can we make long-term change to address the rampant housing stability in our region. The CAN established the following policy priorities to encourage and expedite the production of more affordable housing, all of which are ripe for incorporation in the City's Housing Element. • • • Help to lower development costs such as through a reduction, waiver, or deferral of fees for projects including affordable units. This has the added benefit of increasing the competitiveness of a project for tax credits. (We are grateful for the leadership of the City in approving a tiered fee structure to encourage the development of more affordable housing!) Increase opportunities for by-right affordable housing development, streamlining, and/or expedited processing for affordable housing projects to help ameliorate the cost of long development timelines. Update zoning and development standards, such as allowable density, unit size, and parking standards, to allow for more housing units on a site. For further background, I have attached a report from the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Studies that explains the opportunities, advantages, and incentives the Housing Element Update brings to "local government officials who would like to do their part" to address "California's housing woes". I consider you to be those public officials and want to thank you for working to foster a diverse, vibrant city with housing options affordable to a wide range of incomes. I once again ask that you see the Housing Element as an opportunity to radically improve housing stability for residents through the incorporation of the CAN's regional affordable housing policy priorities. Thank you for your time and consideration of my comment. 2 Sincerely, Taylor Libolt Varner Regional Affordable Housing Planner Lift to Rise C: (909)336-8790 TAYLOR LIBOLT VARNER I Lift to Rise o 760-636-0420 C 909-336-8790 taylor@lifttorise.org 73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 100 Palm Desert, CA 92260 she/her /hers 3 Anthony Mejia Subject: RE: public comment: Agenda Item New Businesss SC: Housing element Site recommendations, policy recommendations and addlt questions From: Maribel Nunez <maribelnunez.cap@gmail.com > Sent: Thursday, July 22, 20211:35 PM To: City Clerk <cityclerk@coachella.org>; David Newell <David.Newell@palmspringsca.gov>; Christy Holstege <Christy.Holstege@palmspringsca.gov>; Lisa Middleton <Lisa.Middleton@palmspringsca.gov>; Dennis Woods <Dennis.Woods@palmspringsca.gov>; Geoff Kors <Geoff.Kors@palmspringsca.gov>; Grace Garner <Grace.Garner@palmspringsca.gov> Subject: Re: public comment: Agenda Item New Businesss SC: Housing element Site recommendations, policy recommendations and addlt questions NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs --DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Hello, Also wanted to add a few more recommendations Rezoning/Site Recommendations Creclasificar las zonas): The Golden Sands Mobile Homes surrounding area (former golf course): More Medium Density zoning for future mobile home projects for the Very Low Income (VLI) and Low Income (LI) that isn't just zoning for rentals. Policy recommendation: mutual self-help housing program and other city programs for homeownership for very low income and low income. Best, Maribel Nunez Inland Equity Partnership Executive Director (562) 569-4051 On Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 11:41 AM Maribel Nunez <maribelnunez.cap@gmail.com > wrote: Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tern and City Council: My name is Maribel Nunez, writing public comments for this Thursday's, July 22nd city council meeting agenda item SC Housing Element on behalf of Inland Equity Partnership Coachella Valley chapter. I appreciate staff, David Newell extending the online map survey deadline for an opportunity for more residents to submit their comments online. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline to submit comments and will e-mail them instead our recommended site recommendations. Some of our recommendations were ad9ed to the housing element and some were not. Site recommendations: (See attached document) Inland Equity Partnership Working with Bayanihan Desert, Desert Highland and Golden Sands Mobile Home Park residents, Desert Support Asylum Seekers and other Palm Springs residents 1 '1/1.Z/U>Z( ITEM NO. 5~ Pwb~t ~mt;\,· Inland Equity Partnership's Policy Recommendations and Questions (See attached document) Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Best, Maribel Nunez Inland Equity Partnership Executive Director (562) 569-4051 2 Anthony Mejia From: Sent: To: Subject: David Newell Wednesday, July 21, 2021 3:37 PM City Clerk FW: Bel Air Greens For City Council distribution (Item SC) From: Gavin Buhr <gbuhr@loyola.edu> Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 20211:36 PM To: David Newell <David.Newell@palmspringsca.gov> Subject: Bel Air Greens NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs --DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Hello, My name is Gavin Buhr, I am the co-owner of 2958 E Alta Loma Dr. Our lot is directly next to the old Bel Air Greens. I hereby ask you to not include Bel Air Greens in the general plan and land use designation changes. Being right next door, we understand the pros and cons of anything happening to this land. One one hand, we are conscious that having this land vacant exposes us to loitering, vagabonds, and fire hazards. On the other hand, we cannot risk the value of our home with real estate development that would benefit the land owner but harm us. Rather, we are ready to demonstrate fair judgement to any proposal (nature preserve or real estate development) as long as it respects a few criteria: -No construction within 100ft of our lot line as per existing golf conversion plan -A maintained and secured "desert greenway" to occupy those 100ft buffer between us and any new development -Single story construction in the lots closest to us at the very least (those at 100ft of us) with appropriate height guidelines -Single family homes in the first row after those 100ft from our lot line -Lots of 10,000sqft for at least the first row past the 100ft desert greenway. Please know we understand the value of this land, both natural and financial, and are open minded to working with any party to figure out the best use of the land. The use of the land should not deteriorate the neighborhood not negatively affect our home value (all homes on our street but one are primary residences, hence the most important assets in our personal finances). Please do not change the current land designation and rules to build on that land. Rather, let's try together to improve the conversation on how to satisfy the land owners with the use they can make of this land. Please distribute this letter to each City Council Member and Planning Commissioner. 1 1/zt/ttJZ1 ITEM NO. SC ~r- Thank you immensely for your work safeguarding our community, Gavin Buhr Sent from my iPhone 2 Anthony Mejia From: Sent: To: Subject: Gavin Buhr <gbuhr@loyola.edu> Wednesday, July 21, 2021 1 :35 PM City Clerk Bel Air greens NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs --DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Hello, My name is Gavin Buhr, I am the co-owner of 2958 E Alta Loma Dr. Our lot is directly next to the old Bel Air Greens. I hereby ask you to not include Bel Air Greens in the general plan and land use designation changes. Being right next door, we understand the pros and cons of anything happening to this land. One one hand, we are conscious that having this land vacant exposes us to loitering, vagabonds, and fire hazards. On the other hand, we cannot risk the value of our home with real estate development that would benefit the land owner but harm us. Rather, we are ready to demonstrate fair judgement to any proposal (nature preserve or real estate development) as long as it respects a few criteria: -No construction within 100ft of our lot line as per existing golf conversion plan -A maintained and secured "desert greenway" to occupy those 100ft buffer between us and any new development -Single story construction in the lots closest to us at the very least (those at 100ft of us) with appropriate height guidelines -Single family homes in the first row after those 100ft from our lot line -Lots of 10,000sqft for at least the first row past the 100ft desert greenway. Please know we understand the value of this land, both natural and financial, and are open minded to working with any party to figure out the best use of the land. The use of the land should not deteriorate the neighborhood not negatively affect our home value (all homes on our street but one are primary residences, hence the most important assets in our personal finances). Please do not change the current land designation and rules to build on that land. Rather, let's try together to improve the conversation on how to satisfy the land owners with the use they can make of this land. Please distribute this letter to each City Council Member and Planning Commissioner. Thank you immensely for your work safeguarding our community, Gavin Buhr Sent from my iPhone 1 Jii /101,f 1 ITEM No. '5C PIA l, kt r,tnm,,rl July 21, 2021 PALM SPRINGS Promotions Matt Robinson Supporting the Districts of Palm Canyon Drive 7610 Colle Mozorr1itlo, Palm Springs CA 92264 GuylnPalmSprings@gmail.com 760/567-0473 City of Palm Springs: Justin Clifton, City Manager Restaurants use of public property My hope is the third time is the charm, you closed Palm Canyon, you opened Palm Canyon and it still looked bad. You restrict retailers from placing their a-frame sign in the furniture zone of the sidewalk, yet restaurants can operate a full dining room on the sidewalk. The west facing parklets fight the afternoon sun and require walls that block off the architecture and charm of our downtown. The cement k-rail with signage look more like a speedway than downtown Palm Springs. I have always believed