Wishing you a blast of an Independence Day

Our wonderful Palermo undoubtedly will be busy with pool parties with the local hotties, BBQs and the celebratory spirit over the Independence Day weekend. Remember to watch out for the ears of your furry friends if there are fireworks. Your blog hostess will be gone for the long weekend. But Miss Penny Lane says to her Palermo dearies before she hits the road: Have a great and safe Fourth of July. You are what makes living here the best community in Palm Springs.

Are Palermo's plants getting enough water?

There's been discussion here and individually among neighbors about whether Palermo's plants are being watered enough now that the heat is here. Some have said certain palms are dying. Concern about the landscaping also was brought up at the last homeowners association meeting. Was there any follow-up about this by management? Miss Penny Lane urges: If you believe the plants in front of your home are crying for water, please take the time to water them because that's the Spirit of Palermo.

A new security company?

Positively Palermo received this question: "Do we have a new security company here? I have seen many more patrols by a new company, Maxwell. When did this change? Nothing has gone out to residents. The new patrol guys are really cute - a nice new benefit, btw." Miss Penny Lane says: Now she is getting excited. Is this truth or fiction?

Hooray! Crews do a clean-up of Palermo's 'back lot'

Positively Palermo has been pointing out the condition of the undeveloped Phase 2 of our Palermo community. That's the open space surrounded by green fencing. The parcel is supposed to have 88 more units — in addition to the six models already built there and sitting vacant — for a total of 94 more units. These would be added to the 117 units already built in Phase 1, so Palermo at full build-out would have 211 units. Phase 2 also is supposed to have 10,000 square feet of retail space, a pool and spa, tennis courts and a dog park. But for years the space has been a big garbage heap. Glass bottles abound. Plastic bags have taken over the shrubbery. The green fence often is blowing in the wind. Now there's a big clean-up going on, with crews leveling ground, moving big rocks, watering the dirt with sprinklers, removing trash, trimming bushes and trees, and generally sprucing up the place. Miss Penny Lane says: Thank you, Enterprise Companies of Chicago for this work.

In the dark

Right now, on Sunday night, all the outside lighting at Palermo is off. It's pitch dark out there even though there's no power blackout. This is a safety concern. During the day, the pool lights are on and in the afternoon the landscaping lights come on even though the sun is shining. Yet for the past nights the landscaping lights have been off completely, or they have been off during some of the time at night. Crazy, isn't it? Miss Penny Lane asks: Why are we in the dark at Palermo?

It's daylight, but Palermo's landscaping and pool lights are on?

For numerous months, residents have been complaining that the landscaping lighting has been coming on while it's still daylight out. Some pool and spa lights, needlessly, also are on during the day. It's a big waste of money and a big waste of electricity, yet nothing is being done to correct this situation. Miss Penny Lane asks: If the homeowners association has money to burn, is it time to lower the monthly $241 dues?

Plastic fields forever?

Winds have been blowing across Palm Springs for days. But even before that, the trees and bushes of the undeveloped Phase 2 of Palermo had been littered with plastic bags for weeks and weeks. Miss Penny Lane says: Why must drivers exiting through the south gate be greeted by this blight every day?

Blackout at Palermo - (UPDATE: See reader comment section for what the Fire Department told a resident about this situation)

Dear Friends, we all had quite a night at Palermo, as the power went completely out for hours. No electricity in our homes, no street lights, and no way in or out of our community. The electric gates were shut and without power, so emergency vehicles apparently couldn't easily get in and we Palermo residents could not get out. Palermo residents and visitors camped out on both sides of the main gate in their cars and did some bonding, according to an e-mail just received. Now that's the Palermo spirit! A silver lining to everything. But Miss Penny Lane must ask: Shouldn't the gates have emergency back-up power for everyone's safety, and where was security tonight?

6/11 UPDATE — The paper reported Friday morning: "Two power outages that began Thursday night continued to affect Southern California Edison customers in the Coachella Valley early Friday. The larger of the two outages initially cut power to about 1,600 customers in Palm Springs at 10:35 p.m., Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said. Just after midnight, power was restored to more than half of the customers affected by the outage, leaving 530 customers in the dark in a neighborhood near Highway 111 and Gateway Drive. Crews hope to restore power to those homes by 6 p. m. Friday ... both outages were caused by equipment problems, but it was unknown if strong winds played a role."

