HomeMy WebLinkAboutCUP 10-274 CV Bridge Foundation 74836 Technology Dr Ste 104 CITY OF PALM DESERT
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
STAFF REPORT
REQUEST: AUTHORIZE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORTO REDUCE THE
TRUST DEPOSIT FEE OF$2,915 TO$1,500 FOR THE PROCESSING OF
A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP) FOR A NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION TO OPERATE A BRIDGE CARD PLAYING FACILITY
LOCATED AT 74-836 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, SUITE 104
SUBMITTED BY: Missy Grisa, Assistant Planner
DATE: September 9, 2010
CONTENTS: Applicant Letter and Attachments (6 pages)
Recommendation
That the City Council by Minute Motion authorize the reduction of the processing
deposit for CUP 10-274 to $1,500 for a non-profit organization bridge card playing
facility in a Planned Community Development zone.
Executive Summary
Approval of this request would allow the applicant,Coachella Valley Bridge Foundation,care
of Judith McClintic, to reduce fees for a Conditional Use Permit for the review of a bridge
card playing facility located within a Planned Community Development zone.City staff does
not have the authority to change the processing Trust Deposit fee of $2,915. Such a
reduction in the required deposit has to be granted by the City Council. In the event that the
cost of processing exceeds the $1,500 deposit, the applicant would increase the deposit
amount to cover actual costs.
Analvsis
Processing of any type of CUP requires a deposit in the amount of $2,915. For complex
cases, the full amount of the deposit is used. For simpler cases, total costs may only be
$1,000 to $1,500, and the unused portion of the deposit is returned to the applicant when
entitlement activity is complete.
An application and full fee of$2,915 has been submitted and paid, and staff has begun the
review process necessary for this CUP. The applicant is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization
and is concerned with their budget and this amount of money becomes a hardship while
attempting to start up a new business. The applicant has all the proper paperwork in place
for a full submittal including a letter from Hampton Inn allowing them to use their daytime
parking spaces. As many as 80 bridge players may use the proposed facility at one time.
Staff Report
Fee Reduction CUP 10-274
Page 2 of 2
September 9, 2010
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the reduction of fees for application CUP 10-274
from $2,915 to $1,500 to reduce the hardship placed on the Coachella Valley Bridge Foundation.
Fiscal Analvsis
No fiscal impact is associated with this request. Staff estimates that the processing of this particular
CUP should cost between $500 and $1,500. If the resulting processing time should exceed the
$1,500, the applicant would incur the additional charges.
Submitted by: Department Head:
Mi y Grisa Lauri Aylaian
Assistant Planner Director of Community Development
Appr val:
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APPROVED W� DENtLU
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ABSENT:
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VERIFIED BY: '
Original on File with City Cle 's Oftice
G:\Planning\Missy Grisa\CUPV4-836 Technology Drive,Suite 104\Council Staff Report.doc
Aug 28 10 06:26a Beverly 760-318-4266 p.1
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COACNELLA YALLEY �n�'���
BRIDGE fbllNDAiEON
August 27, 201 Q
Attention: Laurie Laylaian. City of Palm Desert Planning
]12.e: Request for Ci�y Council Consideration of Waiver or IZeduction of
Coatditio�al Use Permit Requirement and/or Fee
Dear Ms. Laylaian:
Thank you for taking time to speak to rne on Friday and suggesting �hat I
request an audience before the City Council on September 8, 2010.
The Coachella Valley Bridge I'oundation, (CVBF) has been warking with
Mark Moran and Stan Ford, County Parks and Recreation, for over a year to
find suitabie space to bring a dedicated bridge facility to the Coachelta Valley.
We remain hopeful that an appropriate location can be identified and secured
through them. We have on our own, however, �dentified a suitable interim
facility at 74-836 �'echnotogy Drive, suite 104, that meets our budgetary
constraints and offers a solution to our narking needs. Our proposed
agreement with this Iandlord is on a month-to-month basis.
The CVBF wants to make the City of Palm I�esert our permanent home.
�ased on data from the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), JPalm
Desert is home to the hi�hest concentration of bridge players in the Coachella
Valley at 36%; the second highest is Rancho Mirage at 17%.
