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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/6/2016 - STAFF REPORTS - 1A Cindy Berardi L From: Lucie Luckinbill <Iuckinbill@gmaiLcom> E P LH h'' Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2015 10:52 AM 20150EC 31 AM 11: 21 To: CityClerk Cc: David Zippel; Larry Luckinbill J A tti S 11i bhr Subject: Thw Wessman Project CITY CLERK To: Mr. Jay Thompson, City Clerk Mr. Mayor and esteemed City Council members, Neither my husband, Laurence Luckinbill, nor I can be with you again on the 6th of January, but, we wanted to state our agreement with the propositions below in regards to the Wessman Wall of Buildings proposed and actually under construction along Palm Canyon, despite the lack of proper plan approvals. Our thoughts here are a consensus of ideas from a large group of residents in opposition to this building project. Several well respected architects included. Larry and I urge you to consider these proposals very carefully before moving forward with any of this. Lis it stands right now, it would be a blunder the city could hardly recover from. Palm Springs has been developed in such a wise and considered way for the last several decades. What a shame it would be to allow one man to hold us ransom simply because he played dirty and held on to these properties so long that we would have to agree to almost anything simply to get the eyesore gone and get "something....anything" finished. This can be stopped, altered and made absolutely beautiful if you put the brakes on now. We believe Mr. Wessman is actually hoping that the project will fail and that is when he will make his real money. You all know what I am talking about. The man has not played fair with our unique city. Do NOT let him, or anyone else in a hurry, bully you into making a huge mistake. You can be the heros here. We urge you to be brave. Do the right thing. Go for it! i � i}iov�al M4iertal !J(o�llo A) Stop The Wessman wall— As currently requested, if approved, Wessman Development would build a wall of very tall buildings between Palm Canyon and the mountain. This will block the sun and the view forever and, of course, The Museum. The 89' hotel known as The Kimpton (already in construction), the requested Park Hotel 75'plus mechanicals, The already topped out hideous building on Block A known as "The West Elm Building" 53' plus mechanicals next to the Hyatt. This would create a wall stretching from Taqhuitz to Amado. We beg the Council to keep block B low. B) Add block B to "The Park" — This is an inspired idea which would create an open "park or plaza" from The Museum all the way to Palm Canyon, thus creating a veritable town square, which was the desire of the community in the original downtown "visioning sessions." It is a win/win for the City and for Wessman Development. Wessman could build his Park Hotel on the back of block A (behind the West Elm Building) which would have sweeping views of the park and the mountains on one side and the golf course and the mountains on the other side. All of his hotels, retail and residential developments would face a park and have visibility from Palm Canyon which would increase their desirability and value. C) Save the Town and Country . Any agreement must include a clause requiring Wessman Development to restore it should anything happen to it prior to it's restoration and adaptive reuse. D) Most importantly we urge the City to pause all further approvals until a proper master plan with all massing of the project are clearly understood and approved. Thank you for your serious consideration to these recommendations, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill Proud Palm Springs resident 914-649-6492 2 Cindy Berardi IECE►y From: Laurence Luckinbill <Ig11134@gmai1.com> 2015 DEC 31 Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2015 3:50 PM PN 4 1 p To: CityClerk; Lucie Luckinbill; David Zippel; hbmatzner@cbaol.com JA+`Ir S Subject: Re: The Wessman mess CITY CI.Ep:r Sorry, didn't sign my full name to the letter. Laurence Luckinbill. Ig11134Ca�gmail.com. 914 954 7104 On Thu, Dec 31, 2015 at 2:45 PM, Laurence Luckinbill <1K11134@cnnai1.com> wrote: Mr. Jay Thompson, City Clerk Mayor Moon City Council Members Dear Friends, My wife Lucie and I moved here recently from New York and Connecticut. After only a short stay, we decided that the Desert was so good and so sweet to live in that I re-named it The Dessert. We were urged by brokers and friends to settle in the mall-bound, more isolated-feeling towns further east. But we got the Spirit of this town somehow, and chose Palm Springs. We wanted its simple feel, its light, its feeling of dwelling directly IN the mountains that make this part of the world so special. We chose the village