in understating and over delivering, we need to scrub and polish the things that make up our downtown, Downtown Palm Springs is the number one tourist attraction in the entire Coachella Valley. We need to address downtown with a master plan from top to bottom rather than starting at Tahquitz and work two directions and separately address sidewalk seats and street seats. We need a cohesive masterplan that unites and supports all business segments. Little details like the tattered banners on Indian Canyon matter. Share my pride in downtown Palm Springs. THE STREET Palm Canyon Drive flips back and forth between two and three lanes from Alejo to Camino Parasola, one lane abruptly ends at the Plaza Theatre, lanes are misaligned at La Plaza and Baristo by four feet entering the intersection to exiting the intersection. Pick your desired lanes and execute it professionally and safely. Please consider removing the third lane the entire one way / three lane section, paint two lanes down the center of Palm Canyon Drive and push parklets back to the width of just the parking lane. Moving the parklets back to the parking lane including any barriers would then leave four feet from the parklet to the traffic lane fog line. This would reduce the feeling of driving a narrow canyon. Someone is likely to propose these half lanes on both sides could become bike lanes, I highly recommend against that as parklet umbrellas will likely protrude out into that zone when tilted in the afternoon. Picture Tac/Quila's beautiful parklet with vehicle traffic moved four feet out from the dining public, Restaurants have raised the issue of speeding vehicles on Palm Canyon Drive. It's very difficult to lower speeds in California, however we have a 25 MPH speed limit thru most of downtown. Perhaps traffic calming measures should start with new signage. Southbound speeds reduce to 35 MPH with one sign in front of Trina Turk and reduce to 25 MPH with one sign un front of Just Fabulous. These signs are somewhat lost in the visual clutter. Let's try placing speed limit signs out on the curb extensions and once drivers reach the one-way road, mirror the 25 MPH signs of both the left and right curb extension the start of most every block thru the downtown core. SIDEWALKS Sidewalks require a minimum of five feet clear open space to meet ADA requirements however many cities accept nothing less than six feet. I encourage each of you to visit www.sfbetterstreets.org to better understand good sidewalk planning. The only sidewalk recommended under twelve feet wide is an alley sidewalk. Currently you allow sidewalk seat corrals to be built to the curb face and require the restaurant owner to block off the adjoining street parking with their own orange cones this costs us parking and looks like road construction. One option would be to create a curb/edge zone eighteen to twenty-four inches of clear space along the curb before sidewalk seating. However, I would prefer all restaurant seating be removed from sidewalks. After reviewing any true demand, we may see they only need the extra seating on Saturday night or just holiday weekends. If the need is limited, I recommend the corrals that ABC require be made from temporary crowd control devices that can only be up when needed and not vacant corrals much of the time. Overflow seating won't be needed till the new year, we have time to figure out true needs and functional operation. Please clear the sidewalks now. Restaurants and bars who have customer lines, those occur outside the clear path. When a restaurant has a patio up to the front property line and a fenced plot of city sidewalk curb to the five foot clearance line, there is nowhere for customers to wait while maintaining five (or better six) feet of open clear path. One option should you permit sidewalk seating, would be the restaurant must obtain neighbors permission to place a host stand/valet podium Additionally, the five foot guideline is based upon a low use sidewalk, the greater the use the wider the sidewalk must be. Recommendations for downtown sidewalks range between twelve and eighteen feet wide. The wider the sidewalk, the safer our downtown will feel to all. STREET P ARKLETS Parklets on our public streets that sit abandoned mash of each week. Being its public property, the city has the right to propose alternative options to that submitted by the restaurant. Liz Ostrich was upset that Tac-Quila could not setup sidewalk seating in front of the business to the south, I suggested to her that she attempt to rent the carport of the law office to the north and create patio dining under the solid roof. Liz ran with my idea and created a gorgeous outdoor dining room. This had no impact on neighboring businesses. Parklets on Palm Canyon have large impacts on neighboring businesses. Many of the restaurants using street parklets have private property options that limit or remove impacts on neighbors, others have side street options that do not block the architecture and charm of our downtown. Palm