Housing redevelopment plan across from Palermo hits a bump

From the Desert Sun, January 2010.

The Palm Springs Planning Commission voted this week to have a hearing about plans for a residential development that its neighbors oppose.

The townhouse project is proposed to be built near the historic Wexler steel homes at the city's north end. Its Santa Monica-based developer, Community Dynamics, in a Jan. 7 letter to the city, asked that the commission take another look at the 51-unit moderate-income project, proposed for the corner of Indian Canyon and San Rafael drives.

The commission voted 6-1 on Wednesday to give notice of a hearing on the matter at a future date. Vice Chairman Jon Caffery dissented.

It first reviewed the Community Dynamics project at its Oct. 14 meeting, where owners of the Donald Wexler-designed homes said they worried about potential noise, overcrowding, views from the units into their homes and blocked mountain views.

At that meeting, the Planning Commission also voted 6-1 to request Community Dynamics make design changes and reduce its densities. The developer then would present those changes to the city's Architectural Advisory Committee and bring the project back to the commission at a later date.

On Wednesday, Community Dynamics Vice President Stephen Roberts said the company looked at the commission's request, but the changes would not pencil out — nor would they mesh with “the sense of community” the developer hoped to create.

Roberts added that the architectural committee already had recommended approval of the project design in June.

Community Dynamics had hoped to restate its case before the commission Wednesday — but that idea didn't sit well with some commission members.

Commissioner Tracy Conrad said it would be unfair to take additional testimony from Community Dynamics. The developer already made its case in October and opted to disregard the commission's input, she said. “I'm not inclined to change my mind, no matter what I'm told,” Conrad added. “I find the whole process a bit disingenuous.”

Several Wexler homeowners agreed.

“We have not been contacted by Community Dynamics since the public hearing three months ago,” Wexler steel home owners James and Ginger Pigott stated in a Jan. 27 letter to the commission. “There can be no justifiable reason for them to completely ignore us when there are so many unresolved issues with their plans.”

Mark Dansby, a resident of the Palermo development nearby, spoke in favor of the Community Dynamics project at Wednesday's meeting. It would provide much-needed “high quality, energy-efficient working-class homes” for Palm Springs' moderate income community, Dansby said.

After the meeting, Director of Planning Services Craig Ewing said Community Dynamics “ultimately gets to decide the project they want the commission to rule on.”