HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-09-10MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1998
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I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Benson convened the meeting at 4:06 p.m.
H. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Councilman Jim Ferguson
III. INVOCATION - Mayor Jean Benson
IV. ROLL CALL
Present:
Councilman Buford A. Crites arrived at 4:08 p.m.
Councilman Jim Ferguson
Councilman Richard S. Kelly
Mayor Pro-Tempore Robert A. Spiegel
Mayor Jean M. Benson
Also Present:
Ramon A. Diaz, City Manager
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
Sheila R. Gilligan, Director of Community Affairs/City Clerk
Richard J. Folkers, ACM/Director of Public Works
Patrick Conlon, Director of Building & Safety
Phil Drell, Director of Community Development
Paul S. Gibson, Director of Finance/City Treasurer
David Yrigoyen, Redevelopment Agency Manager
Teresa LaRocca, Housing Manager
Dennis Coleman, RDA Finance Manager
Hart Ponder, Jr., Code Compliance Supervisor
Rachelle D. Klassen, Deputy City Clerk
V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - A
None
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1998
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VI. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. MINUTES of the Regular City Council Meeting of August 27, 1998.
Rec: Approve as presented.
B. CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE CITY TREASURY - Warrant Nos. 13, 14, and
13PD Office Complex .
Rec: Approve as presented.
C. APPLICATION FOR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE for KC' Mini Market & Deli,
Inc., 42-005 Cook Street #110, Palm Desert.
Rec: Receive and file.
D. MINUTES of the Promotion Committee Meetings of May 19, and June 16, 1998.
Rec: Receive and file.
E. MINUTES of the Public Safety Commission Meeting of August 5, 1998.
Rec: Receive and file.
F. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION to Purchase Air Compressor.
Rec: By Minute Motion, authorize the purchase of an air compressor for the Corporation
Yard in an amount not to exceed $13,000.00 -- funds are available in Account
No. 110-4310-433-4045.
G. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL of Change Order No. 1 to Contract for Engineering Design of
Highway 111 and San Pablo Avenue Intersection Improvements.
Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Approve Change Order No. 1 to Contract No. C12330 with
Robert Bein, William Frost and Associates in the amount of $6,250.00 (Project
No. 634-97); 2) authorize the transfer of funds from contingency to base from the
Project Account No. 213-4342-433-4001.
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H. REQUEST FOR APPRQMAI, of Change Order No. 1 to Contract for Engineering Design of
Highway 111 and Highway 74 Intersection Improvements.
Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Approve Change Order No. 1 to Contract No. C12360 with
Robert Bein, William Frost and Associates in the amount of $15,550.00 for additional
engineering design services of the subject intersection; 2) authorize the transfer of
funds from contingency to base in the amount of $6,620.00 from the Project
Account No. 213-4387-433-4001; 3) authorize the appropriation of funds in the
amount of $8,930.00 from Unobligated Measure "A" Funds to the Project Account
No. 213-4387-433-4001.
I. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL, of Amendment to Agreement with the County of Riverside for
Funding Two Part -Time Positions for the Palm Desert Library (Contract No. C14161).
Rec: By Minute Motion, approve the subject agreement amendment with the County of
Riverside and authorize the Mayor to execute same.
J. REQUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE OF WORK for the 1997 Slurry Seal Program - Phase II
(Contract No. C12350, Project No. 751-97) (California Pavement Maintenance).
Rec: By Minute Motion, accept the work as complete and authorize the City Clerk to file
a Notice of Completion for the subject project.
K. CONSIDERATION of Public Service Easement Abandonment - Palm Desert Unit No. 3.
Rec: Waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 98-104 setting a public hearing to
consider the abandonment request.
L. CONSIDERATION of Street Name Change for a Portion of Verba Santa Drive on the West
Side of Highway 74.
Rec: Waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 98-105 setting a public hearing to
consider the subject street name change.
M. CONSIDERATION of Request from USTA Men's Professional Satellite Tournament to be Held
at Shadow Mountain Resort.
Rec: By Minute Motion, ratify the recommendation of the City Council -appointed
subcommittee to appropriate $12,500.00 for the purpose of sponsoring a "Kid's
Tennis Carnival" to be held September 25, 1998.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1998
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Upon a motion by Spiegel, second by Kelly, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented by a
unanimous vote of the City Council. Councilman Ferguson abstained from voting on Item A of the Consent
Calendar due to his absence from the meeting of August 27, 1998.
VII. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER
None
VIII. RESOLUTIONS
A. RESOLUTION NO. 98-106 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE COUNTY AUDITOR TO ASSESS
PROPERTY FOR COST OF NUISANCE ABATEMENT PURSUANT TO
SECTION 2.20.140 OF THE PALM DESERT MUNICIPAL CODE (74-095 Goleta Avenue).
Mr. Ponder reported that the subject resolution resulted from the complaints of neighbors who
alleged a large amount of junk, trash, and a stagnant swimming pool on private property. He
said numerous attempts were made to have the owner correct the problem to no avail; therefore,
staff stepped in. He stated that after the property owner was billed for the nuisance abatement
and no remittance was received, staff took appropriate steps to place a lien on the property.
He noted pictures submitted with the staff report which emphasized the need for this process.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel asked how the problem of the stagnant pool was corrected.
Mr. Ponder responded that they had Vector Control assess the situation, they put the proper
type of fish into the water to eat the mosquitoes, and then the pool was drained.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 98-106.
Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by unanimous vote.
B. RESOLUTION NO. 98-107 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING CHANGES IN CONNECTION WITH
ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 94-1 (BIGHORN).
Mr. Coleman stated the subject resolution authorized changes in Assessment District No. 94-1
(Bighorn) as they pertained to the Series B bonds. He said the Engineer's Report was done in
1994, and there were sometimes modifications after the final pricing. He stated the resolutions
brought before the Council at the last meeting did not ask for modification authorization; the
subject item allowed the City Manager and/or the Director of Finance to authorize modifications
to the Engineer's Report which spread the assessments so long as the costs do not increase.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 98-107.
Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by unanimous vote of the City Council.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1998
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IX. ORDINANCES
For Introduction:
A. ORDINANCE NO. 885 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 861 CREATING A
HOUSING COMMISSION PURSUANT TO THE HOUSING AUTHORITIES LAW.
Ms. LaRocca stated the subject ordinance was drafted so that the Housing Commission terms
of office complied with the City's Resolution No. 98-22 pertaining to terms of office for all
committee and commission members. Therefore, she said the terms of office for at -large
members of the Housing Commission would be changed from two years to four years, with
terms of office for the resident members remaining two years.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to waive further reading and pass Ordinance No. 885 to second
reading. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by unanimous vote.
B. ORDINANCE NO. 886 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CHAPTER 9.52 TO THE PALM DESERT
MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO THE CONVERSION OF MOBILE HOME PARKS
TO OTHER USES.
Ms. LaRocca stated the purpose of this ordinance was to enable the City to carry out the
requirements of Civil Code Section 798 and Government Code Section 65863.7 and 66427.4,
which authorized the local jurisdiction to impose reasonable measures to mitigate the adverse
impact on the displacement of mobile home residents when a mobile home park closed or
converted to another use by requiring preparation and review of a relocation impact report. She
said the ordinance set out a procedure by which the Community Development Department
would review the impact report and negotiate mitigating measures should they be necessary.
MR. CHARLES PRAWDZIK, 75-780 Temple Lane, Palm Desert, stated he wished to
comment on the proposed ordinance that it was premature and introduced without much
maturation of the substance therein. He said Government Code 66427.4 talked about the
standards for mobile home conversion and specifically stated that the standards as proposed by
the Government Codes were minimum standards, the local agency could create more stringent
standards. He said as he read the ordinance, he found that the proposed standards were less
stringent with less provisions than appeared in the State Code. He addressed the subject
ordinance because conversion was a reality, a practicality-- many years ago when there was
quite a bit of desert, mobile home parks were built. He said today two of the three parks in the
City of Palm Desert were right next to Bighorn, and with all practicality if the land were naked,
it would be worth far more for high value homes than it received in earnings from a mobile
home park. He urged the Council to treat its senior citizens at least as well as it treated the
endangered species of the Bighorn or the Fringe -Toed Lizards-- he said seniors were the
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residents who came into the City before the Marriott and before the golf courses; duties to them
should not be shrugged off. He said he represented the majority of mobile home tenants in
Palm Desert and added that he was facing a large problem in the City of Palm Springs with the
conversion of a large mobile home park there. He added that the landowner was proposing
every loophole possible in the various rent control ordinances providing for relocation
allowances, etc. and every loophole available in the State law resulting in a substantial economic
impact to the existing tenants. He implored the Council to return the ordinance to staff. He
said he found that staff had not talked to the tenants nor park owners and believed that a more
serious discussion should occur which would result in a better -drafted ordinance to bring back
to the Council.
Councilman Ferguson asked how Mr. Prawdzik represented a majority of the mobile home
owners in Palm Desert.
MR. PRAWDZIK stated he was an attorney who performed a great deal of pro bono work since
many mobile home residents could not afford an attorney.
Councilman Ferguson asked if Mr. Prawdzik had provided his legal analysis to Palm Desert's
City Attorney.
MR. PRAWDZIK said he had no prior knowledge that the subject ordinance was being
promulgated until he read it in yesterday's newspaper as an agenda item.
Councilman Ferguson said he wished to point out one inaccuracy in that the subject ordinance
was actually promulgated by a number of residents of the Silver Spur Mobile Home Park who
urged the Council to adopt what was known as the "Westminster Ordinance." He understood
after review by the City Attorney that it was scaled back by constitutional limitations only, and
that it was seen as an ordinance promulgated by mobile home tenants, not by park owners or
an innocuous staff.
MR. PRAWDZIK said he understood, and added this was also stated in Ms. LaRocca's staff
report. However, he said although it was requested by mobile home tenants, it was requested
out of their fears that he had previously related. He said this was an issue that should not be
picked out of some other city's ordinance. He added that the City's Rent Control Ordinance
was currently the subject of numerous litigious cases due to what he felt was poor drafting. He
urged the Council not to let this matter apply likewise.
Councilman Crites moved to continue the matter for one month and asked Mr. Prawdzik to provide
his input to staff and to provide a critique of the proposed ordinance that could accompany a staff report
unless common ground was found.
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— Councilman Ferguson said he would like to see the ordinance considered by the Rent Review
Commission with their comment back to the Council since they were the body who dealt with
the plight of the mobile home tenant.
Councilman Crites amended his motion to include direction that the Rent Review Commission
consider the proposed ordinance and make recommendation back to the Council. Motion was seconded by
Kelly.
Mayor Benson stated that the proposed ordinance had been before the Housing Advisory
Committee when Silver Spur first made its request, and it was reviewed by Best, Best & Krieger
in order to tailor it to the needs of Palm Desert residents. She added that Silver Spur residents
had received a copy of the redrafted ordinance, and that she was not opposed to further
modification.
Councilman Ferguson asked Mr. Prawdzik, in light of the given motion, if he was able to
provide his legal comments for the City Attorney within this time frame.
MR. PRAWDZIK said he would be happy to do so and would also include a copy of a
comprehensive report submitted to the City of Palm Springs. He added he would be happy to
work with the Housing Department as well.
The motion carried by unanimous vote.
C. ORDINANCE NO. 887 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING THE PROCEDURE FOR
PREFERENTIAL PARKING DISTRICTS WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL ZONE IN THE CITY
OF PALM DESERT.
Mr. Ponder stated that the proposed ordinance resulted from a condition recently presenting
itself in the City-- motor vehicle parking congestion by non-residents and people who had no
contact with the residents of our neighborhood streets. He said the subject preferential permit
program established a means to obtain the consensus of a neighborhood to determine if a
problem existed. He said the program would be managed in conjunction with the Streets
Department and other key staff to evaluate whether a preferential parking program would be
effective. He said one area identified with this concern was adjacent to College of The Desert
where Street Fair patrons parked on neighboring streets and walked over to the campus.
Additionally, he said this problem occurred on Wingfoot Drive off of Fairway Drive, and
Borrego Drive off of Cook Street with gardeners of the Vintage Club parking their vehicles on
these residential streets, walking to their job, and residents were complaining of oil drippings,
etc. during the day.
Councilman Crites asked if the Vintage Club had been alerted to this situation.
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Mr. Ponder said that Code Compliance Department staff had made informal attempts to discuss
the issue; however, the Vintage did not have the capacity nor did it want gardeners' vehicles
parked in the area.
Mayor Benson commented that this problem had been previously experienced on Portola
Avenue.
Mr. Ponder went on to say that the City could not influence their parking regulations, but it
could help preserve the residential character of its own neighborhoods.