feel and physical beauty of this particular town because it's important to a civilized life, We were blown away by the clarity of vision of previous administrations and perhaps yours, to fill the town with casually stunning civic art at corners and nooks and along every major and minor crossroads. It is no ordinary place. I remind myself and you of the basic reasons why people want to be here in this town of simple beauty, based in the charm of a past era, because reason may be getting lost in the mess the Wessman Projects have brought to the re-vitalization table here. We--and many, many of us with voices that extend beyond the town--are opposed to the Wessman plan. The reasons are clear, if the solution is not. The Wessman plan is horrible. It will kill this town. Congestion? What has that word to do with what is important here? That's a word used by a corporate planner who doesn't understand or care about the real life of a city, someone crass in purpose and approach, whose obvious aim is to crowd the town with big, and quite ugly buildings, take the money and run--or whatever! I'm not a city planner, but I have lived all over the world and believe--and I hope you do--that people congregate where they are stimulated mentally, spiritually, visually and corporeally. Where they are treated as real living individuals, not as mere consumers, where their souls are refreshed and where they are proud to be citizens. The trend of filling downtowns with enormous boxes of whatever nature in hopes of bringing trade has failed. It's run its course. You have all seen the results in other places which have sacrificed everything to other "Wessmans" and done their bidding only to find that the new buildings are empty because the people won't come downtown anymore. Palm Springs is not "Anytown." If the Wessman plan continues as is, Palm Springs will look like West Palm Beach or downtown anywhere. And IT WONT WORK. The problems will remain--complicated further by white elephant eyesores looming over downtown, hiding the mountains, obliterating the deserts cape, and reminding everyone that this new City Council failed in its only purpose--to re-vitalize the city. I ain't blaming anyone. I ain't against anyone. I want to help. Palm Springs downtown need a new theater complex--not movie 2 theaters--playhouses where live shows of classic and contemporary power will bring people out in the evenings. It needs, in connection with theaters, a conservatory which will draw students of the arts from the entire area. It needs attractions like a Children's Museum, maybe a permanent outdoor circus like the seasonal Big Apple in Lincoln Center. A theme-based outdoor theater that dramatizes the rich history of this special place in the world. It needs bookstores. It needs, simply, places people can go to refresh their minds and spirits and yes, to stay and spend money--but the main thing to keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, is money and crowds are just that, but a city has a soul. A city has dreams. A city has beautiful secret nooks and parks and places for lovers, and students, and elderly people (like me!) who will feel welcome, and where it's easy to go downtown and sit awhile, maybe buy something beautiful, maybe just hang, because it feels so good to be with people who are not fighting their way through the parking horrors to get to the "Congestion" but are fulfilling their aim of becoming more human by dwelling HERE--instead of there. My friends, please, many, many of us out here are counting on you- -looking at you with new hopes--to save our fair city by your next decisions. In all of your hearts you know what to do: DREAM A BETTER CITY! Dare to dream the Palm Springs that will be celebrated around the world. Don't turn it into the backside of anywhere. Let us help you rebuild it into its better self!!! In the film, Field of Dreams, the money to build came, it followed the dream. And the people came--to PARTICIPATE in baseball--a beautiful American dream event if there ever was one. (I'm not suggesting to build a stadium! Just sayin'). Thanks for taking time to read this. I never write short. This is so important--so, GO LONG! Sincerely. 