Council approves acquiring Kalura Trattoria’s patio for downtown theater project

The Palm Springs City Council voted 4-0 Thursday to approve a resolution of necessity allowing the use of eminent domain to acquire part of Kalura Trattoria’s patio for the Plaza Theatre restoration project.

At issue is the fact the city needs to widen an existing 10-foot easement to 20 feet to meet California building code requirements for the theater renovation, according to City Attorney Jeff Ballinger.

“The California building code requires a 20-foot wide easement for public safety in case of a fire, earthquake or other emergency,” Ballinger said. “With a theater that has 700 plus seat capacity, you can imagine how important it is to have this easement to allow the public, especially to get out of the theater in case of an emergency.”

Restaurant owners and patrons expressed strong opposition to the move during public comments, citing potential harm to the 22-year-old family-owned business.

“This action is unnecessary, unjust and violates the right to our family owned business,” said Ignazio Battaglia, one of Kalura’s owners. “Most importantly, it will put at risk our employees’ families and kids.”

Battaglia said over 600 citizens signed a petition opposing the use of eminent domain for the acquisition of Kalura’s patio.

Several patrons spoke in support of the restaurant, praising its longevity and importance to the community.

“Kalura has been there for like 23 years now and we’ve been very successful,” said one longtime customer. “It is essentially part of the urban fabric. It anchors the theater.”

Ballinger said city staff will now continue negotiations with the property owner — Grit Development — and Kalura’s owners to find a mutually agreeable solution.

“The city wants Kalura to remain at the current property,” Ballinger said. “We’ve discussed with them and the property owner a potential for relocating the patio which would be impacted by the acquisition of the easement and moving that patio perhaps to the front of the building, similar to what we see in other areas of the city and other cities with parklets.”

The council’s approval of the move is the first step in the eminent domain process. The city would need to file a lawsuit to acquire the property if negotiations are unsuccessful.

Councilmember Christy Holstege was not in attendance at Thursday’s meeting.

---