HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM #1B - Palm Springs -- Planning Commission Staff Report-Vacation of Museum Way-final
PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 26, 2024 CONSENT AGENDA
SUBJECT: A REQUEST BY PS RESORTS FOR A GENERAL PLAN CONFORMITY
FINDING FOR VACATION OF A PORTION OF MUSEUM WAY BETWEEN
BELARDO ROAD AND MUSEUM DRIVE, SHOWN AS LOT ‘A’ OF
PARCEL MAP NO. 36446, SECTION 15, TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE
4 EAST (ENG. FILE R 23-15-0250)
FROM: Engineering Services Department
SUMMARY:
The Planning Commission is being requested to review an application by PS Resorts
(Applicant) to abandon and vacate vehicular access over a portion of the public right-of-
way for Museum Way between Belardo Rd. and Museum Dr. In accordance with Section
8313 of the California Streets and Highway Code and Section 65402 of the California
Government Code, the Planning Commission must find that the requested Vacation of
Museum Way is consistent with the current City of Palm Springs General Plan.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the request, finding that vacating a portion of Museum Way between Belardo
Rd. and Museum Dr. is consistent with the 2007 General Plan per Division 9, Part 3,
Chapter 2, Section 8313, of the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California and
pursuant to Section 65402 of the California Government Code.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
A 41 ft. wide public road known as Museum Way between Belardo Rd. and Museum Dr.,
is shown within Parcel Map No. 36446, Map Book 238, 31/34. The project proposes to
permanently vacate public vehicular access over a section of Museum Way between
Belardo Road and Museum Drive. This section of Museum Way would remain open to
pedestrian and bicycle traffic, as well as emergency vehicular access, moving between
Belardo Road and Museum Drive while the section between Belardo Road and Palm
Canyon Drive would remain open to vehicular traffic. Museum Way is not identified on the
Circulation Element of the City’s 2007 General Plan.
Planning Commission Staff Report
June 26, 2024 -- Page 2
Vacation of a portion of Museum Way Belardo-Museum Dr.
The applicant would also need to renegotiate the license agreement for the Forever
Marilyn statue such that it would remain in its current location on the vacated Museum
Way, 100 feet west of Belardo Road. That decision is not before the Planning Commission
and is not relevant to the General Plan conformity determination for the street vacation.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Museum Way is not identified in the Circulation Element of the City’s 2007 General Plan
as a public roadway. The Downtown Specific Plan, approved in 2016, does identify
Museum Way as a public roadway called Main Street and was shown to extend from
North Palm Canyon Drive west to Museum Drive. It was opened as a public road in 2018
and remained open along its full length until approximately April 2021, when the City
authorized the closure of a portion of Museum Way between Belardo Road and Museum
Drive. Thereafter, bollards were raised at the east and west end of the closure, and in
June 2021, a statue named “Forever Marilyn” was installed within the roadway,
approximately 100 feet west of Belardo Road. This portion of Museum Way has remained
closed since that time, but also remains a public roadway. It should also be noted that
Museum Way between Belardo Road and North Palm Canyon Drive remains open and
accessible for all traffic.
In 2023, a group of Palm Springs registered voters circulated a petition to place an
initiative on the ballot that would amend the Specific Plan to remove the portion of
Museum Way between Belardo Road and Museum Drive from the circulation plan , and
officially change the name of the street from Main Street to Museum Way along it’s
entirety. The Initiative petition was circulated for signature in conformance with the
California Election Code. In November of 2023, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters
completed the verification process and certified that the petition contained a sufficient
number of qualified signatures, and the matter was scheduled for hearing by the City
Council on December 4, 2023. The City Council, consistent with Elections Code sections
1405 and 9215, had the option to adopt the initiative without election (thereby adopting
the amendments to the Specific Plan), or put the initiative on the ballot of either a regular
or a special municipal election. At its December 4, 2023 meeting, the City Council adopted
Ordinance 2092, adopting the amendments to the Specific Plan, removing Museum Way
between Belardo Road and Museum Drive from the Specific Plan.
In October 2023, the City received an application to vacate Museum Way between
Belardo Road and Museum Drive from PS Resorts, owner of the “Forever Marilyn” statue.
Local public utility companies were contacted with a legal description of the vacation area
seeking a response approving or opposing the vacation. The following public utilities
approved the requested vacation with no conditions by citing no facilities in the area:
Veolia, N. A.
Frontier Communications
Planning Commission Staff Report
June 26, 2024 -- Page 3
Vacation of a portion of Museum Way Belardo-Museum Dr.