Councilman Crites suggested the Vintage close its entrance on Portola Avenue.
Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether other cities had such an ordinance and
if it was hard to enforce, Mr. Ponder responded that Pasadena and Sacramento both had this
type of a program, it was not difficult to enforce as it fell in line with other parking
enforcement, and he proposed the subject program would be handled the same way in the City
of Palm Desert through its parking program.
Councilman Kelly stated he had seen enforcement of the program in Sacramento. He said that
school started in the neighborhood where his daughter lived, and he witnessed the meter maid
writing tickets to violators of their ordinance.
Councilman Crites said that while he had no problem giving the program a try realizing the
Vintage had no interest in gardeners parking nearby, he thought this program may only serve
to relocate the problem in another neighborhood.
Mr. Ponder agreed. He said when talking about the Vintage Club parking, this was just one
example of a formal method to evaluate problem for a possible ordinance. He noted Item No. 4
of the staff report regarding determination stating there must be no reasonable alternative which
was feasible or practical to eliminate the problem. He said the City would not rush in and say
it had the answer, all other means would be explored before the preferential parking program
was implemented as a last resort.
Councilman Kelly was concerned by Item No. 8 of the staff report regarding enforcement which
suggested signs, markings, and/or meters. He was opposed to the use of meters and asked that
their reference be deleted from the program.
Mr. Ponder said there would be no meters. He added the idea was included merely to cover
all bases.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel concurred and stated that the City did not have meters nor did it
want meters.
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— Councilman Ferguson said he understood that this ordinance did not create any such program,
it simply conferred jurisdiction on the Public Safety Commission to consider a petition by the
residents to implement such a program, and only at such time as a petition was received and
approved by the Commission would a Preferential Parking System be implemented.
Mr. Ponder said this was correct.
Councilman Ferguson said he would like the Public Safety Commission to have an opportunity
to review the proposed ordinance, adding that it was not against the law to park on a public
street. He felt this program addressed the issue when no parking was available for residents,
then there was a problem-- not simply because some gainfully employed individuals chose to
park their vehicles on a City street in Palm Desert. He asked if this was the case, or if
consideration was being given to banning parking by anyone on a residential street other than
a resident of that street.
Mr. Ponder replied that included in the ordinance was provision for residents and their family
members for special occasions to easily obtain permits necessary to park on the street. He
added this would just be designated for possibly certain days or certain hours of the day where
an outside source was adversely affecting a residential zone.
— Mr. Ponder said Councilman Ferguson was correct in the example he gave for restriction of
residential parking on Saturdays and Sundays during the season between the hours of 6:00 a.m.
and 2:00 p.m. when residential streets experienced the most adverse impact. He added for the
benefit of Councilman Kelly that the word "meter" was not referenced within the proposed
ordinance, it was only mentioned in the staff report.
Mayor Benson suggested calling upon Indian Wells' Mayor to inform him of the problem with
the Vintage, since the problem had been eliminated on Portola but now they were parking in
the neighborhood instead. She said perhaps a empty lot could be identified for the gardeners.
Councilman Ferguson commented that Palm Desert might get a similar call from Riverside
County since Bighorn employees park on Cahuilla Way in an empty lot behind Silver Spur. He
said the issue of employee parking should possibly be addressed in the future when large
developments, such as The Canyons, were considered.
Mayor Benson said the Vintage had a lot on the end where they kept their equipment, and when
the City suggested it be utilized for employee parking, they responded that they did not want
to clutter it with cars. Therefore, she felt it should be called to their attention again since Palm
Desert was having this problem.
Mr. Diaz stated Indian Wells would be called upon about the various issues involved. He said
staff requested introduction of this ordinance, holding the second reading until review and
comment by the Public Safety Commission.
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Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel asked whether comments of the affected residents would be sought.
Mr. Diaz replied that no resident would be affected until following the hearing process; the
residents would be coming to the City to request this program, and the hearing process would
begin.
Mr. Ponder said a survey would be taken of everyone involved, once assembled it would go to
the Public Safety Commission with the criteria, only upon the Commission's recommendation
would the boundaries be set, and then the residents would again be contacted for their
concurrence.
Mr. Diaz stated specifics of the entire program from start to finish could be attached to the
ordinance for review by the Public Safety Commission.
Upon question by Councilman Ferguson as to whether or not the ordinance would need
reintroduction if changes were made by the Public Safety Commission, Mr. Erwin responded
that if changes were merely clerical, the ordinance would not need reintroduction; it would if
the changes were substantive, adding that the changes for this type of procedural framework
would probably be substantive.
Mayor Pro-Tempore moved to waive further reading and pass Ordinance No. 887 to second reading
conditioned upon the findings of the Public Safety Commission. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried
by unanimous vote.
For Adoption:
A. ORDINANCE NO. _878 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, RESCINDING ORDINANCE NOS. 702, 716, AND 803,
AND AMENDING SECTION 10.36.010 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATIVE TO
ESTABLISHING SPEED ZONES (Country Club Drive).
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to waive further reading and adopt Ordinance No. 878. Motion
was seconded by Benson and carried by a 4-1 vote with Councilman Kelly voting NO.
X. NEW BUSINESS
A. CONSIDERATION OF CONTRACT NO. C14830 WITH THE PALM DESERT CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE FOR OFFICE SPACE.
Mr. Diaz stated the proposal before Council represented much arduous thought by
Mrs. Gilligan.
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Mrs. Gilligan said the report outlined staffs recommendation for the points of negotiation with
the Chamber in order to bring back a contract for approval. She stated staff needed to move
forward in relocating the Chamber to the Office Complex so there would be time to refurbish
the Visitor's Center prior to the City's taking it over. She added that the City would not be able
to be in by October 1 at this point, staff now recommended it would be operational by
November 1.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel said a meeting with Chamber representatives was planned for
Friday morning, September 11, at 9:00 a.m. to review the points of negotiation.
Mrs. Gilligan said staff requested Council's concurrence with the points in the report, or to
make additions or deletions therefrom so that following tomorrow's meeting, staff would have
the authority to have the City Attorney draft an agreement. She said in the past, a
subcommittee had negotiated agreements subject to Council's direction.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel stated that since this was such a different situation, relocating the
Chamber, etc., he recommended the matter be brought back to the Council at its next meeting,
following the meeting with Chamber representatives Friday.
Upon question by Councilman Crites as to whether the report contained issues and amounts that
were the recommendations of the City Clerk and the City Manager, Mrs. Gilligan stated this
was correct.
Mrs. Gilligan added that Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel had been involved in the process, as well.
Councilman Crites moved to, by Minute Motion, confer authority within the parameters set forth in
the staff report dated September 10, 1998, for staff to negotiate the points of an agreement between the City
of Palm Desert and the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce for office space at the Parkview Office
Complex. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote.
B. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE AND CALL FOR BIDS FOR THE
I-10 CORRIDOR BEAUTIFICATION AT MONTEREY AVENUE, COOK STREET, AND
WASHINGTON STREET INTERCHANGES (CONTRACT NO. C14840, PROJECT
NO. 586-98).
Mr. Folkers stated the subject item resulted from task force work with Jerry Clark as the lead
person, Lisa Constande, John Nagus, Eric Johnson, and others who had been involved in
establishing this program. He added that efforts would be concentrated at Monterey and I-10,
and once that was designed, efforts would be made at Cook Street followed by Washington
Street.
Upon question by Councilman Ferguson regarding the source of the $200,000.00 for the model
project, Mr. Folkers responded that funding was available in the City budget for this project.
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Councilman Kelly said he thought funds would be coming out of the account that had been used
when the interchanges were constructed.
Mr. Folkers replied this was not the case. He added that staff had received funds from CVAG
for preparing the design.
Upon question by Councilman Kelly whether a landscaping grant was received, Mr. Folkers
said the City had not yet received a grant; it was trying to obtain funding through the T-21
Program.
Councilman Kelly recalled funding approved through RCTC for the Coachella Valley to
landscape three interchanges.
Mr. Folkers said that while staff would like to proceed with the project, he would obtain further
documentation for Council.
Councilman Ferguson suggested the City await word on the grant application prior to spending
its own money.
Mayor Benson asked for more detail of the proposed work to be completed.
Mr. Folkers stated there would be tree wells with palm trees, some decorative work down the
sides of the interchange, etc.
Councilman Crites moved to continue the matter to the 7:00 p.m. portion of the meeting to allow staff
time to bring the requested information back to the Council tonight in order to proceed with the project.
Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote of the City Council.
Following Item XV, Awards, Presentations, and Appointments, and Item XVI, Public Hearings,
additional discussion regarding the subject item occurred.
Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether more information was available, Mr.
Folkers recommended the item be continued to the first meeting in October.
Councilman Kelly moved to continue the matter to the meeting of October 8, 1998. Motion was
seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote.
C. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE REPLACEMENT FLEET VEHICLES
(CONTRACT NO. C14850).
Mr. Folkers stated the subject request offered an opportunity for the City to enter the next
echelon of enhancements for its vehicles. He said that staff requested approval of a lease
agreement for three Ford Ranger Electric Vehicles.
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Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether the four Ford Taurus four -door sedans
were natural-gas powered, Mr. Folkers responded they were regular gasoline.
Councilman Kelly noted this purchase would be in violation of the City's ordinance.
Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether in fact the four Ford Taurus gasoline
sedans violated the City's ordinance, Mr. Tom Bassler, Senior Management Analyst, stated they
were not an alternate -fuel vehicle. However, he said at this time, the availability of
alternate -fuel vehicles was somewhat limited; he added that bi-fuel Ford Contours were
essentially the same vehicles. He said in research he conducted and informational seminars he
attended regarding alternate -fuel staff fleet vehicles, the vehicles ran on the alternate fuel 10 %
of the time, or less, due to limited refueling capability. He said service from SunLine was
received each night, but the fuel could be used up within a relatively short time. He said
depending upon the driving conditions, range on the Ford Contour was 30-40 miles.
Mr. Diaz suggested continuance of the matter for 30 days in order to gather the necessary
information to address Council's concerns.
Councilman Kelly suggested if it was difficult to get the vehicles the City desired, the present
fleet be driven until the alternate -fuel vehicles were available.
Councilman Ferguson moved to continue the matter for 30 days. Motion died for lack of a second.
Councilman Crites suggested that if the Council approved of the Ford F150 and the Ford
Ranger EV's, perhaps these could be approved and sedans could be continued.
Councilman Ferguson said he thought pooling of the purchase might be inhibited by continuing
one item.
Councilman Crites responded that if staff found it more beneficial to await approval of the
sedans, it could hold its purchase until approval was received, but perhaps it could utilize
permission on the other vehicles and proceed.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel said he was concerned for limited range on natural gas fueled
vehicles and possibly the electric vehicles.
Councilman Kelly said the vehicle presently utilized by the City had a small tank, which would
account for the limited range. He suggested obtaining larger fuel tanks on these vehicles to
increase their range. He added that the electric vehicles would be used for inspectors to
transport them within the City limits.
Upon concern raised by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel as to the purchase of three electric pickups
when the City had no experience with this type of vehicle, Councilman Kelly said it was a
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chance to continue its alternative fuel program, adding there was a fine charging station built
by the City it could utilize for this purpose.
Councilman Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Authorize the leasing of three 1999 Ford Ranger
EV (Electric Vehicle) pickup trucks from a Ford Certified EV Dealer as part of the fleet replacement
program to be utilized by inspectors; 2) authorize the procurement of a Ford F150 dedicated CNG pickup
truck to be utilized by maintenance; 3) continue the procurement of sedans for Civic Center administrative
use until such time as staff can address the alternative fuel concerns of the Council for these vehicles.
Motion was seconded by Crites and carried by unanimous vote.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel suggested procurement of the Ford Ranger EV's and use of the
charging station be a topic for a future Bright Side article.
D. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF JOINT USE AGREEMENT BETWEEN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY AND THE CITY OF PALM DESERT (CONTRACT
NO. C14860).
Mr. Folkers reported the subject agreement pertained to work at the intersection of Gerald Ford
Drive and Portola Avenue. He said it was necessary to obtain additional easements so that the
utility poles for the power line in the area could be relocated, which the subject agreement
provided.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, approve Contract No C14860 with
Southern California Edison Company and authorize the Mayor to execute the subject agreement. Motion
was seconded by Crites and carried by unanimous vote.
E. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF FUNDING RADIO COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE
PALM DESERT SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND THE BUREAU OF LAND
MANAGEMENT.
Councilman Crites moved to, by Minute Motion, approve $8,500.00 from the Sheriff's Department
Contingency Fund to lease four portable radios for one year from the County of Riverside to provide
two-way communication between the Sheriff's Department and the Bureau of Land Management. Motion
was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote.
F. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF CONTRACT WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE FOR
LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES.
Mr. Erwin stated the subject contract was requested for continuance to the meeting of
September 24, 1998. He said he had been working with County Counsel and anticipated receipt
of a slightly different contract in approximately one week.
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-- Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether the contract would be reviewed by the
Public Safety Commission, Mr. Erwin replied it should be reviewed by them.
Councilman Crites moved to continue and place on the agenda following review by the Public Safety
Commission. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote of the City Council.
G. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
1. Progress Report on Retail Center Vacancies
Mr. Drell stated there was no specific report for this meeting; however, report on the
Million Dollar Days promotion would be scheduled for the next meeting as well as
a report from the ICSC Convention.
Councilman Crites asked that the next retail center vacancy report include the Palms
To Pines property.
Mayor Pro-Tempore responded that this was an excellent suggestion. He added
Palms To Pines was being reviewed by the Business Support Center; however, the
problem encountered there was more than one owner, unlike the other shopping
center properties.
Mr. Drell added that an application had been submitted on the remodel and renovation
of Palms To Pines -East, including the relocation of RiteAid. He said there were
some problems with some of the existing leases out there; but a Frank Urrutia, major
architectural facelift of the entire center was planned.
2. Progress Report on Desert Willow Clubhouse Facility
Mr. Yrigoyen stated there was nothing new to report at this time; the architect was
still completing his working drawings.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel asked when it would be possible to see the Clubhouse
coming along.
Mr. Yrigoyen said completion of the architect's working drawings was expected
within a month for submittal to the Building Department. He said he understood that
the grading plan was already completed and in the hands of Public Works.
Councilman Ferguson added that there was also discussion of delay of the anticipated
completion date by one to two months, which would perhaps cause opening of the
Clubhouse in the middle of the off-season, in the hottest part of the year. He said the
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Committee considered putting off the grand opening to the following season to save
on air conditioning expenses.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel asked if this would cause interference with the Intrawest
agreement.
Mr. Yrigoyen replied that after review of the agreement, the only issue raised was the
Intrawest Clubhouse. He said staff felt it could make the date for their facility.
3. Progress Report from the "Save The Rink" Committee
Mr. Drell stated that a meeting was conducted on staff level to review the proposal
presented to the Council at its last meeting, and a list of deficiencies in the proposal
as well as necessary additions was communicated to the applicant. He said a meeting
was scheduled on September 22 for them to bring their financial backers in and create
a little more reality for the proposal.
4. Update on School District Boundary Changes
Mr. Diaz stated there were no new developments to report at this meeting.
5. Report on the Tennis Complex, "Garden of Champions," off of Washington Street,
in the Unincorporated Area of Riverside County.
MR. RICHARD OLIPHANT, 77-900 Avenue of The States, Palm Desert, stated he
was the developer of the Newsweek Tennis Stadium. He set up a site plan and
referred to it throughout his report. He said the Newsweek Tennis Tournament had
outgrown its facilities at the Hyatt Grand Champions in Indian Wells and must
relocate to another venue after its 1999 tournament. He said many areas were
submitted to the owners of the tournament, Messrs. Charlie Pasarell and Raymond
Moore, both longtime residents of the Coachella Valley, and those bids were actually
from out of state. He said after thorough review, the owners decided to stay in the
Coachella Valley and gave him the charge to determine the best way to do this. He
said it had not been easy trying to sell Wall Street bankers on loaning $50 million to
be repaid with a two -week event each year. As a result, he said they had found a
money partner, IMG of Cleveland, Ohio, the largest sports management company in
the world. He added that they not only managed sports figures but also managed
entertainers, the Nobel Prizes, and other such significant events with a commensurate
reputation. He said IMG was assisting by underwriting the bonds to build the facility
at the chosen site, the intersection of Miles Avenue and Washington Street, to build
a tennis complex which will likely become the third largest tennis complex in the
world. He commented that currently the Newsweek was the sixth largest tennis
tournament in the world-- four Grand Slams, Key Biscayne, and the Newsweek in
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Indian Wells. He reported that in 1998 the tournament contributed in excess of
$25 million to the Coachella Valley economy; following the move into the new
facility, it was anticipated a contribution of $35 - 50 million range in a period of five
to seven years. He said in comparing special events, the closest would be the Bob
Hope Classic, producing approximately $15 million per year, and when comparing
it to a business, WalMart did about $45 million per year, noting that the Newsweek
contributed this amount in two weeks' time. He said the complex consisted of a
number of elements-- the tennis stadium as the primary element, a 16,000-seat,
multi -level stadium with 6,000 seats in the lower bowl sunk 35 feet into the ground;
a row of "Club Suites" at ground level for individuals and corporations who purchased
memberships in the them; "Sponsor Suites", deluxe suites for tournament sponsors at
the second level; above these were many rows of seats creating the loge, and general
admission was the top level. He said there would be two other stadiums, the second
being an 8,000-seat stadium the size of the current Hyatt Grand Champions stadium,
and the third would be a 5,000-seat stadium. He went on to say there would be 12
tournament tennis courts, six practice courts, and a hospitality area on the north side
of the ywIA.. 4 for sponsor tents, food courts, and retail during the tournament. He
said another 28 acres fronted on Washington Street was set aside for a
hotel/commercial, 350-room development with the ultimate goal being the same type
of venue at this location as was at the Hyatt. He said across from Miles to the south
would accommodate approximately 4,500 cars in grass parking, carrying the grass to
the center line of the Whitewater Channel for erosion control, and there would be a
tunnel under Miles Avenue to a ticket booth. He noted that the number one sport for
participation and television was soccer, yet the United States did not have one
professional soccer stadium; he said tennis was the second largest sport in the world,
yet while there were many tennis stadiums and many tennis tournaments here, they
did not rank in television or participation on the same level as baseball, football, and
basketball, uniquely American sports. He provided two examples which illustrated
the magnitude of exposure for the Coachella Valley: 1) The Bob Hope Classic
generated less than 12 million households in its television universe; 2) the 1998 Super
Bowl had a 90 million television universe; 3) the 1998 Newsweek Tennis Tournament
in Indian Wells had a 275 million household television universe (three times the size
of the Super Bowl), which represented the global nature of the sponsorship thereof.
He said following the move to the new facility and renegotiation of all the television
contracts through the ATPP tour, the Newsweek would be expanding the 275 million
to closer to 500 million-- the largest watched sport on television in the world today
was Wimbledon, almost a billion people. He said he appeared today to keep the Palm
Desert City Council apprised of the project and its importance as an economic benefit
to the Coachella Valley. He said the final draft of the EIR had been published, all the
comments received, sponsors were being written, and it would be on the Riverside
County Planning Commission Agenda October 7, where there would also be a
general plan amendment, a zone change, a conditional use permit, and a parcel map;
followed by October 27 where the Board of Supervisors would again review those
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items for their approval, and assuming approval, ground would be broken on
November 1 (the latest date to break ground in order to meet the deadline of March
1, 2000, when the tournament would be held in this facility). He noted that this was
an ambitious 14-month schedule for a project just under $70 million in cost utilizing
a contractor from Bethesda, Maryland, who had built stadiums all over the world,
Clark Construction Company. He said one of the dictates he provided Clark
Construction was that they bought local-- so they held open houses for local
contractors receiving a very good turnout, received a substantial number of prices
from local contractors which were used in the estimates, and two weeks ago when the
contractor had to provide a guaranteed maximum price to take to the bonding
company, it could not be done as none of the local contractors were willing to sign
contracts since they were too busy. Therefore, he said the job had to be rebid outside
the area at a substantial jump in price; the prices quoted three or four months ago by
local contractors were not available.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel asked whether or not the facility would also be used for
special events as the Hyatt Grand Champion facility was currently used.
MR. OLIPHANT said the venue would be available, but in his financial models, they
did not anticipate any other use of the facility. He added that there would be a
year-round tennis academy at the site, a tennis club, and the tennis facilities would be
available for the hotel. He said that while they did not anticipate this use financially,
he was sure that it would be used, and that use was anticipated in the EIR.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel said he understood the subject area was in the Indian
Wells Sphere of Influence and questioned whether they had initiated annexation.
MR. OLIPHANT confirmed it was in the Indian Wells Sphere of Influence, and said
they had not gone forward with annexation. However, he said this morning he
participated in a study session at the City of Indian Wells regarding the annexation
issue concluding with its city council directing staff to proceed with gathering the
related financial information. He said they had already performed a feasibility study
and believed they would annex the site.
Mayor Benson expressed the Council's appreciation for Mr. Oliphant's presentation.
XI. CONTINUED BUSINESS
A. CONSIDERATION OF SPEED ZONE ON HAYSTACK ROAD (Continued from the meetings
of June 11, June 25, and August 27,1998).
Mr. Folkers reported the necessary engineering and traffic surveys for Haystack Road between
Highway 74 and Portola Avenue had been prepared per the various requirements to be followed.
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He said after staffs thorough review of the situation, it recommended rescission of
Ordinance No. 513 and adoption of Ordinance No. 876, establishing a 45 miles per hour speed
limit.
Councilman Ferguson stated he appreciated his colleagues' continuance of the matter from the
last meeting where he was unable to be present. He said that he favored staff's
recommendation, much to the consternation of many of his neighbors for whom his vote would
seem counterintuitive. He pointed out that in studying the issue, the existing speed on Haystack
was 40 miles per hour and had been for some time. He said by State law, the City was required
to perform traffic studies on its thoroughfares, and when a certain percentile was taken based
upon the average speeds traveled on the road, the speed limit needed to be set within a certain
parameter of that average speed. He said the study conducted in early June 1998 showed the
average critical speed on Haystack Road was 48 miles per hour, or eight miles over the posted
speed limit. He went on to say that a rather ambitious six week speed enforcement program
was initiated along Haystack utilizing one officer, four hours per day, five days per week for
six straight weeks, issuing citations to motorists on Haystack-- 67 citations and 73 warnings
were issued, in spite of which the average speed of violators on Haystack Road was 57.4 miles
per hour. He said the counterintuitive part of this was the assumption most people had that if
the speed limit was lowered, speeds would lower themselves-- a fallacy which had been
demonstrated time and again. He said in fact studies showed that the average speed people
would travel on a road was based upon the width, the visibility, and the relative straightness of
the road, and the motorists' line of sight. He added that at the conclusion of the six week
enforcement effort, despite all the citations, the average critical speed was 47.4 miles per hour --
a reduction of 0.6 miles per hour from the previous study. He said staff's recommendation was
to bring people into compliance with the law, not necessarily put them out of compliance. He
said that he had traveled Haystack at 45 miles per hour and at 40 miles per hour and did not find
the incremental difference in speed detrimental to public safety-- the people traveling at 57 miles
per hour would possibly continue to do so, at the expense of being cited, but he felt residents
traveling at a comfortable speed of 45 should not be cited. He concluded by stating what he
thought was the biggest issue-- namely if the City set the speed limit at 40 miles per hour when
the critical speeds were at 48 miles an hour, the location would be declared a speed zone by law
and would not be enforceable with radar. He said raising the speed limit would allow for the
use of radar and going after motorists who were blatantly violating the speeds without targeting
those who modestly exceeded an excessively low speed limit.
Councilman Ferguson moved to waive further reading and pass Ordinance No. 876 to second reading
rescinding Ordinance No. 513 and amending Section 10.36.010 of the Municipal Code relative to
establishing speed zones. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote of the City
Council.
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B. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A NEGATIVE DECLARATION OF
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, AND CHANGE OF ZONE
TO PERMIT CONSTRUCTION OF A 15,120 SQUARE FOOT WALGREENS DRUG STORE
AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF MONTEREY AVENUE AND SAN GORGONIO WAY.
Case Nos. CUP 97-16 and C/Z97-13 (McFadden/McIntosh Architects, Applicant) (Continued
from the meetings of June 25, and August 27, 1998).
Councilman Crites moved to, by Minute Motion, continue the matter to the meeting of September 24,
1998, as requested by the Applicant. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote.
C. REPORT ON CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN BERNARDINO CAMPUS BY
DR. PETER WILSON (Continued from the meeting of August 27, 1998).
Councilman Crites moved to consider the subject report during the Closed Session portion of this
meeting. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote.
XII. OLD BUSINESS
A. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR DESERT WILLOW MOUNTAIN VIEW
COURSE SIGNAGE PROGRAM (CONTRACT NO. C14740).
Mr. Yrigoyen stated that the figure of $30,890.00 stated in staffs recommendation should be
adjusted to $43,490.00. He said that following review of the bid, it was discovered Bid
Alternate "B", a $12,600.00 item, for yardage markers was inadvertently omitted.
Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether the subject contract had been approved
by the Desert Willow Committee, Mr. Yrigoyen stated the signage had been reviewed and
approved by the Desert Willow Committee. He did not believe the $43,490.00 figure had been
before the Committee.
Councilman Ferguson reported it had not. He said he would like the project to go back before
the Desert Willow Committee in order to thoroughly review the proposal.
Councilman Crites moved to, subject to ratification by the Desert Willow Committee: 1) Authorize
the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Graphic Art Productions, Santa Ana, California, for the Desert
Willow Mountain View Signage Program in the amount of $43,490.00; 2) appropriate such amount from
Account No. 400-4663-454-4001. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote.
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B. RATIFICATION OF FIRST AMENDMENT OF SUPPLEMENTAL LEASE AGREEMENT
WITH THE COACHELLA VALLEY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (CVAG) AT
THE PARKVIEW OFFICE COMPLEX.
Mr. Diaz stated that Mr. Gibson was available to answer questions and added that the subject
lease amendment with CVAG implemented previous agreements to extend their lease.
Upon question by Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel whether this represented a 20-year lease,
Mr. Gibson answered it added 15 years to the current five-year lease totaling 20 years.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the subject amended lease
agreement and authorize the Mayor to execute same. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by
unanimous vote.
MI. REPORTS AND REMARKS
A. CITY MANAGER
1. Consideration of Secondary Access Road for The Canyons At Bighorn.
Mr. Diaz noted his report contained within the Agenda packet. He said he had
photographs of the area which would be graded to provide the secondary access road,
and staff felt there were sufficient reasons to make the additional secondary fire access
road unnecessary at this time. He said he would add to his recommendation a
provision for execution of a hold harmless statement from the developer in favor of
the City of Palm Desert for units built in the subject location.
Councilman Ferguson requested that elimination of the secondary access road for the
lots in question be required to be recorded against them.
Mr. Erwin stated this caveat would be made a part of the hold harmless agreement.
Councilman Crites moved to, by Minute Motion, modify the public safety requirement for this project
thereby releasing the developer from construction of a secondry access road providing that a hold harmless
agreement in favor of the City of Palm Desert was executed and recorded against the subject properties.
Motion was seconded by Benson and carried by unanimous vote.
2. Consideration of Resolution No. 98-110 in Support of Railroads Grade Separation at
Colton City.
Councilman Kelly moved to waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 98-110 in support of the
railroads grade separation at Colton City, California. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by
unanimous vote.
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B. CITY ATTORNEY
Mr. Erwin requested a Closed Session at an appropriate time for the items on the Agenda listed this
meeting. He then asked the Council to add an item to Closed Session by its four -fifths vote:
Conference with Legal Counsel regarding existing litigation pursuant to Government Code Section
54956.9(a):
a) Silver Spur Homeowners' Association v. Palm Desert, Riverside County Superior
Court, Case No. 80790
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to add the case to Closed Session consideration. Motion was
seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote.
1) Report and Action on Items from Closed Session Made at This Meeting.
2) Request for Closed Session
Conference with Legal Counsel regarding existing litigation pursuant to Government Code Section
54956.9(a):
a) City of Palm Desert v. REFCO Capital Corporation, et al., United States District Court,
Central District, Case No. CV92-7632
b) City of Orange, et al. v. Alabama Treasury Advisory Program, et al., Los Angeles
Superior court Case No. BC106461
Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b):
Number of potential cases:
C. CITY CLERK
1. Reminder to adjourn this meeting to an Adjourned Joint Meeting of the City Council
and Redevelopment Agency, Monday, September 14, 1998, 8:30 a.m., in the Office
of the City Manager, for the purpose of conducting a Closed Session pursuant to
Government Code Section 54957 regarding Public Employment:
Titles of Positions:
City Manager
City Clerk
Redevelopment Agency Executive Director
Councilman Kelly asked that the aforementioned meeting be changed to Wednesday,
September 16, at 8:30 a.m.
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Councilman Crites asked whether the listed meeting reflected the initiation of weekly
meetings of this nature and the reasoning for same.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel responded that this was initially suggested for every
Monday, but it was also mentioned that it may not be necessary later to conduct the
weekly sessions.
Councilman Crites recalled the discussion regarding holding weekly personnel
meetings, but was unaware that they would be conducted in the form of a Closed
Session; he felt this would limit the number of topics of discussion with the named
positions. He said Wednesday morning would also work better for his schedule.
Councilman Ferguson added that the idea was that the first two or three meetings
would be conducted in Closed Session, and advice from the City Attorney would be
given in order to facilitate the same discussions without the need for adjourning to a
Closed Session.
2. Report from the Library Committee.
Mrs. Gilligan stated that one-third of the money approved by the City Council for
— fiscal year 1998/99 for books was being spent to begin filling the shelves.
Additionally, she said the patio furniture would be ordered this week with anticipated
receipt and placement within 30 days, and the Children's Section would be
remodeled/redecorated to make it more appealing, child -friendly, and quieter with
completion in approximately two months.
D. MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
o City Council Requests for Action:
None
o city_spncil Committee Reports:
1) CVAG Energy & Environment Committee (Buford Crites)
Councilman Crites stated it was the unanimous vote of the Committee at its
meeting today following a report from Jenny Gilland, head of Riverside County
Trails Commission, that CVAG examine the responsibility of obtaining legal
easements for existing and new trails throughout the Valley. He said there were
State laws which shielded both private property owners and public agencies for
dedicated open space trail use when a user of a trail suffered a fall, etc.
However, he said this was assuming there were easements already in place, and
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one of the issues they faced was the existence of trails all over the hills and
across the Valley that had never been made legitimate in that sense. He said that
as development continued to occur, this needed to be addressed.
Councilman Crites said the Energy & Environment Committee also today
reviewed some of the issues with regard to the Imperial Irrigation District (IID)
and Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), etc. water arrangement. He
suggested that the Council set a time on a day other than a regular Council
meeting day to invite Council members and staff to attend a presentation by
CVWD regarding the aforementioned as well as the three-dimensional
groundwater model, five years in the making and available October 1, designed
specifically to illustrate what happened to water in the Coachella Valley. He felt
it would be beneficial for the decision makers and staff to get a good
understanding of what was done by CVWD, Desert Water Agency, and Mission
Springs Water District as well as their respective plans for the future in the "high
stakes poker" being played with Metropolitan Water District and Los Angeles.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel questioned whether San Diego was taking all of the
Valley's water.
Councilman Crites responded no, but how all of it was commonly related was
very interesting, and he felt a more informed legislative body would be
advantageous to making future related decisions. He suggested mid -October for
such a presentation.
Mayor Benson added that she had asked if there was something Palm Desert
should be doing following today's Desert Sun newspaper article.
Councilman Crites stated he did not believe that CVAG nor individual cities
were requested to do anything; it sounded as though CVWD felt quite
comfortable in their ability. He added that in Saturday's Los Angeles Times was
a pose of Lowell Weeks that locals had witnessed for the last 50 years-- he was
standing looking out with hands on his hips explaining why the Valley was right
on this. He said that CVWD felt it had enough cards in its deck to make a good
deal for this Valley, reiterating the need for the City Council to be informed of
what was going on and its future impact on everyone in terms of water use and
conservation efforts, etc.
Councilman Crites then extended a warm welcome to those members of the
audience who represented the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce.
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2) Deregulation Issue of Bright Side (Mayor Pro-Tempore Robert A. Spiegel)
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel said he had received many favorable comments, the
most important one being received from his wife, on the City's special edition
newsletter. He said the issue was very understandable, and really clarified the
situation-- consumers were not getting the best end of the deal. He made special
commendation to John Wohlmuth for a job well done.
Councilman Kelly concurred and said he had also received many approving
comments about the newsletter.
Councilman Ferguson added that Mrs. Gilligan should also be commended for
the extraordinary part she played in the production of the special edition
newsletter.
Upon a motion by Crites, second by Kelly, and unanimous vote of the City Council, Mayor Benson
adjourned the meeting to Closed Session at 5:27 p.m.. She reconvened the meeting at 7:08 p.m.
XIV. COMPLETION OF ITEMS HELD OVER FROM 4:00 P.M. SESSION
_ Please see individual items for discussion and action.
XV. AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, AND APPOINTMENTS
A. PRESENTATION TO DR. WILLIAM KROONEN IN RECOGNITION OF HIS
APPOINTMENT AS PRESIDENT OF COLLEGE OF THE DESERT ON MARCH 26, 1998
(Continued from the meeting of August 27, 1998).
Councilman Crites moved to continue the subject presentation to the meeting of September 24, 1998.
Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote.
B. PRESENTATION TO PIPER CLOSE.
Councilman Crites moved to continue the subject presentation to the meeting of September 24, 1998.
Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by unanimous vote.
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C. RECOGNITION OF PALM DESERT SILVER ANNIVERSARY CLASSIC MOVIE SERIES
PARTICIPANTS— KDES 104.7 RADIO, MEL HILL, FRANK TOROK, DUANE DAWSON;
KESQ TELEVISION, TED DAWSON, LOGAN BURNS, BRYAN SCOFIELD;
GARY GOODSELL, AND DON ENOS.
D.
Mayor Benson stated that while she had been the instigator of the Summer Concert Series,
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel had been the instigator of the Movie Series; therefore, it would
only be fitting to have him make the presentation.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel stated that with quite a bit of fear and trepidation, it was decided
to initiate the movie series in the park; however, much to his surprise, it was a great success.
He attributed that success to the people being honored tonight-- two major sponsors, KDES
Radio and KESQ Television, who promoted the series every day on the radio and on television.
He added that KDES provided a show prior to the start of each movie with sing -a -longs and
trivia contests, which was capped off with either Ted Dawson, Logan Burns, or Bryan Scofield
from KESQ announcing the movie. He said numerous favorable comments were received from
those who attended the movies all summer-- he said even the Desert Sun article quoted one
person who said, "Don't tell anyone about this, we don't want it to get too crowded!" He
commented it was the first drive-in, sit-down movie in Palm Desert. He said that while he had
the idea, it would not have been possible without the talents of three people involved with the
City-- Gary Goodsell, who worked for the City's publicity agency and came up with a way to
get the movies, a projectionist, and a screen; Don Enos, City Parks Superintendent, who
ingeniously fabricated a bigger and better screen that the City could utilize; and Pat Scully,
Community Affairs Specialist, who brilliantly coordinated and organized the series. He
expressed the City's deep appreciation to the named participants for the marvelous job they did,
and presented them with engraved crystal commemoratives and engraved slate plaques were
presented to the sponsors.
Mayor Benson expressed the City's appreciation to Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel for bringing
this idea to fruition.
APPOINTMENT OF TWO REPRESENTATIVES (ONE EACH FROM LAS SERENAS
APARTMENTS AND ONE QUAIL PLACE) TO THE HOUSING COMMISSION (Continued
from the meetings of March 26, April 9, April 23, May 14, June 11, June 25, and August 27,
1998).
Mayor Benson stated that interviews were conducted with all the applicants for the two posts,
as well as for a member at -large and an alternate to the Housing Commission.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, appoint the following to the Palm Desert
Housing Commission: Rusti Olsen from Las Serenas Apartments, Philip Sladick from One Quail Place,
Lawrence Saindon as Commissioner at -large, and Leo Sullivan as Alternate Commissioner. Motion was
seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote.
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XVI. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A PRECISE PLAN/CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT,
TENTATIVE TRACT MAP, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, AND NEGATIVE
DECLARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FOR AN 18-HOLE GOLF COURSE,
999 UNIT TIMESHARE RESORT AND SUPPORTING AMENITIES ON 300± ACRES ON
THE EAST SIDE OF MONTEREY AVENUE BETWEEN FRANK SINATRA DRIVE AND
GERALD FORD DRIVE. Case Nos. PP/CUP 98-5, TT 28818, and DA 98-1 (Marriott
Ownership Resort, Inc., Applicant) (Continued from the meetings of June 11, July 9, and
August 27, 1998).
The following is a verbatim transcript of this item.
Key:
JMB Jean M. Benson, Mayor
RAD Ramon A. Diaz, City Manager
PD Phil Drell, Director of Community Development
SS Steve Smith, Planning Manager
RE Ronald E. Eastman, Group Vice President, Marriott International
SW Steven Withers, Vice President of Architecture and Design, Marriott Vacation Club International
BC Brian Curley, Schmidt -Curley
TS Tim Sullivan, General Manager, Marriott's Desert Springs Resort
JL Jim Lopez, Project Coordinator, Desert Springs Villas
RAS Robert A. Spiegel, Mayor Pro-Tempore
DP Dave Putman, President-elect, Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce
LB Leon Bennett, Past President, Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce
BAC Buford A. Crites, Councilman
RV Randy Vorster, Resident of Kaufman & Broad Development
SRG Sheila R. Gilligan, City Clerk
MP Marc Pevers, Palm Desert Resident
DJE David J. Erwin, City Attorney
JF Jim Ferguson, Councilman
RSK Richard S. Kelly, Councilman
JMB First public hearing tonight is consideration of approval of a precise plan/conditional use permit,
tentative tract map, development agreement and negative declaration of environmental impact
for an 18-hole golf course, 999 unit timeshare resort and supporting amenities on 300±acres
on the east side of Monterey Avenue between Frank Sinatra Drive and Gerald Ford Drive.