Companv �escription
The CVBF is a public tax-exeinpt, charitable corporation, established under
the Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) in March 2Q09. The purpose of this
organization is to provide a community resource to promote and support the
game of dupl'zcate bridge in the Coachella Vailey through a dedicated facility,
teaching programs, workshops and individual instruction.
Aug 1t� 1U UEi:16a 13everly 760-318-4266 p.2
The CVBF is currently doing business as the Duncan Bridge Center (DBC).
The center w�ll provide the venue needed to accomplish the following
objectives:
�. to introduce and expose the youth of the Coache�la Valley to a mentally
engaging and recreational pursuit. kZ.esearch has found a link between
bridge and improved test scores in children (E�ibit A);
2. to offer an enjoyable and beneficial activity to its growing retiree
population. A study by physician researchers showed as much as a
75% lowered risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other
dementia-related conditions in seniors who played bridge (Exhibit B}.
3. to hold duplicate bridge games, thus reinforcing the lessons and to
provide a revenue stream to help supporl ongoing classes.
History of��eration
DBC is a startup company, conducting business since July 14, 2010 in the city
of Rancho Mirage, one evening a week, in a donated room. This is a
temporary location, and vviil be soon outgrown. During our first seven weeks
of operation, DBC has averaged attendance of 32 people (8 tabies of bridge).
Planned lHours of Operation at Technology Drive
The anticipated hours of operation and the attendees are variable due to
seasonality and other scheduled bridge activities in the valley. High season
(January to April) may increase attendance by 20%, while other valley bridge
activities would cause the center to suspend �ames and elasses enti.rely during
those events (approximately two weeks/year).
Activi /Number in Attendance
8:00 to 11:00 am 1:00 to 4:00 nn 6:00 to 9:00 m
Monday None Game/80 Game/3 2
Tuesda Class/16 Game/SO None
Wednesda Game/28 Game/80 Game/32
Thursda Class 16 Game/80 Class/16
Friday None Game/80 None
Saturda Game/28 Game/80 None
Sunda None Game/8� I`�1one
Aug 28 10 06:27a Beverly 760-318-4266 p.3
Parkin�
Our parking needs are approximately one space for 66% of the attendees.
DBC recognizes that it needs a higher density of parking than other
reta.il/commerciai tenants. DBC wants to be a good neighbor to its
surrounding co-tenants and neighbors. It has, therefore, come to an agreement
with the adjacent Hampton Inn. The Hampton Inn will allow use of its rear
parking lot to the patrons of DBC. (See Exhibit C, agreement dated A�ugust
20, ZO10.)
Plea
The fees required by the City would put a hardship on the CVBF. We have
appro�cimately $35,000 in funds. Some of the expenditures for our startup
costs include: first/iast month rent $6000; tables a.nd chairs $6000; liability
insuranee $3500; flooring $3000; computers, photocopier, prin.ter and fax
$2000; specialty items to run the games (duplicate boards, playing cards,
duplzcating machine, scoring machines) $8000; and utility costs.
Any consid.eration the City can give to a waiver of the Conditional Use Permit
would fast-track our goal of doing business by September 1.5, 2010. If this is
not possible, a waiver or reduction of the fee of$29l 5 would be greatly
appreciated and would well-serve the cornmunity of Paixn Desert. We
currently have only two neighbors wzthin a 3 QO foot radius, Starbu.cks and
Cook Liquor Store. They are both eager to have the consuz�ner traffic that
DBC would bring to the development.