3 Larry Laurence Luckinbill 4 Hermosa Beach Office VC Amy Minteer C Phone: (310) 798-2400 Email Address: Fax: (310)798-2402 Chatten-Brown & Carstens LLP can@cbcearthlaw com San Diego Office 2200 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 318 Phone: (858) 999-0070 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 Direct Dial: Phone:(619) 940-4522 www.cbcearthlaw.com 310-798-2400 Ext. 3 December 31, 2015 By Email and US. Mail City Council City of Palm Springs 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92263 Re: Museum Market Plaza Specific Plan Update Honorable Councilmembers: On behalf of the Palm Springs Modern Committee, we write to express our support for the proposed revision of the Downtown Palm Springs Specific Plan (formerly the Museum Market Plaza Specific Plan) to eliminate the need for a roadway through Block K of the Specific Plan site and require a rehabilitation feasibility study and approval of a planned development district prior to the approval of a demolition permit for the National Register eligible Town & Country Center. Both the Traffic Impact Study Update and the 2015 Addendum to the Environmental Impact Report for the Specific Plan analyzed the elimination of the previously proposed roadway through the Town & Country Center and found that eliminating that roadway would have no negative impacts. Thus, we believe the proposed revisions, which allow for potential historic preservation while still providing the necessary circulation for downtown, are in the best interest of the City. After reviewing the December 2015 revisions to the Downtown Palm Springs Specific Plan, we do have a few suggestions for additional revisions that would eliminate several inconsistencies within the revised document and would further clarify that the feasibility of preservation must be independently assessed before demolition of the Town & Country Center would be allowed. 1) Page III-36, lines 1086-1089, states: "East-west connectivity is facilitated for both vehicles and pedestrians. Upgrading the streetscape of Andreas Road and introducing a new public street, ("Main Street'), that bisects Block K and continues through to the Palm Springs Art Palm Springs City Council December 31, 2015 Page 2 of 3 Museum will enhance connectivity to and from Section 14, as well as providing an opportunity to form several definitive intersections." We propose the following revision to this section, with additions underlined and deletions in strikeout, to clarify that extension of Main Street through Block K is not required: "East-west connectivity is facilitated for both vehicles and pedestrians. Upgrading the streetscape ofAndreas Road and extending Andreas Road across Palm Canyon Drive to Belardo Road an4 • '-��� o ti eet ('.Al iii u -eet') that biseets iee-k l and continues through !a Ae AffIm °gi-ing^ rt will enhance connectivity to and from Section 14, as well as providing an opportunity to form several definitive intersections." 2) Page III-38, Lines 1148-1153 states: "A visual link between Downtown Palm Springs and the Section 14 district immediately to the east should be achieved by the introduction of special street surface finishes to Indian Canyon Drive, at the intersection of the east end of Main Street extending through Block K." We propose this sentence be removed from the Specific Plan. 3) Page IV-6, Lines 1601-1603, states: "In addition, an 8 inch line will be extended in the new east-west street, between Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon." We propose the following addition to this sentence, to provide an alternative location for the proposed water line if Main Street does not extend through Block K: `'In addition, an 8 inch line will be extended in the new east-west street, between Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon, or adjacent to Block K if Main Street is not extended between Palm Canvon Drive and Indian Canvon Drive at the time Block is developed or rehabilitated." 4) Page V-6, Lines 1856-1860, states: "No permit for the demolition or substantial alteration of any portion of the Town and Country Center will be issued until (a) all discretionary entitlements consistent Palm Springs City Council December 31, 2015 Page 3 of 3 with the Specific Plan have been approved for the renovation or redevelopment of Blocks A through G; (b) building permits in furtherance of such renovation or redevelopment have been issued; and (c) substantial work consistent with such building permits has commenced on Blocks A through G." We propose the following addition to this section to clarify that demolition of the Town & Country Center should not be allowed if preservation is found to be feasible: "No permit for the demolition or substantial alteration of any portion of'the Town and Country Center will be issued until (a) all discretionary entitlements consistent with the Specific Plan have been approved for the renovation or redevelopment of Blocks A through G; (b) building permits in furtherance ofsuch renovation or redevelopment have been issued; (c) substantial work consistent with such building permits has commenced on Blocks A through G; and (d) the study feasibility ofpreservation has been prepared and a PDD has been approved for Block K. " The Palm Springs Modem Committee greatly appreciates the City Council's time, effort and careful consideration of the future of Downtown. With these few additional proposed changes, the revised Downtown Palm Springs Specific Plan will support a revitalized Downtown that we can all take pride in. Sincerely, Amy Minteer Attorney at Law cc: Flinn Fagg, AICP, Director of Planning Services Palm Springs Modem Committee �VJPC.A 4TcA, AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS .- TRIBAL COUNCIL aka JEFF L. GRUBBE CHAIRMAN • LARRY N. OLINGER VICE CHAIRMAN • VINCENT GONZALES III SECRETARY/TREASURER �C9H ANTHONY J.ANDREAS III MEMBER • REID D.MILANOVICH MEMBER January 4, 2016 HAND DELIVERED titi .l4v`� Mayor Robert Moon and City Council y CITY OF PALM SPRINGS 3200 Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, California 92262 RE: Museum Market Plaza Specific Plan Amendment and Final EIR Addendum No, 2 Dear Mayor and City Council, The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians ("Tribe") generally supports economic development efforts in downtown Palm Springs to ensure the continued vitality of an international destination. Consistent with that position, the Tribe is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Palm Springs and the Palm Springs Hospitality Association and is supportive of all efforts to improve the economic health of the City of Palm Springs. In fact, the Tribe originally prepared and recently updated the Section 14 Speck Plan in anticipation of increased density and high quality design as the foundation for the Tribe's long-term vision to make a major contribution to the economic health of both the Tribe and the City. The Tribal Council of the Ague Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is aware of the upcoming City Council study session this Wednesday to take public comment on an amendment to the Museum Market Plaza Specific Plan, Final EIR Addendum No. 2 and associated downtown development. The Tribal Council has not had an opportunity to review the Addendum nor any of the proposed changes to the Specific Plan and has no comment at this time. However, should the Tribe wish to weigh in on the Addendum, Specific Plan or the proposed downtown development, it will relay its comments to the City directly as it customarily does on a government-to-government basis. Please contact me should you have any questions at 760-699-6800. Very trul ours, Jeff L. be Chairman, Tribal Council AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS TC-115561-01-16 C: Thomas J. Davis, Chief Planning Officer /Ij i�iCIII 1 P r,4erlal 1-10— lip 5401 Dinah Shore Drive • Palm Springs,CA 92264 •P:760.699.6800•F:760.699,6919 •www.aguacaliente-nsn.gov I'm Robin Abrahams, a full-time resident here in Palm Springs. I'm also an architect and I serve on the Palm Springs Art Museum's Architecture and Design Council. I'm actually a HUGE supporter of development, but I mean appropriate development. I'm here today to express my concerns about the revisions to "The Museum Market Specific Plan". Earlier this week, I wrote a letter to the City Council and the Mayor, and I would like to include that letter in the public documents. I spent a good effort reviewing the proposed changes to the Specific Plan, and I also dug deeper and reviewed an earlier plan, "The City of Palm Springs Downtown Urban Design Plan" which was adopted by the City Council a decade ago. I was taken by the thoughtfulness of these efforts to lay the blueprint for a successful Palm Springs downtown. Sadly, the revisions proposed today do not embrace the urban design goals as set forth in these earlier plans. There is no need to revise the original document in a direction that decreases the success of the established goals. Let me give just a few examples: The revisions propose decreasing the width of a number of sidewalks, but to quote the original plan, the downtown goals are actually to: • "Improve street life + pedestrian experience." • and to make "wider sidewalks in between to facilitate pedestrian through-traffic." • and "sidewalks should provide ample room for concurrent uses. It is recommended that sidewalks in pedestrian areas have at least 10'for window shopping and pedestrian through-traffic, plus 10'for outdoor dining, plus 3'for landscape and shade trees." = 23' • The plan goes on to very specifically say that the "width of sidewalks should range from 12'to 18'or wider. The most important part of any public space is the sidewalk." Public gathering spaces and building heights and view corridors are also specifically clarified within these earlier plans. And I only have several minutes here, but we can learn much from these earlier plans and we should continue to follow the goals that were adopted, unless we as a community thoughtfully decide otherwise. Lastly, no specific accommodation for bicycle travel was established