HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/20/2004 - STAFF REPORTS To the City Council, City General Plan Committee, and Community Organizations:
In response to rampant, uncontrolled development in our small resort tourist-town of
45,000 locals, most of whom are concerned as to this impact on their lives, lifestyles,
and livelihoods, we propose the following:
1. All landowners are to be responsible for Environmental Impact Reports and/or
Studies, BEFORE a developer puts pen to paper. And it must be a reputable,
unbiased EIR. (The Palm Hills development's EIR was challenged as highly
questionable.)This will save shareholders (the City and its citizens) and
developers, time and money. What a concept! The horse before the cart. We
have to know if the slab can be poured before the doorknobs are designed. The
landowners are responsible, if they wish their property developed.
2. We are not anti-development, we are very pro-development—when it benefits
local businesses and residents. Thus, a developer must provide a Fiscal Impact
Report(FIR) on the effect of the development BEFORE any approvals can be
given, Case in point—the massive Wal-Mart project. Wal-Mart, known for its
devastation of local businesses. Attention must be given to local infrastructure--
restaurants and shops downtown have been complaining for years about the
sewage smells that drive customers away and that have never been addressed.
City is under-staffed. We want to help, We have a wealth of talent and expertise
to call upon in this city—we can help with the City's General Plan. We want to be
sure that current regulations are not overwhelmed by applications for Planned
Unit Developments. These PUDs (or PDDs--Planned Density Developments),
have been used to excess to circumvent the current regulations in the City
General Plan. It is unconscionable that this City is destroyed by a high-density
"Anaheim, CA" mentality, rather than glorified with a destination resort, "Aspen,
CO", mentality. AND we would like to have projects reviewed by the community
BEFORE they come to a vote, not AS they come to a vote. This verges on
"illegal
3. Unless one has been in a coma for the past decade, WATER is the greatest
issue facing the planet today. We have been in over-draft for years, and nobody
knows it. Laws, from 1961 and 2001, require the assurance of a long-term water
supply. And nobody knows it. This is in major, recent,jeopardy due to the theft of
our pure water replenishment source by the Nestle Corporation (which bought
Perrier, which bought Arrowhead). Not a lot of people know that either. The DWA
has assured the City it has enough water to supply"full build-out". That is, if you
are willing to pay part of the 700 MILLION dollar pipeline from P.S. to San
Bernadino and Sacramento, both of which are in Phase 2 water alert, and are
known to be contaminated, and saline, Colorado River water. Thus, we are to
replace our pure water for poor water at great expense! WHAT ARE YOU
THINKING?I It is the job of city managers to research and to know the facts, and
to make informed decisions, and to join in fighting the theft of our resources.
4. And, please, do not sell our one asset it has taken years to attain—the
wastewater treatment facility. Today's biological and mechanical means of
treating wastewater makes moneyl!! While we're at it, why isn't every new
building required to get off the grid and go solar? Especially now. This is a way to
save the price of oil, gas and utilities, and we have sun in abundance! We
should be thinking of the national interests, as well as local interests, and set an
example. Doesn't anyone remember being at the mercy of Enron, Dynenergy,
and El Paso Gas? Do you not remember that our uitilities tripled in cost? Didn't
this have a devastating effect on our hospitals and care facilities?
5. Why do we not re-create our"Great White Way" of Palm Canyon? There is a
Myth (or lie) that we need a vast population to sustain our local businesses. This
is cample128 false. The recent$60,000 demographics report, paid for by the
penny-counting City for developer Wessman, was skewed and completely
backwards. We did not have half our current population when we saw a celebrity
in every restaurant, and would catch Loretta Young in the See's Candy Store, or
Frank at the Ingleside Inn, There are cultural festivals, spas, nature tours,
furnishings, great boutique hotels, and restaurants to promote to the visitors (if
we ever ran our loser Convention Center as well as they run the Riviera Resort
conventions!). You need good bait And good management_
6. We voted in a new City Council to promote Smart Development and to stop the
overwhelming urban blight projects that have been foisted upon us_ Already, The
Cove has destroyed the entry drive to our resort with its mess and unsightly, out-
of-place, freeway wall, which obliderates the view of Blaisedale Canyon_ Did
Palm Springs object to the County? Mountain Gate is urban blight tract
development right at the entrance to our town. (See the attached photo, if anyone
wants to know what tract-crap is. Used to be known in polite circles as "clap-
trap") Hopefully, we can fix some of these eyesores.
7. And now, the City proposes to destroy the entire pristine Chino Canyon (stop
calling it the "Cone", you Coneheads!) and its world-famous Tram views with
more of this mundane, urban blight, that everyone is striving to escape) It is
obvious, by the Herculean effort, and the inherent indictment by many individuals
and groups, to put initiatives and referendums on the ballot, that the ideal life in
Palm Springs is threatened by the City's managers' incompetency, lack of history
and lack of vision. There are groups against Wal-Mart's Super Center, Section
14, Palm Hills, The Boulders, The Crescendo, etc., etc., etcetera. The reason
Palm Hills and Chino Canyon developments have been fought against by the
citizens of many generations in this town, is because they are too valuable to be
destroyed. DUH! Is this living up to your fiduciary duties?
8. And finally, we are not opposed to change. Particularly, when it frames, restores
and enhances our very fine assets. If this Council and its advisors cannot"GET
IT",we are all in favor of that re-discovered tool for change, the Recall. Or even,
the ever-popular lawsuit. Maybe then, they'll "get it". And we'll get city managers
that do get it
Dana L. Stewart and James F. McKinley
2280 N. Girasol Avenue
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 864-4181
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