6/15 UPDATE — Please click on the reader comments below. A Palermo resident contacted the Palm Springs Fire Department about this alarming situation involving our health and safety during power outages. The answer may shock you.)

P.S: Miss Penny Lane gives a big hug to the Palermo resident who emailed in the above picture of the scene at the Palermo main gate.

The tree trimming has started. Good-bye yellow plastic tape

Some progress to report. Last week, Positively Palermo pointed out that for two months there has been yellow tape on numerous trees. The police-type plastic tape apparently marked trees for trimming — but nothing was being done since early April when the tape appeared. Now we have some action after complaints here. Crews arrived today, according to a resident e-mail. (See a photo submitted to this site by a resident.) Miss Penny Lane says: Why should such a simple thing such as tree trimming be such a difficult task for Palermo's caretakers to carry out in a timely manner?

Yellow police-type tape has been on many of Palermo's trees for TWO months now

At the beginning of April, Palermo residents began discussing on this community site why yellow tape appeared on some trees. Apparently, the ribbons are meant to mark trees for trimming, although such ribbons also were put on palm trees when the palms were ripped out. It's been two months that Palermo's trees have had yellow police-type plastic tape on them. Two months? Miss Penny Lane says: Any lady knows that one must change her ribbons more often than that.

Dented garage doors

Hope you are having a lovely Memorial Day weekend at Palermo. And for those of you not here this weekend, we miss you as we soak up the sun at the beautiful pools. Today Positively Palermo is highlighting some resident comments posted elsewhere on this site about management's recent letters regarding dented garage doors. People are up in arms, and say they consider the letters rude and misinformed. Many of the dented doors aren't black and white cases according to the comments and other e-mails sent in. Damage often wasn't caused by "illegal parking" by the actual owners or renters of the units, people say, but by others. Certainly us neighbors at Palermo and managers can find a way to solve this problem together, because as one resident said didn't the managers help "create the situation" by lax enforcement of driveway parking rules? Here's an idea: Have the managers come in with a single contractor with a lower rate with residents paying part of the bill, and then make certain there's enforcement of the driveway parking rules after that. Miss Penny Lane says: Wouldn't this be a win-win for the Palermo community?

Anonymous said...
How many residents have recieved notices to repair their garage doors? Owners or just tennets?
May 28, 2010 8:11 PM

Anonymous said...
I got a notice (owner) but the "damage" was done by someone else who parked in my driveway. The HOA should be responsible for the damage because they are LETTING people park in all these spots and not towing.
May 29, 2010 10:19 AM

Anonymous said...
I agree (above) big problem with this on Sandy Point. The place looks like a used car lot. I think the plan was supposed to be a car in the garage and an extra in the parking lots.It just seems lazy that people park in neighbors units...and of course THE FIRE LANES! Why should people have to pay for damage when neighbors use their driveways with out permission.
May 30, 2010 12:07 PM

Not Responsible said...
YES, the hoa let this happen. People own and might only be here on weekends or seasonally. Colt and management don't cite cars in these drive ways. Then the owner get a threatening letter about parking illegally when they didn't even do it. Management has helped to create this situation by not even citing, let alone towing. This is the result off more poor oversight by the board/DRM.
May 30, 2010 1:43 PM

The two big sales center signs are down

Great news, the sales office signs are gone. Palermo owners and renters have been concerned for the past year about the two sales signs up outside our community. The signs — saying models and the sales center are open — were left up even though the last 30 or so units owned by the developer are being rented out and the sales center was shut down. The signs produced unwanted traffic in our community by people driving around looking for the models and sales office. Miss Penny Lane says: So terrific the signs are gone, and friendly hugs to those residents who asked that this problem be taken care of. Together, we are making things happen here.

Cheers for the city for the road repair

In these days of budget shortfalls, it's nice to see the City of Palm Springs is looking out for our roads. Those of you who are part-time residents or visitors may not know that the city has put down new black top on many of the streets near Palermo, including much of Indian Canyon Drive. Miss Penny Lane says: Thank you, Palm Springs.