in the earlier plan, and then on Dec. 26th, 2013 the Active Transportation Plan was adopted by the state of California. These regulations mandate safety and promote bicycle and pedestrian movement. This is not only the RIGHT thing to do, but it is now the REQUIRED thing to do! I am inviting anyone interested in joining me to walk down some existing Palm Springs sidewalks....and I can show you a first-hand experience of walking down an 8'wide sidewalk that has been diminished to 4'wide with the adjacent landscape. I don't believe that this is the downtown city or village-scape that we want to make our Palm Springs. Please do not approve revisions to the Specific Plan that decrease the possibility of the success of our downtown. o1/om� Zd � � �t%KSif� l��SK-�+1f4'-'ls 1 Pon ■ . ■■■� Judy Deertrack 1333 South Belardo Road, Apt 510 Palm Springs, CA 92264 Wednesday, January 6, 2016 To the Honorable City Council Palm Springs, California RE: I.A. MUSEUM MARKET PLAZA SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT ("DOWNTOWN PALM SPRINGS SPECIFIC PLAW) AND FINAL EIR ADDENDUM NO. 2: RECOMMENDATION: Direct staff as appropriate. To the Honorable City Council: ARCHITECTURAL PERMITS: For years, the City of Palm Springs has violated rules of public transparency and avoided its state-mandated responsibilities to have hearings on land use entitlements under Specific Plans, by allowing all blocks except those with hotels to go forward as architectural permits alone, with the scope of review LIMITED to considerations of design; thus, avoiding (1) required public hearings; and (2) the necessary review of development standards and project compliance with the General Plan and Specific Plan; and (3) avoiding City Council deliberation where required by ordinance on Type ll Permits (Land Use Entitlement Permits); (4) misuse of the New Business designation on the Agenda under the Brown Act. These architectural permits (falsely functioning as land use entitlements for the Specific Plan) were placed on the agenda as New Business. In the meetings, either Planning Staff and/or Legal Council acting for the City directed the Planning Commission at certain points NOT to consider issues of height, and other development standards, that are required considerations for findings on a land use entitlement. Accordingly, the process has been fatally flawed for constitutional shortcomings, and should receive comprehensive review by the new City Council, since the entitlements may be void. -r-�M r .A• i uxy� 2 PROJECT INCONSISTENT WITH GENERAL AND SPECIFIC PLANS: This truncated (and possible illegal) mechanism of avoiding comprehensive land use review and deliberation was how the earlier City Council avoided the implications of systematically violating standards for parking, massing, height, density, set backs, open space, and the profound overuse of public subsidies in implementing the MMPSP. Now, the Specific Plan Amendment process is proposed as a way to "clean up" systemic violations — by simply conforming the plan to the non-conforming series of "entitlements" that have been pushed through in violation of Specific Plan and General Plan standards. It is fortunate that California State Law does not allow General Plan Amendments or Specific Plan Amendments to be amended in order to conform to non-conforming planning approvals. "The Planning and Zoning Law does not contemplate that general plans will be amended to conform to zoning ordinances. The tail does not wag the dog. The general plan is the charter to which the ordinance must conform." Lesher Communications, Inc. v. City of Walnut Creek, 52 Cal.3d 531 at 541 (1990). GOVERNMENT CODE 1090: A far more serious matter now confronts the new City Council. In April, 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney General, California Attorney General, and Riverside County District Attorney Offices, (and IRS) jointly raided City Hall under an ongoing investigation on whether certain developers, with entitlements pending or approved by the City, paid money to Mayor Steve Pougnet in violation of state and federal law. Indictments may or may not be issued. A cornerstone of that investigation is state law on conflicts of interest under Government Code 1090, which prohibits a City Council from deliberating upon or approving any contract (including land entitlements) during the period, and possibly following the period, that a member of that council is receiving monies or income as a result of an action or deliberation of a party seeking the entitlement. The first phase of the investigation has revealed Mr. Rich Meaney as a potential supplier of funds to Mayor Pougnet. It is also known that the developer of the Downtown Plan, Mr. Wessman, is a business partner of Mr. Meaney and may likewise be implicated. What has received far less scrutiny, with no good reason, is the income received by Mayor Pougnet from 2012 — 2015 from the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF). It is public knowledge that previous Mayor Pougnet received amounts estimated between $150,000 - $75,000 per year as a fundraiser. What may not have gotten the same scrutiny is the 1992 operations contract between the City of Palm Springs and PSIFF which prohibits any Palm Springs city official from receiving income from PSIFF (see attachment. The 1992 clause appears to have been incorporated into each of the subsequent ten amendments, and should apply today. 