Case number PP/CUP 98-5, TT 28818, and DA 98-1, Marriott Ownership Resort, Inc.,
Applicant. It's been continued from the meetings of June 1 lth, 9th, and August 27th.
RAD Mr. Drell.
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PD Ah Madame Mayor, and Members of the Council, staff will be recommending that this case
be continued to September 24th, but in that the project has been entirely redesigned as a result
of comments made at the last hearing, we feel it would be useful for the applicant, or for staff
and the applicant to go over those changes. Also, we have members of the public who would
like to testify as to those...the character of those changes and their opinion about those changes,
and so we feel that would be useful to give them an opportunity to address, again, what the
purely technical planning issues involved. And again, we'll be preparing some additional
financial analysis on the project and for the 24th. And so Mr. Smith can go through again the
list of comments from the Council last meeting and how they've been addressed.
JMB All right. I'll open the public hearing, and go ahead.
SS Good evening. The site plan is on the wall to your right, as well as on the overhead to your
right, my left. Council will recall this matter was continued from your meetings of June 11,
July 9, and August 27. We can indicate that the revised plan has been reviewed by the Planning
Commission at its meeting of August 18th. The matter was recommended for approval... matter
was recommended approval by the Planning Commission on August the 18th, that was on a
2-1-1 vote, Commissioner Jonathan voting no with building height concerns, and Commissioner
Beaty abstaining, and Commissioner Fernandez absent. As indicated, the project now proposes
999 timeshare units as opposed to the 1,200 that were included in the previous proposal. Also,
the plan, the site plan itself now includes the 15 acres at the corner of Gerald Ford and
Monterey, which was formerly a future possible commercial site. Well that has now been
incorporated into the site plan and is part of the golf course. All of the units will be a maximum
of three stories, 36 feet in height as opposed to the maximum height of four stories previously.
The PR zone has a 24 foot limit with two stories, but the ordinance does permit exceptions.
Next, the access point on Frank Sinatra has been relocated from this area here to align with
North Fork in Palm Desert Greens. Next, site plan has been redesigned where it is adjacent to
the homes on Drexel Drive, in this area here. Formerly there was a street and units; at this time
there is a Fairway, then a bunker area, then street, units. What that does is it moves the nearest
building to some 340 feet away. As was before, none of the units will face toward the east.
Okay. Moving along, we've also added a walking, a perimeter walking/jogging trail that
utilizes part of the public sidewalk and private on -site walkways and also provides for bus
turnouts on Monterey and Gerald Ford. As well, the landscape area in front of the maintenance
building on Frank, on Gerald Ford has been intensified and widened. Perimeter wall treatment
has been refined, will include view corridors to various points on the property. As indicated,
the bus turnouts are now provided. There was a question of the transportation link between this
site and the Desert Springs Marriott, in that it should be an alternate energy vehicle, this
requirement has been so conditioned. I might indicate the Applicant indicated to us that they
are gearing up to provide that alternate energy vehicle, in that we spoke to them about it today.
Ah, the traffic, the premise of the traffic study was questioned. We went back and asked the
traffic engineer for his input; he gave us memos dated June 25, August 31, they are included
in the packet. Essentially his response indicates that the traffic study looked at the peak hour
traffic, and it was evaluated at a rate higher than a single family dwelling; and he notes using
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the high trip generation rate would tend to overstate project traffic and impacts, and helps to
assure that the worst case has been evaluated. And that traffic study was based on 1,200 units,
we're now talldng 999, so we have a proportional reduction. Notwithstanding the reduction in
the size of the project, the number of units, the traffic mitigation will be the same as was
identified for the 1,200 unit project. Daycare-- Council expressed concern that would create
daycare needs in the community. Staff has suggested a mitigation fee payment of $50,000.00
to offset that impact. Item next, lighting-- there was concern from the neighbors on Drexel
Drive that the lighting of the buildings and/or the streets and the cars on the site could create
lighting problems. The revisions to the site plan should take care of much of that lighting
concern by moving the buildings further away, moving the street further away, as well with the
project is conditioned to comply with our lighting ordinance. And item next, the golf course
design and the palette-- there was concern that the golf course design and theme was not
consistent with the desert environment. That plan has been changed significantly. As well, we
had a palette sub-, a plant palette for the golf course submitted. I can indicate that the plant
palette has been reviewed by Eric Johnson; he felt it was generally headed in the right direction.
He had some deletions, and he had some suggested additions. I spoke this evening with the golf
course designer who is here to speak to Council, and he indicates that he looks forward to
working with Eric in coming up with an acceptable palette. I was asked the question the other
day how much difference is there in the golf course design. I was advised that the revised plan
represents a 15-20% reduction in turf from the original, and that there will be 25 or more acres
of non -turf area. I think that takes care of most of the changes to the site plan. There were
other issues, but I think perhaps they'd be better left for the meeting on the 24th. If you have
any questions, I'd be pleased to try and answer them.
JMB Any questions at this time? All right. I do have some people that would like to speak. So the
first one I have...ah...is Dave Putman. Oh...do we want? Sorry.
RE Excuse me, Your Honor. Ah, my name is Ronald E. Eastman, I reside at 935 Farmhaven
Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20852, I'm a Group Vice President with Marriott International.
Again we thank you, Your Honor and Members of the Council, for considering Marriott's
Desert Springs Villas North this evening. We come to you with deep appreciation to the
Council, to the Planning Department, and to our neighbors for the input that you have given
us. Because of your input, Desert Springs Villas North is a better development. Desert Springs
Villas North consists of a Nick Faldo designed 18-hole golf course, a Faldo Institute, and
999 vacation ownership units. When we presented this project to you on June 11th of this year,
you made several recommendations, and as you heard from Steve Smith tonight, we have
addressed each and every one of these, and I think that we've made some tremendous progress
in that area. I am sorry to report that as of this date, we have not been able to negotiate a
satisfactory facilities funding and mitigation agreement with the Palm Springs Unified School
District. To date, the demands of the school district are such that if we were to accept them,
Desert Springs Villas North would have a competitive disadvantage compared to other vacation
ownership projects, not only here in the desert, but also throughout Southern California. Many
of the school district's precepts are unreasonable. For example, since the zoning for our 306
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acre site permits up to 1,530 residential units, the school district projects that this project could
generate 666 students. Today Marriott has 38 vacation ownership resorts, and we have yet to
have a student from one of our developments enroll in a local school. Nevertheless, we have
agreed to limit occupancy in our villas at any one time to not longer than 60 days. We believe
that this project warrants your support. Marriott has been a model corporate citizen since the
day we started the development process for Desert Springs Resort. In addition, Desert Springs
makes a substantial contribution to the economics, to the economic well-being of this city. The
projected economic value of Desert Springs Villas North are contained in this handout that is
part of your package. At this time, I would like to call on Steven Withers, our Vice President
of Design, to answer any questions that you may have about our project and the golf course.
Thank you.
SW Hi. I'm Steven Withers, Vice President of Architecture and Design with Marriott Vacation
Club. International, and...ah...I would...ah...like to thank Mr. Smith for pointing out
the...ah...agenda I had written down here; he's covered all the points...ah...very well.
The...ah...a couple of things that we have...ah...presented to you in your packet is the theming
of the architecture and the theming of the...ah...golf course. The theming of the architecture,
we've chosen a southern, Spanish mission...ah...ah...vernacular of buildings; we've showed
those in the packets, we've got on the boards here. Ah...I won't necessarily go over those in
detail, because certainly we will review those with the Architectural Review Board as we go
forward. These detail those buildings. The...ah...landscaping palette...the one thing I would
like to point out is that...ah...when the...ah...ah...discussion on the amount of desert
landscaping for the golf course was addressed earlier, we plan to theme the entire resort, not
just the golf course edge, but the edge of the perimeter of the...ah...ah...property plus the
landscaping around the buildings...ah...as a themed desert environment. This is not just an
ecological issue, but we think that our guests will demand when they come to the desert to be
in a desert experience. So we want the architecture to be regional, we want the landscaping for
the entire site to be regional, and...ah...as you understand the ecological...ah...impacts of that,
so do our, so do our guests and owners. Um...leading from the landscaping of the buildings,
I'm very pleased to ah...um...to you know the Faldo, Nick Faldo's team is going
to...ah...represent us in the design of this course. We're also equally excited that he has
selected Schmidt -Curley to be his consulting team and landscape architects. Nick...ah...is
going to be the oversee of the design, but Schmidt -Curley are, were chosen because of their
knowledge of this environment and this landscape palette that we're dealing with. Ah...Lee
Schmidt and Brian Curley both have been residents here in the desert; Lee has lived in Palm
Springs, and they now have an office in Phoenix where they also have a desert orientation to
their golf course. They've done 15 courses here in the desert. They've provided the similar
service to Jack Nicholson, Pete Dye, Fred Couples, as well as Nicks Faldo. Ah...they were
just been selected to do the 36 holes of the Southern California section of the PGA, and Brian
Curley...um...was the designer of this plan you see before us, and has been very integral in
making sure that we have the golf course as...um...we've come to it today. I'd like that to
introduce him and bring you forward so that you can tell you something about his firm and what
we're doing. One of the things I would like to say, though, is that we picked up one of the
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handbooks on...on...desert landscaping-- this is one of the best books we've seen, so we'll be
following this very closely as we produce the entire landscaping theme of this project. Brian.
BC Good evening. Brian Curley. And as Steven was saying, we're Scottsdale -based now, but
spent a lot of years here in the Valley. In fact, after getting married, my wife and I moved here
straight to Indio and Bermuda Dunes. My partner, Lee Schmidt, lived in Palm Desert for about
10 years or so, raised a couple of kids, products of fine, Palm Desert schools, and we're based
now in Scottsdale, as Steven was saying. We've got a...a long background in golf and here in
the desert. We've worked really, kind of behind the scenes with a number of...ah...big, top
names in the design business-- Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Fred Couples,
and...and I think if you look at what we've done, worked on here in the desert, I think that
some of the concerns for the integration of a desert plant type palette, I think goes along with
the a, both with the vision of what we'd like to see happen and also what Nick Faldo would like
to see happen, and certainly what Marriott would like to see happen. So...um...the Faldo
connection really starts from...I have a project that we're doing in China with Nick, and he's
real excited about that, it's happened, it's come along really well, and that's where our
connection has continued on here into the Marriott job here, and we're real happy with that
connection. Um...the...I think that some of the concerns about the...the landscape palette,
certainly what we're trying to accomplish here is a desert theme in terms of its look, I know that
going back, again, kind of getting back to the background, our background here, I was involved
even with the City's course here, the Desert Willow project going back to when it was just
called Section 4. My father in-law, Bill Carver, commercial developer here, was developing
the corner there, and he was kind of put in, and Ray and Councilman Kelly, we...we made a
trip back to Tucson and talked about how, you know, how to incorporate the whole desert look,
and...and that goes back all the way to that time. So I think that the incorporation of the desert
look goes back a number of years, and we've certainly integrated that, not only here in the
desert, butt in certain other areas in Phoenix and what not. I think the course that's probably
most representative of that that we've probably worked on here in the desert, I don't know if
any of you are familiar with at Mission Hills, the...the, it used to be called the
Pete...the...a...the Dinah Shore Course; I think they call it the Pete Dye course now. But one
of the three courses there is a very much, a desert plant palette... um...I wouldn't call it target
golf, but it's a...it's a...it's a limit on turf and there certainly is an integration of desert bleeding
in kind of from...from the...from the residential, ah, pads down slopes into large waste areas
and then good playable turf areas, but all, ah... worked and integrated into a desert plant palette
theme. I think that same theme of landscaping, one point is that the...and I think in addition,
I know that...that from the time that I've gotten involved with the site planning and the land
planning and the golf design here in the past couple months from the original plan, um...in
addition to, in changing the interior of the project, one...one concept has to take the...the
arterials that the perimeter streets, and with the...with the use of the view fencing try to bring
golf out and also bring the same kind of exterior landscaping which will be predominantly the
desert plant palette theme into the golf, too. So... so those areas should kind of become one
with the...with the combination of the view fencing. Hopefully the...the final result is that the
fact that this desert theme -type course...course spills out through this view fencing into the...the
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arterior corridors, and so hopefully, it all looks as one. Real...real happy to be as -...associated
with ah...two great names in Marriott and in...in Faldo. As we go further on into the project,
being based here for so many years, many of the people that we plan to use and continue on in
through the construction of the golf course, they're all based here in the Valley, most of them
actually Palm Desert residents, and they're all very excited to continue on and become involved
with the project. That's basically it unless anybody has any questions...and...
