An appeal of an approved home project on one of the last undeveloped lots in the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood is among several items of interest on the agenda of the Palm Springs City Council, which meets Thursday at 5:30 PM.
The appeal was filed by a neighbor of the half-acre parcel, located at 585 Camino Calidad, where construction of 5,846-square-foot home and detached casita was earlier approved by the city’s Architectural Review Committee (ARC) and Planning Commission. While many homes in the neighborhood are of similar size, two features of the home are at issues for the neighbor.
Howard Hyman, whose home is to the north of the lot, has appealed approval of the project, claiming a planned subterranean parking structure and a rooftop deck are not a fit for the neighborhood and would set a bad precedent.
“While the city technically may permit subterranean parking, basements, roof top decks and other features, the city has many different areas where these features may be appropriate,” he wrote in an email Tuesday. “But to put all of them in one project, lacks the discretion given to the city to say when something is inappropriate.
“Just because there is not a prohibition does not mean it should all be allowed. I fear that this project will become cited as precedent for other builds.”
In late July, the Planning Commission delayed approval for the project, asking for additional illustrations of what the home would look like with a finished floor elevation at 527.5 feet. On September 1, after viewing the additional illustrations, the Commission approved the project with a requirement to lower the finished floor elevation by two feet. The ARC had asked for tall landscaping to be planted along the south property line to create privacy between the adjacent neighbors.
In written remarks filed with the city, Chad and Tenah Dyer, owners of the property, maintain there is precedent for the rooftop deck and the subterranean parking.
“[T]here is a strong precedent in the neighborhood of ten homes within a one-quarter mile radius that have a similar arrangement,” they wrote., adding later that, “there is nothing in the Palm Springs Municipal Code that prohibits roof top decks as has been stated clearly in the City staff reports for this project.”
Other items before the Council this evening include:
- A review of proposed sites for a homeless services center, covered last week in The Post. The possible locations include one recommended by city staff that has residents of the north end of the city concerned, as reported in The Post here on Monday.
- Public hearings on the nearly six-fold expansion of Kings Garden marijuana cultivation facility on 19th Avenue and plans to add additional guest rooms at the former Andaz Hotel (now a Thompson Hotel) at 414 North Palm Canyon Drive.
- A review of the city’s emergency orders regarding COVID-19, which may include results of a recent public poll being conducted int he community by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce.
- A consent agenda item authorizing the issuance of a letter to the California Attorney General in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organizations’ request for an investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Chad Bianco. The sheriff was recently revealed to have once paid for a membership in Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government militia organization composed of current and former military and police.
To participate: Residents who wish to speak at the Council meeting may submit their comments to the Office of the City Clerk prior to the meeting no later than 5 PM. The phone number is 760-323-8204. At the appropriate time, a staff member will call members of the public to provide testimony. Written comments may be submitted to the City Council via email at cityclerk@palmspringsca.gov. You can watch the Council meeting live online at www.palmspringsca.gov, on the city’s YouTube channel, or on Palm Springs Community Television Channel 17.
