HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/1/2004 - STAFF REPORTS (5) October 27, 2004
City of Palm Springs, Planning Commission
Palm Springs City Hall
3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way
Palm Springs, CA 92262
RE: Case # TTM31104/5.1012PD300 THE SPANISH INN 650 NORTH INDIAN CANYON
Planning Council Members and Palm Springs Planning Staff:
I am Catherine McMillan, living at 330 Valmonte Norte Palm Springs, for more than thirty years.
My house sits across the very narrow street of Via Chica, separating my residential property from
the back side of the Spanish Inn Hotel.
For many years,this hotel was a very beautiful property, with the hotel buildings and entrance on
Indian Canyon, and additional buildings on the side streets of Granvia Valmonte and Via
Altamira. From the back of the hotel, on Via Chica, the beautiful grounds were visible from the
street, with a very large pool and lovely landscaped areas and tiled walking paths.
For many years now, with some past owners, along the current owners, this hotel's buildings and
the grounds became neglected, overgrown and in a state of disrepair. I brought my concerns to
the city many times during these past years, concerned with fire hazards from the dead
landscaping and trash covered grounds, and the eyesore of crumbling buildings. There has been
some repair and cleanup work during the past couple of years, but largely this properly is in poor
condition.
I have attended a couple of meetings held at city meeting rooms that showed plans for the hotel's
rehab,to neighbors living in "The Movie Colony" area. Because I live across the street from the
back side of the hotel,I will be badly impacted by these proposed plans.
I do not want to have condos built on top of an underground garage, which the owners are
planning for the area where the hotel pool and grounds are located, at the back of the property on
Via Chica. The plans being presented show this new multi story construction to be just a few
feet from my property with little to no setback from the little residential street. This plan will
cause me to have a serious loss of privacy, with condos able to look down into my backyard, and
the garage will cause serious disturbances for me and to the residential neighborhood,with the
entrance and exit for the garage on Via Chica, a few feet from my property.
With the current proposals now being considered for the neighborhood, of closing the two streets
on each side of the Spanish Inn to through traffic, using Via Chica for access to this underground
parking structure could bring over fifty additional cars to drive through this old historical
neighborhood, with its narrow and winding roads. I do not want to see this happen. If you do
approve the underground parking for the Spanish Inn, please consider garage access on Via
Altimira or on Granvia Valmonte
I would like to see this property rehabilitated to continue as a hotel,which was, in essence, an
example of the "old Palm Springs" mystique. I do not think that this residential neighborhood is
suited for this multifamily condo project, and I believe that the plans as presented will cause
health and safety issues for the immediate "Old Movie Colony" neighborhood, and lower
property values for the area.
Thank you for considering my concerns about the proposed plans submitted by the owners of the
Spanish Inn, and the impact that these plans can have on this neighborhood and the future image
of the Palm Springs village identity.
Catherine McMillan, owner
330 Valmonte Norte
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 325-9209