JMB Not yet. Is there anybody else from Marriott before I...
BC I might hand it back to Ron, here.
RE At this time, I'd like to ask Tim Sullivan, General Manager of Marriott Desert Springs Resort;
Jim Lopez, Project Coordinator, Desert Springs Villas, Dave Putman, President-elect, Palm
Desert Chamber of Commerce; and Leo Bennett, Past President, Palm Desert Chamber of
Commerce to address the Council. Thank you.
TS Thank you, Ron, and good evening, Lady and Gentlemen. I'm here simply to...ah...express
my enthusiasm for this project as the general manager of Marriott's Desert Springs Resort &
Spa. We've been able, through the years with the Desert Springs Villas Project, to develop a
really strong partnership and collaboration that I think has benefitted the Villas, has benefitted
Marriott's Desert Springs Resort & Spa, and I think benefitted the City. I think this gives us
the opportunity to simply extend that collaboration down the street a little bit and continue that
partnership in a way that benefits all parties that are involved. Operationally speaking, it is
great for us as resort operators to be able to offer our customers and our consumers more
choices than they currently have. One of the things that Desert Springs is known in the resort
market for is providing more choices to more customers than any other resort in the Western
States. This...ah...project simply enables us to provide further choices to those
customers...ah...specifically the Faldo Learning Institute and Golf Course. Um...that's going
to really provide value to our guests, particularly beginners and people who are looking to
improve their game to come out and spend a little bit of time at that learning institute, perfect
the game as well as they can and resume their stay at our resort. One of the things
that's....ah...that's integral to the culture of Marriott are what's called "Shared Services."
"Shared Services" essentially means that in any community where there are several Marriott
products, there's an enormous amount of exchange between those products. For example,
currently if you're staying at the Desert Springs Villas...ah... Desert Springs Villas I, you can
come over to our resort, eat in our restaurants, sign your restaurant charges to your...ah...to
your...ah...timeshare room. If you have guests that are in visiting you, you can stay in your
timeshare, they can stay at our resort, it's...it's really mutually advantageous for the both of us,
and I am genuinely excited about the opportunity that this project provides us. Additionally,
in terms of generating room nights for our hotel, one of the things that's a big part
of... ah.... of... ah.... of selling these units is bringing people in to experience the desert and to
experience the resort, and through the years, we have literally derived thousands of room nights
from people that are visiting our community...ah...interested in buying at Desert Springs Villas
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and staying at our resort while they're perusing the Villas and the resort. So on behalf
of...ah...of Desert Springs Resort & Spa and the folks that work there, I simply wanted the
Council to know how enthusiastic we are and how excited we are about this project, and I
know...ah...that if this goes into development, we will all be very, very proud of it. And I'd
be happy to answer any questions any of you may have right now.
JMB Thank you, Tim.
TS Great. Thank you for hearing me out.
JL My name's Jim Lopez, I live at 25 Covington Drive in Palm Desert, and I'm here also to speak
enthusiastically of the Desert Springs Villas North project. As a long-term resident, I'm proud
to say that I've watched this community grow, and I've watched...um...day by day how our
City fathers and you all have led us through a very...very particular and a very careful growth
pattern, and I'm very proud to say that I'm a resident that really believes that we've done a
great job over the last...over the last many, many years I should say. Um...year after year I've
watched this...this community grow, and I've been actively involved with the City; I'm actively
involved with the Promotions Committee and would continue to be actively involved in the
years to come. Um...there's no doubt, though, that...ah...15 years ago when the Marriott
Group and Bill Bonin, Sunrise, all came forward to present a vision called "Desert Springs,"
little did we know that today-- we knew it was...there was a vision, but we realize now today
that this is definitely a world -class resort. Desert Springs Villas is now the premier resort
destination as far as vacation ownership is concerned, and a company that is now probably the
number one vacation ownership company in the world. Ah...Desert Springs
North...ah...Desert Springs Villas North will take us to the next level. Um...this project, no
doubt, is going to make all of us very proud that it's located also in our beautiful City of
Palm...in Palm Desert. As a 17-year resident, and a 27-year associate of Marriott, um...I...I
have...ah...all the confidence that through the upcoming months and the upcoming years that
Desert Springs Villas North will become just another beautiful element of our city, as well as
will lend tremendous economic impact to...ah...our continued growth. Thank you very much.
RAS Jim, could I ask you a question?
JL Sure.
RAS Refresh my memory-- at Desert Springs Villas, are they all three-story?
JL At Desert Springs, our current Desert Springs Villas...
RAS Yes...yes
JL ... are two-story.
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RAS Two-story?
JL Yes.
RAS Thanks.
DP Your Honor, Members of the Council, my name is Dave Putman, I live at 73-611 B Golf
Course Lane here in the City of Palm Desert. I am also a business owner in the City, run and
operate Norell Staffing Services. Um...I'm also President-elect of the Palm Desert Chamber
of Council... Chamber of Commerce, and am here on behalf of the Commerce... Chamber of
Commerce to...to...um...go on record as our supporting of this project. Um...at a meeting of
the full Board of Directors of the Chamber, the project as it now...ah has been scaled down to
was presented to the... to the Board. The Board voted unanimously in support of this
project...um...for a number of reasons, many of which are economic in nature. This project
will bring hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs to the City while it is in the construction phase.
Um...it will also bring um...many, many hundreds of jobs in support for businesses...um...that
are outside of the actual direct construction of the project. Um...not only that...um...when
completed, the project will bring to the City...ah...many millions of dollars in...ah...transient
occupanc...occupancy taxes and in sales tax, all of which help us as a city to generate the
revenues that are necessary for us to maintain the kind of lifestyle that we enjoy as residents of
the City of Palm Desert. Um...further, businesses...um...and the Palm Desert Chamber, and
it is the second largest Chamber in the Inland Empire with a 1,350 members...ah...many of
these businesses, if not all, will...will benefit either directly or indirectly from this project.
So...um...again, we're here as a Chamber ah...to...to go on record as our support for this
project. Thank you.
LB Honorable Mayor, City Council, I'm Leon Bennett, 48-350 Crestview Drive here in Palm
Desert, past President of the Chamber of Commerce, and this came up while I was president,
and also business owner, A -Star Party Rents in Palm Desert. Ah...I echo Dave's word, I'm
very enthusiastic about this project, but come with a little bit different twist to it. Ah...this
summer Evelyn and I went on vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and had our first
experience at a time -...at a vacation resort...okay...vacation resort...ah with Evelyn's sisters
and the family...
Council (laughter)
JMB Almost.
LB ...and...ah...since we had reviewed this project, and I had seen the economic impact, I...in my
mind kind of questioned whether or not the economic impact would really be...ah...here for us
in Palm Desert. So I was watching, and...ah...thinking about this in a different way as I was
on vacation. Um...and I think...ah...Hilton Head has got a lot more time -...vacation resorts,
timeshares than we will ever have here. It's...it's really a big Mecca of that. Um...the one
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thing I recognized when I was down in Hilton Head is that unlike our guests who come here for
conventions who have so many things planned for them, the people that go to the vacation
resorts have to make some of those plans themselves. So the first thing they're going to do is
pick up the Visitor's Guide when they get here to find out what is there to do. `Cause they
can't sit by the pool all day, they can't play golf for the entire day, and of course, I did run into
some people on the golf course when I was down there (played one time), and they were
playing for their second time-- they didn't even play seven days while they were down there.
So the people are going to be looking for a lot of other things to do. For instance while we
were down there, we went down to Savannah and visited the Savannah Historical Area, and I
can see people here in our Valley going to the Celebrity Tours in Palm Springs. We also spent
a good half day at the Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, and I think our Palm Springs Air
Museum is much better in a different way than the Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah.
And of course, we also went shopping. I'm not sure I've ever been on vacation with Evelyn
and Katherine that I haven't gone shopping, so we went shopping-- a lot of retail dollars spent.
Um...I can also understand why Lucky's wants to expand at Country Club and...ah...Monterey,
and... why...ah...Ralph's decided they wanted to be out there because a lot of money was
spent-- I could see a lot of people in the grocery store when I was in there that were temporary
people. They were there buying breakfast foods and milk...ah...things for lunch meats, but we
also, of course, ate out at a lot of the restaurants. Ah... so I did start to understand how this
economic impact can be viable for us here in Palm Desert. And I think the lessons that Evelyn
and I learned, and we talked about this some on the way back on the plane, the lessons I learned
is that we as a City and as a Valley are going to have to look at ways that we can entertain these
people who are here for a week, such things maybe like a golf museum might be real nice in
the City of Palm Desert, okay-- those kinds of things, the Air Museum, those kinds of things.
Um...also we'll need more restaurants-- we stand in line even during season now so we're going
to need more restaurants. Um...we're going to have to learn to deal with...ah...increased
traffic, but of course you do that at every Council meeting anyway, and you guys are good at
that, so I'm sure that you'll be able to deal with that. Um...and I think one of the things that
I think we coul-.. should consider is maybe the Shopper Hopper that would bring people to
El Paseo and Town Center and Desert Crossings, that type of thing from...ah...the three
timeshare areas we have, I think that would really be super and help our retailers out a lot. So
I...ah...wholeheartedly as a Cham-...as a member of the Chamber endorse this, as a business
owner endorse this, and I know that a lot of money will be spent here in our town if this project
goes forward. Thank you.
RE Your Honor, that concludes our presentation for this evening. Thank you.
JMB Thank you. Is there anyone else in the audience that wanted to speak in favor of this project?
I have...ah...someone against it...ah...Marc Pevers?
Audience I'd like to speak for it.
JMB Pardon?
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Audience I'd like to speak for it.
BAC For it.
JMB For it. Oh, okay. (Pause) You're not Marc then?
RV No, I'm not. Thank you, Mayor and City Council Members...um...the whole reason why I'm
coming up here because I raised numerous concerns on the July 9th meeting in regards to the
property. So, I would like to...ah...weigh in my support for the development, the resort,
because they did address every issue that I brought up. And...ah...I'd like to thank Marriott
for their concern...um...and there are several things that I'd like to thank them for. In
particular, the redesign of the golf course, especially moving a fairway between the buildings
and the Kaufman & Broad development...um...and then relocation of the service or the...the
entrance and exit on Frank Sinatra to the intersection there with Desert Greens. And then
also...ah...taking into account the four-story design, and especially the location of the buildings
so close to our development. And I know that... ah... that took a lot of effort on their part. I
also think that...ah...one issue that's not addressed...ah...is that the property due north of
Kaufman & Broad and east of the...ah...resort development will become more attractive to
other developments-- I'm hoping other housing developments. We would like to become part
of a larger neighborhood. Ah...like to be part of a fabric of a growing portion of the new area
within Palm Desert, and...ah...I just would like to say that...ah...I believe it will be a good
thing for our development to have a redesigned resort such as it is. And...ah...1 would just like
to thank the Mayor and the City Councilmen for...for listening to the little guy, so to speak,
at the development and...ah...just not...ah...sweeping us aside but taking into account our
very...very real concerns, and I'd like to thank Marriott again for this.
SRG Sir? Would you give your name for the record, please?
RV Yes. I'm sorry, Randy Vorster, 37-680 Colebridge.
SRG Thank you.
JMB Okay. Now I have...ah...ah...Marc or Maro Pevers.
Audience Marc.
JMB Marc. Okay.
MP Ah... good evening Madame Mayor and Members of the Council. I've been here before, so I'm
surprised you don't remember my name...but...
JMB (Unclear)
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MP ...you probably know what I'm going to say. Ah...I don't believe this project should be
approved unless Marriott agrees to two conditions: 1) The undergrounding of the transmission
lines along Desert Springs on Country Club from the fire station at Portola to US Filter on
Cook; condition number 2) the proposed golf course should be restricted to...ah...timeshare
members and their guests, and let me elaborate. Ah...it appears that you're treating this as not
a violation of the timeshare ordinance but as an extension of the hotel. Therefore, this is an
opportunity to ask Marriott to upgrade the hotel property. Marriott's gross profits from
timeshares are very lucrative; you're talking about handing Marriott $250 million in gross
profits plus management and golf fees. The cost of undergrounding is approximately
$2.6 million, which sounds like a lot of money, but we're talking about one -tenth of one percent
of their gross profit. We also want to sell hotel pads at Desert Willow, this will beautify the
area, make it more desirable as well as for those of us who live here, and any major destination
resort...in Las Vegas you take the multi -million dollar resorts there, they had high transmission
lines in the strip, they're all buried. Marriott people spoke about their being a model corporate
citizen. For ten years they've been at Desert Springs with their lucrative management fees.
