Early draft of zoning overhaul reduces districts, creates new housing options; public invited to weigh in ⋆ The Palm Springs Post

*Residents look over poster boards with preliminary suggested changes to the city’s zoning code during the first of two public meetings about the topic this week.*

Palm Springs officials are actively seeking public feedback on proposed zoning changes that would reshape the city’s development landscape for decades to come, marking the first comprehensive update to the code in over 40 years. They received some at a meeting Monday evening, and there’s another opportunity to participate Tuesday.

During the third public meeting of the ongoing zoning update process, held at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center Monday evening, Planning Director Chris Hadwin emphasized the importance of community input, telling attendees that feedback from residents and stakeholders is important to ensure the city’s zoning rules aren’t creating barriers to desired growth.

The proposed changes would significantly streamline the current system by reducing the number of zoning districts from approximately 30 to 23, according to Colin Scarff, principal with Code Studio, the consulting firm working on the update.

“We’re not just eliminating districts for the sake of eliminating districts,” Scarff said, explaining that the most substantial consolidation would occur in commercial districts, which would be reduced from nine to three or four.

A key feature of the proposed update is the creation of new “missing middle” housing districts. These would accommodate a wider variety of housing types while constraining the scale of new development.

“This is like our key missing middle district moving forward,” Scarff said of one proposed district labeled RMB. “We are trying to constrain the scale of new development in this district. So we’ve set a metric here and you can’t put any more than 12 units into a single building.”

City Councilmember Grace Garner, who attended the meeting, described the zoning update as “probably the biggest project and the most lasting impact” currently underway in Palm Springs.

*Planning Director Chris Hadwin chats with a member of the public Monday evening at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center gym.*

“If you care about the future of Palm Springs, tell your neighbors, tell your friends to come out here and participate,” Garner said. “Nothing that was presented right now is going to be introduced tomorrow to council. We still have a lot of time to really fine tune this and decide how we want our zoning code to be.”

Garner connected the zoning code to recent community concerns, including debates about drive-thru businesses, housing availability and open space preservation.

Officials said the zoning update process is approximately halfway complete, with final approval expected in about a year. The city has conducted three public meetings and received over 850 responses to a survey available in both English and Spanish.

The proposed changes also respond to new state requirements aimed at making it easier to build residential projects throughout California.

Another meeting is planned Tuesday at Demuth Community Center, 3601 E. Mesquite Ave., starting at 12 p.m. Additional information about the zoning update is available at this city website, where residents can also submit comments or questions.