Very truly,
��� / ��-�-�,/
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Beverly��rtin
Advzsor to the Coachella Va11ey Sridge Foundation
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760 318 4266 (home)
S 18 652 8629 (cell)
Cc: Cindy Finnerty, Mayor City of Palm Desert
Aug 28 10 06:27a Beverly 760-318-4266 p•4
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� ��.� 1 ��' �z Researcher finds link bet�oreen bridge
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� � ''' �� �� �� Do children who play bridge perform better on standardized tests than their non-
���, � , " playing wuntezparts? Dr. Christopher Shaw, a iesearcher from Carlinville IL; recenfly
, �'�t&� ; completed a study that shows the answer to that question is a definite "yes:'
r �„ ,-.�4 �a��'r ' Man brid e 1 ers have lon believed that teaching Idds bridge improves their
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� x4g� :� , 's¢�'x ,', ; ezitical thinking skills, but the evideuce that it helped with school performance has
�y,��y ':.� � , ,'�;�f� beea largely anecdotal. Sitaw decided to take a mare serious look at the impact that
d i,.i�4' . : � Y3;..2 ,�; "�,x ;;.
� bridge Izas on test performauce by school-age childre�
In a 2005 study, Shaw examined six groups of fifth graders from the.Carlinville Public Schools who were similar
in acadernic ability. One group learned to play bridge as part af its math instruction, but the other five did aot. AII
of the students took the Iowa Test of Sasic Skills (ITSB} in Sep�. 2001 (before bridge instr�ction began} and then
again in May 2403 (sixth grade) and in May 2004 (seventh grade). The 15 stadents who learned to play bridge as
fifth graders were mixed with the other stvdents in the sixth and seventt� grades.
Performance on the ITSB increases as students get older: sixth graders, as a group, outperform fifth graders, for
example. Educators and parents pay great attention to the improvement of scares from year to year. What Shaw
discovered, hawever, was that the students who Iearned ta play bridge had a greater average increase in their ITSB
scores tban their non-playing classmates.
The following table compazes the average standard score (SS) gain of t�ie bridge and non-bridge groups:
��'�.gg 86 Non-bridge 15 Bridge %
Sulbjeet firea Av SS Gaia� Av SS Ga6n �aerease
Readiug 33.87 44.87 20.66
Language 45.�4 51.07 13.39
��� 41.48 51.53 24.22
Science 37.52 52.27 39.31
Social Stuc3ies 36.77 45.i3 22.74
Why would learning to p2ay bridge have such an e$'ect? Shaw believes the answer lies with inferential reasoning,
a cognitive s1dl.I necessary to play the game.
"Bridge is a game that develops inferential reasoning skiIls, which are very ciifficutt to teach elementary students.
These skilIs apgear to be used in all five subject areas in middle school:'
wth the help of system analyst Tercy Levan, who obtained a three-year grant from the ACBL Educational Foun-
dation, Shaw e�anded his study to three sequential classes of fifth graders (2001 2003) taught by the same
instructor. The 2001 group was taught bridge, but che 2002 group was not.The 2003 group was also taught the game_
Shaw examined each group's results on the ITSB over a tt�ree-year periad. The first two tests were g'rven 20
months apart; 32 months elapsed between the first and last test Shaw compared the results in this table:
20-Month A.verage Test Score Gaims
ye� Reading Math Sociat Studies Language Science
2001 (Bridge} 21_47 2S 20 2 t.99 18.03 40_27
Z002 (Non-bridge) 17.43 24.26 14.31 30.52 29.79
2003 (Bridge) 28.50 34.95 24.17 32_11 24.67
32-Ndontl�Average Test Score Gains
2001 (Bridge) 4-0.87 51.53 30.49 22_72 52_57
2Q02 (Nan-bridge) 2337 36.42 25.15 30.05 36.05
2003 (Bridge) 39.72 45.67 32.Sd 3'7.1? 45.11
The 200i bridge students liad higher test scores than the 2002 students at the end of 2Q months and 32 months in
four of the five subject areas. The language gain was less than the 2002 non-bridge students.