Housing proposal at Indian Canyon and San Rafeal

Miss Penny Lane awoke to find news of our neighborhood in the morning paper:

"Following several hours of fierce community debate Wednesday, a proposal to build 51 affordable housing units next to an enclave of historic mid-century modern steel homes is still on the table. With a 3-2 vote, the Palm Springs City Council opted to form a subcommittee to address design issues with the for-sale town home project by Santa Monica-based Community Dynamics. Mayor Steve Pougnet and Councilwoman Ginny Foat dissented. The development, slated for a 3.6-acre redevelopment agency-owned lot at Indian Canyon and San Rafael drives, has stirred controversy for nearly two years. Owners of the Donald Wexler-designed steel development homes and other opponents say the project is too dense, would affect mountain views and infringe on privacy. Mayor Pro Tem Rick Hutcheson and Councilman Chris Mills will form the subcommittee and report back later to the full council. At that point, the project could get sent back to the Planning Commission, which denied the project last month. “We're not there yet,” Hutcheson said, adding there's no huge rush to approve or deny the project. The developer and the Wexler home owners should work further to hash out a compromise, he said."

Wobbly earthquake felt at Palermo

Neighbors are talking about the quake felt at Palermo. The paper is reporting: "An earthquake estimated at magnitude 5.1 struck the California-Mexico border Tuesday afternoon, apparently another sharp aftershock from the 7.2 Mexicali temblor last month. The new quake was reported at 5:38 p.m. 19 miles southwest of Calexico in Imperial County. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, but the quake was felt across the border region." It was a kind of wobbly quake at Palermo. No damage it seems. Check out the Web links page for a connection to quick California earthquake reports. Miss Penny Lane says: So relieved that we all are safe and sound in our wonderful commmunity, and this one reminds us that our community must have a disaster and communication plan.

UPDATE: Another quake was felt at Palermo Wednesday morning. They also have reduced the other quake to magnitude 4.5 .

Pools that sparkle for the sparkling community that is Palermo Palm Springs

We must take time to praise the new pool guy. He is here often, checking up on the pools and spas. Such a departure from the last pool service. The biggest complaint seems to be the pools are too warm! Miss Penny Lane must say: Thank you for bringing the resort quality back to our pools.

5/20 UPDATE: Shopping cart saga

MAY 20 UPDATE: Good news-bad news. As of last night, all the carts were gone from the median on Indian Canyon. Bad news: That one red cart with the big initials "VG" scrawled on it was at the corner, right by the Palermo sign! Miss Penny Lane continues to lament: Why must the beautiful Palermo complex put up with such ugliness? Who will be our savior? Who?

MAY 17 UPDATE: Well, we had one day without the shopping carts on Indian Canyon. Then they came back. There are three there right now, two from Ralphs.

ORIGINAL POST: More good news about removal the stolen shopping carts left on Indian Canyon median outside Palermo. Some carts are gone because of your calls. Two members of the Palm Springs City Council have responded (see their e-mails in earlier posts). Now City Manager David Ready has promised action. See his e-mail below. The recycling center on Oasis Road is attracting all these carts ( Palm Springs Recycling‎ is at 280 W. Oasis Rd. Phone: 760-325-3377‎). There also carts on Oasis, some that look like they've been there for months such as the red one above from Trader Joe's. Miss Penny Lane says: It may be long haul, but together we can end this chronic problem.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: David Ready
To: welovepalermo@yahoo.com
Cc: Lee Weigel
Sent: Fri, May 14, 2010 3:16:32 PM
Subject: shopping carts

Dear Ms. Lane,
Councilman Weigel asked me to contact you regarding the shopping cart issue – we have noticed that they have not been removed as per our rules; On Monday, I will have our Street Maintenance crew pick them up – and we will investigate why the stores have not had them removed.

Please feel free to contact me directly if I can be of further assistance.

Regards,
David

Email- David.Ready@palmsprings-ca.gov

One last wave of foreclosures at Palermo?

Miss Penny Lane has been noticing more "for sale" and "foreclosure" signs popping up in our little enclave. Several units have had auction notices taped on their doors. It's said that some have to do with the kind of loan offered by a lender many homeowners had used. Some are being sold at auction. One May 28 auction notice for 240 Enterprise was taped to the front gate. One at 210 Enterprise has a notice on its door. So does one at 3671 Melody Lane (the owner of this unit, a lovely man named David, passed away). There also are or were recently for-sale signs on 235, 248 and 258 Sandy Point (some of these are bank-owned). On the Quiet Side, the 3617 and 3627 units have been foreclosed on. They same family owned both properties. Also the end two-bedroom units, 3587 and 3697 units of the Quiet Side, have been or are on the market due to foreclosure. 3525 and 3686 Sunburst are for sale. It's a great time to buy into Palermo. Miss Penny Lane says: She's eager to meet the new residents who will move into these empty units and join our wonderful community of good spirits. Welcome.

