One PS - March 2024 Meeting
Vista Las Palmas Neighbors Foundation One PS Meeting
ONE-PS March 2024 Meeting
Greetings neighbors,
The ONE-PS meeting was held Tuesday afternoon, March 12th at the Palm Springs Police Training Center. Your neighborhood rep from Vista Las Palmas was present virtually.
Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein – City recently very busy – Black History Month, Modernism Week, International Film Festival and grand opening & ribbon cutting ceremony for the much anticipated Navigation Center. No walk-ins or drop-ins are allowed. Homeless must first register at the Access Center (old Boxing Club across the street from the airport.) Modular homes will be added later. Certain number of beds are set aside for transitional youth (ages 18-24 years old), families and people brought in by PSPD.
Pillars Art project along Tahquitz Canyon (6 pieces of art) will commence shortly. City in process of purchasing land @ Indian Trail and Palm Canyon so a roundabout/rotary may be constructed. Design phase commences around March 25th. That area near Sunny Dunes is challenging from a traffic standpoint.
Sixty units of affordable housing @ Indian Trail & San Raphael (Monarch) have opened; residents are moving in. Senior affordable housing (Aloe, previously known as Agave) @ the southwest corner of W Stevens & N Palm Canyon is under construction. It is expected to bring 71 units for seniors. 45 unit condo complex project planned at Graffiti Park downtown asking for a lengthy 6 year extension so they can shore up their finances.
Moratorium on new cannabis licenses for 4 years. Palm Springs lowered city tax from 10% to 5% to align with other Coachella Valley communities. Presently there are 36 cannabis licenses. City “will see how this shakes out.”
Will receive mid-year budget update. Most revenue comes in 2nd half of fiscal year (which runs from July 1st to June 30th.) City will begin process to develop area in North Palm Springs (adjacent to I-10) that was originally slated to house the new College of The Desert campus. City will seek community input as to what to do with the land. In addition, City will seek community input from D2 neighborhoods Little Tuscany & Racquet Club regarding development in their district. Similarly, City seeking input regarding S Palm Canyon area.
Applications for Palm Springs Board & Commissions due April 30th. Lots of openings. Get involved! Terms start July 1st.
City Manager Scott Stiles – Talked about the Navigation Center opening. 39 people have been offered shelter and wrap around services. Goal is to get them into permanent housing. The Palm Springs homeless count has dropped from 275+ one year ago to approximately 150 people now. Mr. Stiles attributed the success to the partnership among county, state and federal agencies. “It takes a village” approach.
The Vista Chino bridge project is approximately 65% through the design phase. Project is wrapping up its environmental review. Construction is slated to begin in 2026. The $95M+ project is federally funded. There are currently SIX Palm Springs bridge projects.
PSPD & PSFD – Lt. Mike Villegas & Fire Chief Paul Alvarado:
PSPD hosted several town halls throughout the city. Panhandling on traffic medians is illegal; it is against state law. Shootings in North Palm Springs were up after a respite. Most shootings were gang related. (One shooting was not.) Increased graffiti as well, but it is not gang related.
There will be 55 beds at the new Navigation Center exclusively for PS homeless. Project Relentless Sun has transitioned to Operation Restore Hope. With the opening of the Navigation Center, the City will be able to refer homeless services (details on engagepalmsprings.com).
Recent fire @ Rimrock shopping plaza was undetermined. Believed to be caused by an electrical failure – not homeless. On the other hand, the recent Elks Lodge fire on the Palm Springs- Cathedral City border deemed to be caused by homeless inhabitants. Three people died in the incident; one was injured. The lodge is a total loss.
Saturday morning March 30th there will be an Easter egg hunt @ Ruth Hardy Park for children. May 8th there will be disaster training drill at PSP Airport.
Office of Neighborhoods, Manager Denise Goolsby & Communications Officer Amy Blaisdell gave a walkthrough of Palm Springs’ new website engagepalmsprings.com The website is a great resource about various City projects like Measure J, bridge projects, road closures/re-open, street pavement schedules, Navigation Center, Library Renovation, affordable housing, Plaza Theater, PSP Airport etc. Rather than calling or emailing City personnel to inquire about project statuses, these more popular items provide current information. Comments/suggestions about the new website are welcomed. The website is constantly evolving and being refined.
The 15th Annual ONE-PS Picnic will be Saturday, March 23rd from 11am to 2pm. There will be free lunch and many neighborhood and city groups. There will also be fun events for dog owners. The PS Library will have architects on hand to answer questions about the library remodel. Come out and meet your Palm Springs neighbors and officials! Later that afternoon, (from 2:30 pm to 4pm) the PS Art Museum will host the unveiling of Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House Exhibit. It was recently listed by Architectural Record as one of the most important buildings completed worldwide in the past 125 years.