Tke 2003 bridge siudents out-gained the 2002 ciass in four of the five subject areas after 24 months (scaence
scozes were lower than the 2002 group), but exceeded:the 2002 group in all areas after 32 months. �
Bridge Bulletin
Aug 'LtS 1U U6:Zt�a l�everly /bU-:S1t5-4Lbb p.b
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`T'�.� W�.Sh11z o�. �Post
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June 19, 2d03,Thursday, Final Editian A SECTIOPV; Pg.A01
l�iind Ga�nes I1�ay Trump Aizhea�er's
Study Cites Effects of Bradge, C`iiess
Shankar Vedantam,
Washington Post StaffWr�ter
Playing chess,bridge or a musical The benefits of such activitzes--
instrument significantly lowers the�risk of widely availabEe and anexpensive—a�pear
developing Atzheimec's disease or ot�er to bene5t those at all levels of educaxion and
forms of dementia,according to the most IQ.
camprehensive study to exarnine the The fiading comes as researchers
benefits of challenging intellectual activity race t,o find ways to slow or Frevent
among the elderIy. disarders such as Alztzeimer's disease,which
SenioYs who regularly engaged in afflicts 4 mi4lion Americans.As the large
pastimes thai stre�ched their minds—sorry, number of pe:aple in the baby baom
watching TV doesn't count—lawered their generation age,dementia-related disease is
risk of developing.Alzheimer's disease and expected to ris�,and reducing its toll could
other dementias by as much as 75 percent, have enormous ramifications_
compared with.those who diddt exercise Equally intriguing from a scientific
tLeir minds,researchers said.yesterday. shandgoint is the idea#hat criental activity
The report bolsters a growing body such as playing bridge can alter the
of evic3ence that exeroising the mind through molecutar march af a neurologicaI process.
board games,social activities and education "How can the molecular
offers gowerfui �rotectiou a�ainsf inental determinism of Atzheime�'s disease be
deterioration and disease_ trumped hy etderly people's card-playing7"
"I see a 1ot of elderly patients—a 1ot aslsed 3oseph Coyle,a professor of
come with memory comp�ain4s," said Joe psychiatPy and neuroscience at Harvard
Verghese,a neuralogist at the Albert Medical Schaot,in an analysis of Verghese's
Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, study.Both papers are being published
who led the study team."They have sa- today in the New Englaad Journal of
called senior maments--they go in a room Medieine.
and forget why they are ttnere.One thing I "The apgarent conflict is between
advise is for them to inccease their biolagy and gsychology,"Coyte said in an
participaLion in cognitively stimulating interview.But neuroscientists are finding
activities." that in many ways the fsrain is"plastic"—
Some mental activity appears to be thoughts and experiences change neurat
better than none,said Verghese.And the stntcture and chemistry_
more hours seniors spent doing challenging "Using the mind actually causes
tasks,the�nore protection they�ained rewirin�of the brain,spmuRing new
against brain declirne.The day may not be synapses—it may even cause the generation
far off,he said,when doctors recommend a of new ueurons," Coyle said. "So
game of chess and ths daily crossword along psychoiogy trumps biology."
with physical exereise and a healthy diet.
Aug 'LtS 1U UEi:�tia tieverly /EiU-:�1�-4"lEiFi p.t�
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COaCHfLLA VALIEY
BRtDCsE F4l1NDA7tOH
August 2a, 2010
Sejat Bhakta
Manager, I-Iampton Inn
74-900 Gerald Ford Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92211
Re: Host Hotei for Duncan Bridge Center
Dear Ms. Bhakta:
Thank you for taking time to speak with me this morning. I would like to confirm our
understanding and agzeement.
The Coachella Valley Bridge Foundation, dba Duncan Bridge Center(DBC), is
interested in procuring a lease at the University Plaza, Suites 104 and 105. Because
DBC has higl�zer pazking needs tt�an retail business, you have agreed to allow Dl3C
patrons to park in the rear of your facility. It is understood that your parking needs are
greater during the overnight hours, while the DBCs need for parking is during rnid-
day.
. In exchange, DBC will prom.ote lhe Hampton Inn as its Host Hotel, includin�a link on.
its website. In addition, the DBC will provide your�ests with camplimentaxy
entrance to bridge games held at the DBC during their stay at tl�e Hampton Inn..
Please visit our website for further informatiort about us at
,,. � .�; . 1: look forward to receiving your confrmation of this
agreement.
Sincerely,
t�����- ��J(C����v `
Beverly A�artin
Advisor to the Coacliella Valley Bridge Foundation
Agreed: �;" ; � Date: �'�� 2�'-<�
By: Sejat Bh , 1Vlanager, Hampton Inn, Palm Desert Catifamia