UPDATED: Shopping cart saga — Palm Spring City Councilmen Rick Hutcheson and Lee Weigel respond

Miss Penny Lane drove home this evening and noticed that some of the discarded carts — at last! — have been removed from the median of Indian Canyon. But not all. The recycling center must begin to be a responsible neighbor because it is attracting all these carts. The city also must step in. On that front here are notes from Palm Springs City Council members Rick Hutcheson and Lee Weigel. Miss Penny Lane says: Palermo residents must continue to demand action because this isn't a one-time problem. Call the city, call the stores, call the recycling center (760-325-3377) and call the shopping removal service (800-252-4613).

From: Rick Hutcheson
To: WELOVEPALERMO@YAHOO.COM
Sent: Tue, May 11, 2010 11:16:22 AM
Subject: shopping carts

Thank you for letting me know, Penny, I will ask the city Manager to take a look and see what we can do.
Best wishes,
Rick



From: Lee Weigel
To: Penny Lane
Sent: Fri, May 14, 2010 8:43:38 AM
Subject: RE: shopping carts

Thanks Penny
I will pass this on too. Lee

Board meeting set for May 12

An agenda has gone up for a HOA board meeting in the clubhouse at 5:30 p.m. this Wednesday, May 12. Miss Penny Lane says: Despite the short notice, everyone ought to attend and show their care for the Palermo community.

UPDATE: Shopping carts on Indian Canyon

Palermo is such a lovely place that people from across the U.S. and even Canada have invested in homes here. But now let's get to work. As a community we must do something about the stolen shopping carts left in the median on North Indian Canyon across from Palermo. A Palermo owner sent us this e-mail: "I called PS police department and they gave me this number: 800-252-4613. They are supposed to pick them up w/in 24 hours. I am sure you agree that it looks terrible and you wouldn't want your guests to see it." There were carts from Wal-Mart, TJMaxx, Dollar Tree and others there yesterday evening. But it turns out the service is spotty at best and doesn't pick up all carts from all stories.

UPDATE: A Palermo resident has helped solve part of the mystery about the shopping carts. See his post in the comments section. A nearby recycling center attracts people bringing carts full of cans. Palm Springs Recycling‎ is at 280 W. Oasis Rd. Phone: 760-325-3377‎. Miss Penny Lane says: This business should help solve this ugly problem that mars a gateway to beautiful Palm Springs.

Let's also email the mayor and City Council:
Mayor Steve Pougnet — E-mail: Steve.Pougnet@palmsprings-ca.gov
Councilman Chris Mills — E-mail: Chris.Mills@palmsprings-ca.gov
Councilwoman Ginny Foat — E-mail: Ginny.Foat@palmsprings-ca.gov
Councilman Rick Hutcheson: E-mail: Rick.Hutcheson@palmsprings-ca.gov
Councilman Lee Weigel: E-mail: Lee.Weigel@palmsprings-ca.gov

PS — Miss Penny Lane also reminds: Palermo also must be mindful of the image it projects to the guests and possible homebuyers. Look at the sorry state of the green fencing right by the Palermo sign and elsewhere.

The cameras are in the clubhouse and gym

Miss Penny Lane has just learned that the long-awaited cameras are now in the clubhouse and gym. Those who have been here for the last years know the long haul it was to get the management finally to put them in. We've lost gym equipment, a flat screen, tables and chairs. The pool table and sticks have been damaged. At last, security cameras have arrived. Miss Penny Lane says: A big thank you to all who made this happen and demanded it happen.

Positively Palermo, gussied-up for you

Positively Palermo has gussied itself up because one can always benefit from a little nip and tuck and a few more adornments. Miss Penny Lane has added more pages. One has the unofficial lowdown on the basics of the development, another has unofficial answers to frequent questions asked by residents, another lists useful phone numbers, and another has services offered by or for Palermo residents. Please post or e-mail ideas/corrections/etc. you have for these pages. You can access the pages on the left hand column on this home page. There's also a new slideshow. Miss Penny Lane says: Her heart is full of joy at the words of encouragement and outpouring of support and concern for this lovely community.