Certainly if they have any corporate integrity, they would agree to this. Moreover, the Strategic
Plan for 2010, which your Council approved, has as its goal undergrounding utility lines
throughout the whole City. This is certainly an opportunity to...to...to jump start this
project...to make the 2010 goal. On point two, desert...Desert Willow Golf Course is currently
losing a half million dollars a year; we don't want any competition of public usage of
the...ah...timeshare course. So therefore, I think Marriott should agree that it's restricted
to...ah...to...to timeshare people and their...and their guests. I hope you'll consider this, this
is the last opportunity, `cause wherever that $2.6 million come from...Rancho Mirage has used
surpluses for undergrounding...ah...Palm Desert has done some undergrounding, but you
apparently don't want to use the $25 mill-...$25 million surplus for this objective. Country
Club is one of the most significant thoroughfares in Palm Desert; it ranks with El Paseo and
111, and these transmission wires are an abomination as far as looking at...so...so I just hope
that Marriott would consider doing this-- it's the least they owe the community. I agree with
the previous Chamber of Commerce, this project could be a gold mine. Just let's use this
opportunity to permanently beautify the Country Club District and possibly help sell the luxury
pads on Desert Willow. Thank you.
JMB Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to speak? Okay. Council questions, or...
RAS I...I've got a couple of questions for the developer-- maybe might answer my questions for me.
I have a question about Marriott possibly being able to walk away. We're very proud of the
Marriott hotel in Palm Desert, and we're most happy with the revenue that the
resort...ah... services provide us. And I'm quite happy with the way the timeshares look; I
think they're terrific, I think that...ah...they're exciting. I mean I don't have to worry about
that continuing on because it's part of the hotel complex, and God forbid the bottom fell out of
the timeshare market, it would still carry on because of the hotel complex. We're talking about
a project that's going to take at least 20 years to develop and possibly longer; originally
1,200 units, now a thousand units. And if, God forbid, the bottom falls out of the timeshare
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units, and Marriott says, "Well we're going to sell this to somebody else," and somebody comes
in and they...ah...are a different kind of developer than...than Marriott is, and...ah...it becomes
seedy, as a lot of timeshares did in the past. What guarantee does the City have that we can
control something like that? Very little.
RE Well first of all, Your Honor, or Councilman Spiegel...um...Marriott will continue to own the
golf course. Ah...the homeowner association can always change managers, that's by law, we
know that. Ah...we've never had anyone even consider such a thing in our years in the
business, and as you know, we have 38...ah...resorts. Ah... so... you can put together a basket
of horribles, but I...I can't believe that that is a real risk. Ah...theoretically, that is potentially
possible...ah...but...ah...in real life, I don't think there's much risk there.
RAS There's no way to...the City can put anything in...ah...the agreement to make sure that
Marriott's... ah... there in perpetuity?
DIE (Unclear)...there's certainly some things that we can put in that will allow us to review and
consent to transfers...ah...one of the theoretical possibilities is let's assume they go bankrupt.
We really have little or no control at that point.
RAS Well that's true. That's true. But if it's part of the corporation, then the big corporation will
have to bo bankrupt rather than just selling it off.
JF
But isn't...isn't your concern not so much the homeowners' association, but if you get 30% into
it, not that Marriott's going to go bankrupt, but it doesn't pencil for you, you spin it off and a
less than reputable operator comes in...
RAS Exactly.
JF ...tries to develop under your entitlements the remaining 70 % . I believe is...
RAS That's basically what I'm asking, yes. You...you...you...
RE Well that certainly is not our intent. Ah...ah...but...
Council (Laughter)
RE ...I can't...I can't...I can't...I can't...I can't...
RAS Question.
RE ...I can't...I can't speak to what might happen in such a...ah...theoretical situation...ah...you
know, the...ah...we also are a public corporation, and we be...we could be taken over by
another corporation.
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RAS Oh...oh...no, I understand that.
RE Yeah. Mmm hmm.
RAS But...ah...I just want some kind of assurance...
DJE There are...
RAS ...and I feel that we have, in my heart I feel we have it with the Marriott Hotel and timeshares
behind it.
DJE So far as voluntary transfers, there are certain...ah...number of things that we can do to...to
cover that. It's the involuntary that we have the problem with.
JF Right.
RAS Okay. Ah...and I guess my second question is, a comment and a question, um...the Planning
Commission voted 2-1 to approve the project. The one dissenting vote was because...ah...of
three stories. Now I know initially you had four stories kind of intermixed with three stories,
and now they're all three stories; and consequently, you lost a couple hundred...ah...units.
Um...but you've come up with a line pretty much...there's a three-story building there
(whistles) like that-- there's no undulation or anything. Would it be possible to get some kind
of a feeling in here other than just a straight line building up and down.
RE I'd have to refer to Mr. Withers.
SW Um...one of the things that you're seeing there, of course, is a pure elevation, and you're not
seeing the texture of the building and plan. I have the plan here to show you if you would like
to see that. Ah...but yes, there is...there are certainly possibilities to keeping the...ah...the
facade having some undulation. Um...if I may?
RAS Surely.
(Pause - speaker stepped away from microphone.)
SW Some of the things we've talked about in terms of...ah...all the...ah...elements along the
corridor side, for instance, of having a whole series of heights there because you've got...ah...
different...ah...functions and...and...and variables there. We've also talked about the end units
dropping, as you just suggested. We've also...ah...this is a pretty straight plan. We've also
looked at...ah...the ins and outs in plan so that some of the units were pulled forward, some
units pulled back. We've got...ah...a...a unit now...look at the precise plan...(unclear)...
RAS I...
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SW ...all of those things trying to do exactly what you do architecturally. And, of course, we'll
take these all to the Architectural Review Board and make sure that we are...ah...compatible.
One of the things that we plan on this project, too, is to make four distinct villages. We didn't
address that, but each of the villages...ah...and partly requested by Kaufman & Broad, is to be
gated and individually, or architecturally designed so that they have a...a theme that those all
desert will have different...ah...character and texture with the...the colors, the finishes, and the
building masses. So hope that answers some of your questions.
RAS Well it...it does, but would it be feasible to...ah...at least initially, because I know that this is
going to be developed over...ah...a long period of time-- minimum ten years. Would it be
feasible to take the initial development and take maybe...ah...30 units out, and go up and down
a little bit.
SW Yes, that's feasible.
RAS Okay. Thank you.
JMB And make two-story ones out of it.
RAS Make two stories and three stories so it's not just like the picture is.
JMB That's what he was referring to. I just wanted to make sure you understood not just three-story.
RSK (Unclear)
RE No, well...one of the...one of the...one of the concerns we have would be that the economics
wouldn't work if we reduce it much more. As you know, we bought 15 acres of commercial
land and reduced the count by 200 units, so that has impacted the financial viability severely.
So, you know, that...that is certainly a consideration. One other thing, Councilman Spiegel,
ah...in our proposed development agreement, there's about a page and a half on assignment,
and in there it says that... ah... we cannot... ah... sign without their... ah... the City's approval.
Ah... so there's the...
RAS So it's there.
RE ...City Attorney has done a lot of work as my associate has just pointed out to me. So...ah...
RAS As long as our attorney's... (unclear)
RE Okay.
RAS ...feels that it's perfect, then it's perfect. Thank you.
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DJE It's not perfect.
(Laughter by Council & Audience)
RE Yeah. It's very tough, though, sir.
JMB Councilman Crites.
BAC First, I'd certainly...um...I think...join all of my colleagues as well as you, Mr. Eastman, in
congratulating you on a "better development." Um...Marriott certainly, as well as our staff,
deserves plaudits for taking ideas to heart and coming back with a project that I think is
markedly a superior project for you, certainly as well as for the existing citizens, and so on in
Palm Desert. Um...second...secondly I agree...um...with the comments made by the Chamber
of Commerce and others in having done a little snooping around
myself...ah...timeshar-...vacation ownership resort residents are exactly the kinds of people
who are likely to be healthy...ah...participants in our local economy. And I
think...um...um...that's entirely...ah...to the good of...for our, not just for Palm
Desert...ah...but our Valley. Um...and I imagine everyone who's seated up here
has...um...sympathy with you in terms of your discussions...ah...with the Palm Springs School
District. Um...we have not walked away from some discussions with that agency ourselves
very...very happy, and I suspect you probably won't...you may produce children on site, but
you won't generate students on site.
(Laughter by Council & Audience)
BAC Um...so a couple of just minor odds and ends. Ah...in looking at the issue that...that
Councilman Spiegel, Mayor Pro-Tem Spiegel mentioned about the three-story, 36 height, there
are a number of things you might wish to consider along with whether it is two-story.
Ah...we've had at times, as an example, hotels proposed in Palm Desert...ah...one of them on
El Paseo at one time that was going to be a three-story, 30-foot hotel...ah...so we've had things
that have been three stories in less than 36 feet. Ah...we also have the issue about where the
height of something as it appears from the grade level as you drive by, and if something is up
on a mound, 20 feet may look enormous if something is not depressed in an economic sense,
but in a...in a physical sense-- 36 feet may begin to look significantly less imposing, and so on,
so I think there are issues both height within three stories, two, three stories, ways of working
with the topography of the land that I think would be worth exploring. Um...I was happy to
see...ah...the comments from your...ah...landscape architect firm about...um...not just
integration of...of themed landscaping onto the golf course, but to bring that...ah...throughout
the project, and at least, as one member, I'd like to just see if I could a couple of sort of
samples of what you might be doing exterior, blend into the golf course and around a set of the
units or so to just sort of get an idea of what...what you mean...ah...by some of the kinds of
things that... that you're talking about. I think that would be certainly valuable, at least to me
to just sort of get a look at. Um...I think staff was going to look at the issue...ah...now there
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are areas set aside for bus shelters, but also that at some future point when bus service goes to
that area, that we also look towards...ah...the company in terms of designing and building
something that fits with what you folks are doing out there as versus the generic, si-, or
with -advertising bus stops that we have other places, and I think that's something we're asking
developers of major projects now to do throughout the City, not immediately in your case
because it's not bus service. And one other issue that came up from...um...an earlier discussion
this evening, and it's entirely appropriate that we do a second check to make sure that we have
provided internal to the project enough employee parking so that we don't end up being guilty
of some of the things that some of our current neighbors...um...are at least accused of.
RSK (Unclear)
BAC Huh?
RSK We're guilty... (unclear)
BAC I know it, and let's just make sure that if...if indeed this project is built, that...that we don't
come back at some future time with the same kind of thing again with ourselves. And again,
I would certainly say...um...my sincere thanks for the efforts that the company and others have
made in terms of taking this project and addressing issues.
RE Thank you. As...and...ah...as I mentioned when we were here last time, that your City
Manager and your Planning Staff are second to none. I've been doing this for 30 years, and
they were the best to work with this time as they were 12 years ago.
JMB Councilman Spieg-, ah...Ferguson.
JF
Um...as I evaluate your project, I'm struck by three issues. Ah...a planning aspect, which
we've...ah...almost exclusively discussed tonight. Ah...a financial aspect of our development
agreement, which we haven't discussed at all. And then an intellectual aspect on what do we
do with our ordinance, which if I'm not mistaken, we crafted for Marriott back in 1987 to allow
them to develop timeshares in conjunction with their then 900-room hotel. Going to the first
aspect of it, I am...ah...very, to use an often -repeated word tonight, enthusiastic about what
you're doing. I think the quality of your development, as I said at our last Council meeting,
is second to none; I'm glad to see that you've incorporated a lot of the comments of my
colleagues. I think overall it has given you a much better project, if not a more amenable one
to your neighbors which we're always happy to see. Um...in terms of our timeshare
ordinance...ah...it's...it's difficult for me to look at a requirement that requires a 500-unit
room...a 500-room hotel in conjunction with timeshares...ah...and do, as I think one of the
gentlemen who spoke tonight said that we were doing, which by the way we're not, which is
just considering this an extension of the existing Marriott. That's too big a leap of logic for me.
Rather if you look at Intrawest, another timeshare project where we didn't require a 500-room
hotel, we looked, I think, a little bit farther beyond what the ordinance said and looked at the
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intent behind its enactment, and I think when my colleague, Mayor Pro-Tem Spiegel, was
talking about security for consumer risk in the future if...if Marriott should go away-- I...I
notice everybody avoided the "T" word tonight, TIMESHARE, it's vacation ownership now.
