Landscaping matters: Palermo plants needed city approval for the building permit to be issued

You may have seen the resident comments here about landscaping. Here is one comment: "There was a city approved landscape plan for the Palermo common areas -- that includes the front yards of all the homes that are part of the common area and owned by the HOA. People can plant what they like in their back yards. Front yards are controlled by the approved landscape plan and the approved plant pallette which consists of desert plant species requiring low amounts of water. The city is requiring new developments such as ours to put in drought tolerant plants. I personally love flowers and a variety of plants and will exercise my creative gardening in my backyard and leave the front to maintain a consistent community appearance." All this is correct. It might be time to lay out the situation. The front yard areas are under the jurisdiction of the HOA and changes require HOA approval. But there are more restrictions than just this because of the city of Palm Springs regulates the landscaping design of new planned communities such as Palermo. Palermo's desert landscaping was designed by TKD Associates of Rancho Mirage. The city's Planning Commission made these rules as a condition of Palermo receiving its building permit. One: "The final landscaping plan shall be submitted for approval by the Department of Planning Services, Department of Public Works and Department of Parks and Recreation, prior to issuance of a building permit. Landscape plans shall be approved by the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner's Office prior to submittal." And two: "The project is subject to the City of Palm Springs Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. The applicant shall submit an application for Final Landscape Document Package to the Director of Planning and Zoning for review and approval prior to the issuance of a building permit." Any major changes require city approval. The above pictures show the list of plants approved by the city to be planted at Palermo. Detailed landscape plans also exist, showing the exact location of plants that correspond with the symbols used in the above "master plan plant legend." Other plants can't be used without city approval. This site over the next weeks will highlight some of the plants on the Palermo approved list and provide background on them. The first plant we will look at will be the "agave desmettiana" that is now flowering and will soon die. Miss Penny Lane says: She unfortunately lacks a green thumb but loves that others are taking such an interest in their front yards.