Canyon Drive should be the last option, not the only option considered. Palm Canyon Drive parklets should have four-foot setbacks from neighbor's property lines to lessen impacts of reduced sightlines. Here's just a few opportunities El Patron: one longer parklet on Tahquitz and none on Palm Canyon Revel Public House: a parklet next to See's in the La Plaza parking lot Grand Central could mirror Revels patio alongside Birkenstocks/ in front of Grand Central Fame cigar and wine: reduce width to parking lane. Suggest a patio out the back door while smoke will not bother neighbors. Zin and Lulu single lane parklets on Arenas Road and/or in their parking lots Likewise Kaiser could have a long Arenas parklet or even convert part of the parking lot into a garden patio. Fuzion Five could move parklet to Baristo Arenas Road has four side street parklets, Johanns, Quadz and blackbook and Stacys. Bills Pizza could move into the parking lot mirroring Zin at the other end of the building. Thai Smile's parking lot has four entrances, one is a Porto here on Tahquitz Canyon, PS Homeboys who are effected by a Indian Canyon parklet suggested using the roofed driveway on Tahquitz just off the restaurant kitchen as patio space looking out at the ACBCI Cultural Center. Workshop has a side street parklet. Trio: remove parking on south side of West Merito, paint a west and east lane, and allow for a wider parklet, remove the Palm Canyon parklet. The other option a converting parking lot to garden patio. Operators who find a single parking lane including any barriers too narrow, suggest they look at booth style seating. ALTERNATE STREET PARKLET CONCEPT Richmond has developed a program 11 Picnic in a Parklet" where the city has allotted funds to purchase five prefab parklets the size of one parking space. Consider the City of Palm Springs purchasing five large (two parking spaces) parklets, furnishing them with modern style picnic tables, then either offering them in a raffle to five restaurants at a monthly rent of $750.00 December thru May. June thru November the parklets would be stored in the city yard till the next years program. Alternately the five parklets could be auctioned off annually to restaurants. The reason I suggest dressing the uniform parklets with picnic tables is that any hours/days the restaurant is not using the parklet it would open to the public. This concept eliminates the look of abandoned parklets, could be year-round with an annual bidding process for the five parklets. Many restaurants have the option of developing outdoor seating on private property rather that bid for one of five street parklets. This would be a $100,000 investment and payback approximately five years. https://richmondbizsense.com/2021 /04/02/first-city-funded-parklets-installed-to-provide-public-eatinq-spaces/ Sincerely Matt Robinson Anthony Mejia From: Sent: To: Subject: Bruce Pensyl <bpensyl@mac.com> Wednesday, July 21, 2021 9:56 AM City Clerk Concerning the Land Use /General Plan Changes NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs --DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Dear All: My partner and I purchased our first Palm Springs mid-century home ten years ago in the south end of the City. We loved the small town feel and obviously the mid-century architecture. Unfortunately we reside on the east coast in Virginia Beach, Va. Virginia Beach had growing pains like Palm Springs today. I was a firefighter for the City for twenty-five years. As more and more developments/houses came on line, emergency services pay, staffing, and the ability to service the new population was diminished. We lost many members, due to fast hiring of new staff without increasing pay to current members. Pay compression was out of control Additionally the city, after many expensive legal battles, had to secure water from North Carolina. During the trials we were rationing water. Our roads are still very congested, and there are numerous plans to alleviate the problem but not for at least ten years. We are closely watching the Whitewater Desert/Bel Air Greens issue. We strongly ask that you NOT change its land use designation. This development, and others, so remind us of the way Virginia Beach was. Understand we are not against development, but it is a very steep slope you may take allowing for this pristine area to be dug up. In considering this development and all the others, you need to have definitive factual answers to: Where is the water coming from to sustain the influx of people? How much is the required expanded city services going to cost? Will the current infrastructure be able to handle this increase? If not what is the cost? Will you be able to hire new essential staff, and at the same time, raise pay for existing members to avoid pay compression? Sincerely, Bruce Pensyl Lawrence Kliewer 205 77th. St. Virginia Beach, Va. 23451 757-286-7069 238 A venida Granada Palm Springs, Ca. 92264 1 111il zPi ( . SC Yv.b~e,, ITEM NO. ---::i~~ ~.A""" Cl5r() m ...... ,