Well timeshares are stigmatized, and rightfully so, from the 1980's, and I think that...ah...we
crafted our ordinance because it was Marriott, because you did have a 500-unit room hotel,
because if you had a 500-unit room hotel you couldn't just walk away and...and dump your
timeshares on other people. Ah...and fortunately we still have the same applicant.
Um...unfortunately, we still have the same ordinance, and it's hard for me intellectually to get
around a requirement and look at another developer and say, "Well, that was Marriott," our
ordinance doesn't really mean what it says it means whatever we think it means whenever we
say it means what we want it to mean at that particular time, and I have a lot of difficulties with
that. Um...we have asked our staff to take a look at comparing what we did with you with what
we did with Intrawest...ah...from a logical basis, and if we aren't going to interpret this as
being in conjunction with, and I think there's some serious debate right now whether this
is...in...what...in conjunction does mean, what were the factors that caused us to ignore the
500-room requirement with Intrawest, and do those same factors apply in Marriott's case, and
shouldn't we at least take an intellectually honest approach to this. I...I' m sorry to digress to
this length, but you've gone to an awful lot of trouble, you've flown out here from the East
Coast, and I think you need to hear exactly what is on our minds or at least on my mind.
However you resolve that second aspect with the intellectual approach to our ordinance I think
has a large bearing on the third aspect of it, which is if there are financial benefits to the City
in lieu of a 500-room hotel, then how are those benefits translated to the City of Palm Desert.
Can you compare other, there's only been one other, Intrawest, where the City pumped
considerable money into the development there, and how do you get a true apples and apples
comparison between what you're doing, what Intrawest is doing...ah...and we...we're not in
a position, at least I wasn't, to answer those last two questions tonight. Um...I apologize for
that because I know that you've gone to a tremendous amount of trouble. I hope, at least from
the comments you've received thus far in the planning aspects of your proposal, ah...those are
quite favorable. Ah...and I'm hoping that in the next...ah...period of time before our next
Council meeting we can address those last two issues, and I would be most...ah...appreciative
of any comments you may have on those, not necessarily tonight, but maybe in follow up in
writing, because I think that's at least what I'm going to be grappling with between now and
then. But in terms of your presence in this City, your benefits to this City...ah...your quality
as a developer, as a hotel operator, as a vacation ownership operator...ah...I like what I see
when I go and visit Jim Lopez. Um...obviously the Desert Springs Marriott is the jewel of this
City, if not the Valley. Ah...and you're welcome here. Um...but those are the issues at least
this Councilperson is struggling with.
JMB Councilman Kelly.
RSK Well I just want to...ah...ah...agree also with my Council members that I think you
did...ah...probably one of the most outstanding jobs of...ah...addressing everyone's concerns,
not only the folks...that...ah...neighbor...are going to be your neighbors, but everyone on the
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City Council, so I want to compliment you for that. Ah...but I did at that last...ah...Council
meeting...um...bring up...ah...my problem I had with...um...fairness to all other projects, and
how they relate to other vacation resorts, and...um...the fact that there's not going to be a hotel
in conjunction with your...um...vacation resort. I...I was on the Council when...ah...that
ordinance was passed, and...ah...I personally didn't do it because Marriott
had...ah...500 rooms, that had nothing to do with my decision of...ah...wanting that ordinance
or voting for that ordinance. Um...it had to...a lot to do with...um...ah...security to assure us
that it was going to be ongoing project, that somebody wouldn't walk away from it. Ah...it
also had assurance that the City...ah...would be...um...ah...that there'd be mitigation
for...um...I rea-...at first I realize that that's a tremendous economic impact...ah...hotels and
vacation resorts, but also it's a...there's a large service impact...um...you know we review
our...ah...ah...crime statistics and sometimes we're accused of ah...ah...of...ah having a higher
crime rate than other less fortunate cities. But...um...those kind of...those kind
of...um...commercial operations are what attract people because...um...ah...you
know...ah...people are going to commit crimes, go where the money is, or where the people
are that have the money, so those kind of...there's a lot of other...um...services
and...um...ah...from the City...required from the City when we...as we build and grow
commercial. So I'm also interested in that aspect of...um...of any development.
But...um...ah...that...that problem for me has to be solved. As far as the project is concerned
and the planning, it's wonderful-- you've done a great job. But...um...I still have to see some
comparison of what we required other people to do so that we treat everybody the same. And
I...I said that at the last meeting.
RE I thank you for those comments, Councilman. Ah...of course you have in front of you the
economic projections as to the T.O.T. and that from the rental units. Having a thousand units
that are two units each and 30% of them for rent on the average is like having a 600 room...
RSK But others do the same thing.
RE Ah...
RSK I mean other vacation resorts do the same thing. So I... my... my concern is that we treat
everybody the same.
RE Okay.
RSK And I think, you know that's hard to argue with-- that everybody gets treated the same. So if
we can see that comparison, we don't have it yet...ah...it hasn't been provided to us. If we see
that, and...and five for one, only one vote, I'm satisfied that we're treatin'...treating everybody
the same, that's going to be my concern.
RE Okay.
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JMB I guess it's my turn. Ah...and I agree with my colleagues the same as everyone else, that you
certainly listened, and we thank you for that...ah...because you did get the message that it
wasn't acceptable at all on the other first go around, and did come in and try to mitigate the
different things. Ah...I still have just...ah...well actually have three concerns.
Ah...I'm...ah...ah...the three story...ah...limit...we put two story limit so that we could
preserve some character here in the desert and not turn out like other areas and...and I think
that's still a valid reason that two story...ah...limit should be upheld...ah...for a project of this
size. Ah...and...ah...I'm also very concerned, as you know, that...ah...ah...when...ah...you
came for us when we developed that ordinance, we bent over backwards to find some way to
get timeshares on the Marriott property, and did it so, because there was a hotel there it would
be serviced and guaranteed by the hotel, and I think it's kind of ironic to come in and ask us
to stretch the ordinance to accommodate a hotel half a mile or more down the street. I don't
think that's the intent we had at the time. We might have used the wrong word, but...ah...it
was acceptable to us to get you on your road to get those timeshares, and we were very proud
of the Marriott...ah...project, and it has been good for this City. We're very pleased with that
and their community leadership that they give in other areas, but to try to stretch that to fit
another property I don't think is right. And, the third thing I have is that the two smaller hotels
on Frank Sinatra and Cook are giving fifty thousand for child care component, and your project
is so much bigger that it should at least be a hundred thousand. That's my comment.
BAC Madame Mayor?
JMB Yes.
BAC Um...as we take whatever time between this meeting and the time it comes back, I would
also...um...hope staff would take Mr. Pevers comments delivered in the public session tonight
and certainly respond to them in relation to Marriott. And I have no point of view about what
those responses ought to be, but certainly somebody gives us an idea, it ought to be evaluated
and that be put back into the record.
JMB Yeah (unclear)...
RAS I'd like to ask staff when you feel you can get the information that we need.
PD You should be able to get it by the 24th.
JMB So we are continuing this?
JF Move to continue to the 24th.
RAS Second.
JMB Is that time enough?
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BAC Well...
RAS Twenty-fourth at seven?
BAC Are you sure?
RAD You will have it on the 24th. You will have it before the 24th as part of that packet.
BAC Mr. Diaz?
RSK Well...ah...
BAC Well...
RSK ...you're going to have information for us and you're going to be looking for us then for a yes
or no answer...ah...?
RAS Well Marriott's got to have it before the 24th, too.
RSK That's...
RAS So they could take a look at it and say good, bad, or indifferent.
BAC As well as, I think, suggestionally some of us, whatever we craft that...
JF It become a public document.
BAC ...staff perceives that the public have a chance, whether it is anybody in this audience, whether
it is folks from Intrawest, folks from Marriott, that anybody have an informed chance to
comment on that so that we have good data. Are those things...
JMB Should we...
BAC ...all possible to do by the 24th, and if so, so be it.
RAD Well in order to give the private sector ah...adequate time to address what we in the public
sector will provide, we would then recommend...ah...the first meeting in October. That would
be one month.
RAS So moved.
JF (Unclear)... second.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1998
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JMB Second. Please vote.
RE Thank you.
SRG The motion carries by unanimous vote.
For purposes of clarification, Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to continue this public hearing item
to the meeting of October 8, 1998. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by unanimous vote.
B. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE SIGN ORDINANCE -
POLITICAL SIGNS. Case No. ZOA 98-5 (City of Palm Desert, Applicant).
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel stated the subject ordinance was difficult to understand, and he
quipped about the sections referring back to other sections and then forward other sections, etc.
Council concurred.
Mayor Benson suggested continuing the item for clarification.
Mayor Benson declared the public hearing open and invited testimony in FAVOR of or OPPOSED
to the subject item of business. With no testimony offered, she declared the public hearing closed.
Councilman Kelly noted that candidates ran under the existing political sign ordinance during
the last two elections, there were violations, and no action was taken against the ordinance. He
said staff was placed in a difficult position regarding enforcement of the ordinance since they
could end up working for the candidate. He went on to say that the Council did not want to
enforce the matter because it would appear that they were interfering with a candidate. He
quoted from the subject ordinance, pointing out its technical tone and thought it would put off
potential candidates. Council concurred.
Councilman Crites commented that the issues of concern were: 1) Assurance that political signs
were removed in a timely manner following the election; 2) no placement of signage on the
public right-of-way; 3) placement on private property contingent upon the property owners'
permission with some kind of sticker, etc. verifying this fact.
Councilman Kelly suggested a simple procedure be put into place where candidates were asked
to consider the aesthetics of the City and agreed to only utilize such reasonable political signage
that would not compromise this principle. He thought that enacting an ordinance with the idea
of possible prosecution would be ineffective.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel suggested assignment of two Council members to work with staff
to develop a plan for political signs.
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Mayor Benson responded the subject matter had come out of the Zoning Ordinance Review --
Committee (ZORC), and it was reviewed thoroughly with input from the City Attorney's office.
She said if the Council wished to send it back to ZORC, it could be done.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel stated he would recommend this.
Councilman Ferguson said he did not see any hope by way of returning to ZORC, as the subject
ordinance was wonderfully crafted; however, it made no sense in political reality. He said he
took a "free market" approach to this issue and felt that constituents who saw a lot of signs
would not vote for the candidate-- people who did not care for signage took note of this fact and
would take note of those candidates who were environmentally sensitive in their use of signs.
He noted candidates who used larger signs (4 x 8), such as he, Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel,
Roy Wilson, and Jim Battin, did so judiciously. He commented that he did not receive a single
complaint; whereas, past candidates who had blanketed the City with signage lost their bid for
a Council post rather handily. He said the Council's legitimate concerns were that signs be
picked up within a certain period of time following the election, and that they did not interfere
with the public right-of-way. He said beyond that, if they wanted to trespass and stick them on
somebody's property, it was between the candidate, his or her campaign people, and the private
property owner.
Mr. Diaz stated staff would agree with Councilman Ferguson's suggestion. He said the one --
concern of staff was placement of these signs in the public right-of-way, a threat to public health
and safety.
Mayor Pro-Tempore Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, return the subject ordinance to staff with
direction that it be rewritten in order to simplify it and address the concerns of political sign placement such
that it did not interfere with the public right-of-way and for timely removal of same following the election,
and return same to Council for its consideration. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by
unanimous vote.
C. CONSIDERATION OF AN APPEAL BY THE PALM SPRINGS UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT TO A DECISION OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT PLANNING
COMMISSION APPROVING TENTATIVE TRACT 26562 AMENDMENT #1 WHICH
ADDED DEVELOPMENT PHASING TO A 420-ACRE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED
PROJECT LOCATED EAST OF PORTOLA AVENUE, NORTH OF FRANK SINATRA
DRIVE, AND WEST OF COOK STREET. Case No. TT 26562 Amendment #1 (Palm Springs
Unified School District, Appellant).
Mr. Diaz noted that the Palm Springs Unified School District had withdrawn its appeal.
The Council noted the Appellant's request for withdrawal; therefore, it took no action on the subject
appeal.
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XVII. ADJOURNMENT
Upon a motion by Spiegel, second by Crites, and unanimous vote of the City Council, Mayor Benson
adjourned the meeting to Closed Session at 8:28 p.m. She reconvened the meeting at 8:55 p.m. with no
action announced from Closed Session and immediately adjourned to a Joint Meeting of the City Council
and Redevelopment Agency Board on Wednesday, September 16, 1998, at 8:30 a.m. in the Office of the
City Manager for the purpose of conducting a Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957
regarding Public Employment:
Titles of Positions:
ATTEST:
/SHEILA R. ILLIGAN, CI
CITY OF PALM DESE
Y CLERK
CALIFORNIA
City Manager
City Clerk
Redevelopment Agency Executive Director
N M. BENSON, MAYOR
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