3 Mr. Wessman is a sitting Vice-President of PSIFF, and has been so during all of the years in question; namely, 2012 to present. Mr. Wessman is publicly reported to have had a substantial role and participated directly in the PSIFF decision to employ Mayor Pougnet, which might make him a party of interest in a potential GC 1090 assessment, as a person who has supplied income to Mayor Pougnet during the time his land entitlements were processed on the Downtown Plan. My public commentary does not attempt to reach conclusions. I want to notify the City Council that these issues require further evaluation from the City. I would wish to add that GC 1090 is a strict liability provision that implicates the entire City Council in the conflict; it is not a matter of recusal — and it may likewise apply to this new sitting council. Since the manual published by the California State Attorney General's office states that it is a potential felony for ANY member of the City Council to vote on a GC 1090 violation, once the conflict of interest is known -- and since the conflict of interest may extend BEYOND Mayor Pougnet's term, I deem it in the interest of the City Council to (1) suspend all pending actions on the Specific Plan Amendment and any entitlements; (2) seek the advice of appointed Special Council, going outside of any personnel who might be implicated in the earlier investigation, (3) consult with appropriate law enforcement agency personnel on how to proceed with any land entitlements that may be under investigation, and devise a cooperative strategy. With regard, Judy Deertrack ATTACHMENT: Excerpt from 1992 Contract J SENT SY:Xerox Telecopler 7021 c 4- 1-02 ;10:45AN 7 014 6189297701 p 8 litigation. All such fees shall be deemed to have accrued on commencement of such action and shall be enforceable whether or not such action is prosecuted to judgment. 8.0 CITY OPFICWS AND MoLOYBma: NON-DIscRnaNATION Mayor 8.1 Nen-liability of City Officara aaa �moloveag. No Pougnet's officer or employee of the City shall be personally liable to the Paymerni Festival, or any successor in interest, in the event of any default or breach by the City or for any amount whicb may become due to the Festival or to its successor, or for breach of any obligation of the terms of this Agreement. 8.2any finanai ,a". No officer or employee of the City shall have a.1 nterest, dirt or indirect, in this Agreement nor shall any such officer or employee participate in any A decision relating to the Agreement which effects his financial interest or the financial interest of any corporation, partnership or association in which be is, directly or indirectly, interested, in violation of any state statute or regulation. The Festival warrants that it has not paid or given and will not pay or give any third party any money or other consideration for obtaining this eement. 8.3 CovenantBsstiva1 covenants that, by .and for itself, is hairs, executors, assigns, and all Parsons claiming under or through them, that there shall be no discrimination against or segregation of, any person or group of persons on aaaount of race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, or ancestry in the performance of this Agreement. Festival shall take affirmative action to insure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their Taos, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, or ancestry. 9.0 xISCHILANwas PROvioxoNs 9.1 Ngties• Any notice, demand, request, document, consent, approval, or communication either party desires or is reguired to give to the other party or any other person shall be in writing and either served personally or sent by prepaid, first-class mail, in the case of the City, to the City Manager and to the attention of the Contraot Officer, CITY of pmx sPRMs, P.O. Box 2743, Palm Springs, California 92263, and in the ones of the Festival, to the person at the address designated on the execution page of this Agreement. Either party may change its address by notifying the other party of the change of address in writing. Notice shall be deemed communicated at the time gp/dmr\vpfileslpsp-genlfilagrl e