Community Design | City of Palm Springs

Purpose and Introduction

Palm Springs is extremely fortunate to be recognized as a world-renowned community and should take steps to protect and enhance that identity. The goal of the Community Design Element is to create a cohesive and comprehensive community design strategy that reinforces and strengthens the City’s image while enhancing the unique character of individual neighborhoods/districts.

Figures and Tables

Figures

Tables

Goals, Policies, and Actions

Goal CD1

Create a safe, aesthetically pleasing community appearance that utilizes high-quality architecture—a hallmark of Palm Springs.

Policies

CD1.1	Enhance the City’s identity through the use of distinct City graphics in the design of gateways, street signs, city signage, public facilities and public gathering places, bus shelters, and other areas where appropriate.
CD1.2	Public landscaping, banners, and signage along streets, sidewalks, and property frontages and in public spaces to strengthen the City’s identity
CD1.3	Recognize the importance of street trees in the aesthetic appeal of residential neighborhoods and encourage the planting of street trees throughout the City’s residential neighborhoods.
CD1.4	Implement appropriate review procedures that advance the aesthetic quality of the community through high-quality architecture, outstanding site design, and responsiveness to the desert environment.
CD1.5	Encourage the use of natural colors, materials, and textures in public and private development and streetscape improvements to complement the natural environment. Allow for the use of accent colors to complement the desert color palette.
CD1.6	Ensure that traffic signal boxes are hidden or designed to blend in with the surrounding buildings and landscaping.
CD1.7	Encourage design of visually attractive retention/detention basins.
CD1.8	Encourage the use of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) and defensible space design concepts.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD1.1	Develop a priority program and funding plan and work with the utility companies, citizens, and others to accelerate the undergrounding of overhead utility lines.
CD1.2	Create a master streetscape plan addressing landscaping, signage, lighting, gateway design, and special design features along major roadways and at key entryways to the City. (See Figure 9-2, Special Streetscape Treatments, for a map of major roadways that should be included in the master streetscape plan.)
CD1.3	Implement a program to address the maintenance of vacant lots.
CD1.4	Incorporate the Retention Basin Policy introduced in a Planning Commission Study Session on December 1, 2004, into the Municipal Code.
CD1.5	Identify and support opportunities to expand public art in conjunction with redevelopment and new development projects.

Goal CD2

The City maintains its unique “modern urban village” atmosphere and preserves the rich historical, architectural, recreational, and environmental quality while pursuing community and business development goals.

Policies

CD2.1	Create or enhance distinctive entries to the City through the use of signage, landscaping, public art, monuments, and walls at the following locations: Palm Canyon Drive at Tramway Road Indian Canyon Drive at the Whitewater Wash I-10 and Indian Canyon Drive interchange I-10 and Gene Autry Trail interchange I-10 and Highway 111 interchange Ramon Road at the easterly entry to the City Intersection of East Palm Canyon Drive and Gene Autry Trail East Palm Canyon Drive at Golf Club Drive Mesquite Avenue at eastern City boundary Gene Autry at Vista Chino Selected roadways defining the entry to Downtown
CD2.2	Ensure that all gateways incorporate consistent community design themes.
CD2.3	Replace obsolete entry elements and enhance the gateways to the downtown area with the incorporation of signage, landscaping, building setbacks, architectural detailing, and other elements that reflect the high-quality architecture and design of Palm Springs.
CD2.4	Strengthen the identity of neighborhoods/districts through the addition of community gateway features, special street signs, or monuments.
CD2.5	Preserve and enhance the scenic desert character along the I-10 Corridor.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD2.1	Create and adopt a Citywide gateway program to identify and implement gateway improvements.
CD2.2	Expand the current City signage program identifying distinct districts/neighborhoods.
CD2.3	Encourage neighborhood community organizations or homeowners associations to fund gateway features for their neighborhoods.

Goal CD3

Establish strong and clearly defined nodes that add to the visual quality of the City and provide activity areas/gathering places for the City’s residents and visitors.