Spectrum-Charter Communications
Desert Water Agency (DWA) responded that existing water services would need to be
abandoned should the street be vacated. DWA plans to abandon in place the 12-inch
water line that lies beneath Museum Way. Landscaping irrigation connections for the
Downtown Park and other parcels north and south of Museum Way will be relocated.
DWA will excavate a small section on Belardo Road to place a permanent cap on the
subsurface water line, and restore the surface of the road over a period of approximately
5 days.
Southern California Gas responded that there are gas services within the proposed
vacation area and requested a reservation of a public utility easement for its facilities.
Southern California Edison responded that there are electrical services within the
proposed vacation area and requested a reservation of a public utility easement for its
facilities.
Facilities owned by Southern California Gas and Southern California Edison will remain
in place and be within a public utility easement to be reserved as part of the street
vacation.
ANALYSIS:
Public rights-of-way and public easements may be vacated by the City Council, after
conducting a duly noticed public hearing, making certain findings, and otherwise following
the process set forth in California Streets and Highway Code Sections 8300 et. seq.
Before the City Council hears the matter, the Planning Commission (as the City’s
designated “planning agency") must first find that the proposed vacation is consistent with
the City’s General Plan (Streets and Highways Code Section 8313; Government Code
Section 65402). That is the purpose of this review.
According to the 2007 General Plan, there are no streets existing or proposed that would
be impacted by the proposed vacation. The Circulation Plan, Figure 4-1 of the General
Plan’s Circulation Element, does not identify this street because the street was added
through the 2016 Specific Plan and did not exist at the time the General Plan was adopted
(nor in the most recently approved General Plan update 2010). A limited General Plan
update is currently in process and the draft Circulation Element does not identify Museum
Way as a public street at the subject location. As described, the Downtown Specific Plan
was amended by the City Council in late-2023 to remove this portion of Museum Way
entirely from the Specific Plan.
Accordingly, Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find the requested vacation
to be consistent with the City of Palm Springs General Plan. Pending the Planning
Commission’s findings, the proposed vacation will be presented to the City Council for
consideration.
Planning Commission Staff Report
June 26, 2024 -- Page 4
Vacation of a portion of Museum Way Belardo-Museum Dr.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
In accordance with Public Resources Code section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines section
15164, the City has prepared a proposed Addendum (Addendum #3) to the Final
Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) adopted for the Specific Plan that evaluates the
potential environmental impacts of the vacation of Museum Way between Belardo Road
and Museum Drive, as well as the potential permanent placement of the Forever Marilyn
statue at a location within the project area. The Addendum has determined that that the
proposed vacation and statue placement would not result in any new or more significant
impact than those identified in the previously certified FEIR, Statement of Overriding
Considerations, and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. Substantial evidence
demonstrates that none of the conditions identified CEQA guidelines section 15162 have
occurred and as such no subsequent EIR is required. Specifically, there are no
substantial changes in the Project that would require major revisions of the prior FEIR
due to new significant effects; there have been no substantial changes with respect to the
circumstances under which the Project will be undertaken that will require major revisions
to the prior FEIR due to new significant impacts; and there is no new information of
substantial importance that was not known or could not have been known with reasonable
diligence when the FEIR was certified that shows the Project will have new or more severe
significant effects not discussed in the prior FEIR or that there are new mitigation
measures or alternatives that would substantially reduce one or more significant effects
of the Project.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find the applicant’s request for vacation
of public vehicular access over a portion of Museum Way between Belardo Rd. and
Museum Dr., shown on Parcel Map No. 36446, Map Book 238, 31/34, is in accordance
with the 2007 General Plan, in accordance with Division 9, Part 3, Chapter 2, Section
8313 of the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California and pursuant to Section
65402 of the Government Code, and to forward that determination to the City Council.
PREPARED BY: Diana Shay, Project Manager
REVIEWED BY: Christopher Hadwin, Director of Planning Services
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Vicinity Map
B. Aerial Map
C. Resolution
D. Exhibits “A” & “B”
ATTACHMENT A
Department of Planning Services
Vicinity Map
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS
ATTACHMENT B
ATTACHMENT C
RESOLUTION NO. _____
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA FINDING
THAT THE VACATION OF MUSEUM WAY FROM
BELARDO RD. AND MUSEUM DR., SHOWN ON PARCEL
MAP 36446 PARCEL MAP BOOK 238/31-34 (ENG. FILE R
23-15-0250), IS CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY OF PALM
SPRINGS GENERAL PLAN
THE PLANNING COMMISSION FINDS AND DETERMINES AS FOLLOWS:
A. PS Resorts (“Applicant”) has filed an application to vacate a portion of Museum
Way between Belardo Rd. and Museum Dr., shown on Parcel Map 36446 Parcel
Map Book 238/31-34, within Section 15, Township 4 South, Range 4 East,
(“Application”) with the City pursuant to Section 8313 of California Streets and
Highway Code, said public road right-of-way being located in Section 15 Township
4 South, Range 4 East, within the City of Palm Springs, Riverside County, State of
California.
B. On December 2, 2009, the Palm Springs City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1764
adopting the Museum Market Specific Plan, including amendments to the 2007
Palm Springs General Plan, adopted by Resolution No. 22077.
C. On October 17, 2012, the Palm Springs City Council adopted Resolution No.
23238 approving an Addendum to the Museum Market Specific Plan EIR and
identifying the implementation of a revised Downtown Revitalization Plan
(“Downtown Palm Springs”) as conforming to the Museum Market Specific Plan
for 13.2 acres located at the northwest corner of Tahquitz Canyon Way and North
Palm Canyon Drive.
D. In accordance with Public Resources Code Section 21166 and Section 15164 of
the CEQA Guidelines, the City has prepared a proposed Addendum (Addendum
#3) to the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) adopted for the Specific Plan
that evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the vacation of Museum Way
between Belardo Road and Museum Drive, as well as the potential permanent
placement of the Forever Marilyn statue at a location within the project area. The
Addendum has determined that that the proposed vacation and statue placement
would not result in any new or more significant impact than those identified in the
previously certified FEIR, Statement of Overriding Considerations, and Mitigation
Monitoring and Reporting Program.
E. California Government Code Section 65402(a) provides that if a general plan or
part thereof has been adopted, then no real property shall be acquired by
dedication or otherwise for street, square, park or other public purposes, and no
real property shall be disposed of, no street shall be vacated or abandoned, and
Planning Commission Resolution No. _____
Page 2
no public building or structure shall be constructed or authorized, if the adopted
general plan or part thereof applies thereto, until the location, purpose and extent
of such acquisition or disposition, such as street vacation or abandonment, or such
public building or structure have been submitted to and reported upon by the
Planning Commission as to conformity with said adopted general plan or part
thereof, and that the Planning Commission shall fender its report as to conformity
with said adopted general plan or part thereof within forty (40) days after the matter
was submitted to it, or such longer period of time as may be designated by the City
Council.
F. Local public utility companies were contacted with a legal description of the
proposed vacation seeking a response either approving or opposing the vacation.
Most public utility companies approved the requested vacation with no
reservations by citing no facilities in the area.
G. Desert Water Agency (DWA) has indicated that they will abandon their water
facilities and relocate landscaping irrigation service connections accordingly.
H. The proposed vacation area will be reserved for public utilities to protect Southern
California Edison and Southern California Gas Company facilities, and any future
public utilities, herein described and shown in Exhibit “C”.
I. According to the 2007 General Plan, there are no streets existing or proposed that
would be impacted by the proposed vacation. The Circulation Plan, Figure 4-1 of
the Circulation Element, does not identify this street sas a public roadway.
J. A limited General Plan update is currently in process and the draft Circulation
Element does not identify Museum Way as a public street at the subject location.
K. The Downtown Specific Plan, approved in 2016, does identify Museum Way as a
public roadway called Main Street and was shown to extend from North Palm
Canyon Drive west to Museum Drive. It was opened as a public road in 2018 and
remained open along its full length until approximately April 2021, when the City
authorized the closure of a portion of Museum Way between Belardo Road and
Museum Drive.
L. At its December 4, 2023 meeting, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2092,
adopting the amendments to the Specific Plan, removing Museum Way between
Belardo Road and Museum Drive from the Specific Plan.
M. On June 26, 2024, the Planning Commission held a regularly scheduled meeting
and reviewed the subject Application.
Planning Commission Resolution No. _____
Page 3
N. The Planning Commission has carefully reviewed and considered all of the
evidence presented in connection with the project, including but not limited to the
staff report and all written and oral testimony presented.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLVES:
That the findings and determinations reflected above are true and correct and are
incorporated by this reference herein as the cause and foundation for the action taken by
and through this Resolution. Based upon the foregoing, and pursuant to California
Government Code section 65402, the Planning Commission finds that the applicant’s
request to vacate a portion of Museum Way from Belardo Rd. to Museum Dr., within
Section 15, Township 4 South, Range 4 East, herein described in Exhibit “A” and shown
in Exhibit “B”, and reserving a public utility easement, herein described and shown in
Exhibit “B” is consistent with the 2007 General Plan per Division 9, Chapter 2, Section
8313, of the Street and Highway Code of the State of California.
ADOPTED THIS 26TH DAY OF JUNE, 2024.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA
______________________________________
_
Christopher Hadwin
Director of Planning Services
ATTACHMENT D