Policies

CD3.1	Ensure that development in the above nodes is appropriate to the character and identity of the area through the use of specialized architectural styles and treatments, landscaping, signage, and other design elements at an appropriate scale and height.
CD3.2	Strengthen or create pedestrian and vehicular connections between areas of activity.
CD3.3	Encourage the creation of a consistent design theme within each node that will differentiate the node from surrounding areas.
CD3.4	Create a sense of arrival at nodes through the use of specialized paving, landscaping, architectural treatments, signage and lighting.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD3.1	Create streetscape and landscaping plans for each node that reflect and emphasize the character of that area to create a unique sense of place and destination image.
CD3.2	Create specific design guidelines for the above nodes.
CD3.3	Ensure that nodes and activity centers are provided with appropriate pedestrian amenities such as shade structures, seating, bike racks, drinking fountains, and public toilet facilities.

Goal CD4

Design attractive and visually unified corridors that strengthen the City’s identity while retaining their own unique design identities.

Policies

CD4.1	Utilize unifying and consistent streetscape elements—landscaped parkways and distinctive medians, regularly spaced trees, specialized lighting, street furniture, banners and public signs—to visually unify the City’s major corridors.
CD4.2	Allow design variation of special sections along corridors (such as the section of Tahquitz Canyon Way in Section 14) as long as they are compatible with the design intent of the corridor and fit into the overall design theme and hierarchy of the City’s streets.
CD4.3	Ensure that new development along the Highway 111 Corridor is designed to minimize views of homes while protecting views of the mountains as one enters the City. This can be done through the appropriate incorporation of screening features, such as berms and native landscaping, into a project’s design.
CD4.4	Continue to explore the impact of reconfiguring traffic flow and parking along Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive from San Rafael Drive to Ramon Road. Ensure that enhanced streetscape elements—such as landscaping, signage, street furniture, textured pedestrian crossings, and specialized lighting fixtures—are incorporated into the final design of the corridor’s street sections.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD4.1	Develop a coordinated program and design hierarchy for public signs and lighting along major corridors.
CD4.2	Institute a program to evaluate the current signage regulations and alter them as necessary to encourage a visually consistent and attractive sign program along corridors.
CD4.3	Annex the county areas along the Highway 111 entry corridor.
CD4.4	Analyze the impact and feasibility of converting the landscaping along Tahquitz Canyon Way and other lushly landscaped areas to a desert plant palette.
CD4.5	Develop an inventory of the defining landscape characteristics for major corridors in the City and compile them into a design standards reference guide. The reference guide shall address not only an inventory of existing corridor treatments, but it shall also identify corridors where specialized treatments need to be developed, such as Highway 111 from Cathedral City to Sunrise Way.

Goal CD5

Encourage high-quality, diverse streetscapes within residential neighborhoods.

Policies

CD5.1	Encourage high-quality streetscape design within neighborhoods and throughout the City.
CD5.2	When new residential structures are developed in existing neighborhoods with established uniform or consistent nonconforming setbacks, allow the setbacks of new structures to be consistent with those of the existing surrounding development.
CD5.3	Develop paved rural street profiles (curbs, gutters, sidewalks, drainage swales, etc.) in historic areas or where a customized neighborhood streetscape plan has been developed to provide adequate alternatives to retain the neighborhood character while addressing issues of drainage and safe pedestrian movement.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD5.1	Initiate a survey of minor roadways and neighborhood streets and identify streetscape deficiencies, signage problems, etc.
CD5.2	Develop a phased program to correct problems and deficiencies and revise the zoning ordinance to shorten the timeframes for requiring noncompliant conditions (such as chain-link fencing, open industrial yards, etc.) to be brought into compliance to enhance the aesthetic character of neighborhoods and streetscapes.
CD5.3	Study landscape enhancement opportunities on Avenida Caballeros from Via Escuela to Racquet Club Drive along the median between the frontage road along Avenida Caballeros.

Goal CD6

Achieve and maintain a safe and functional environment along the City’s streets and trails to stimulate pedestrian and bicycle activity.

Policies

CD6.1	Ensure that crosswalks are clearly marked, maintained, and replaced where they are appropriate and necessary to safely accommodate pedestrian activity.
CD6.2	Consider establishment of a comprehensive maintenance program for pedestrian paths, recreational trails, and bicycle trails/lanes and associated signage and infrastructure.
CD6.3	Evaluate new and existing pedestrian paths, recreational trails, and bicycle trails/lanes to determine where signage and amenities such as shade trees and structures, bike racks, benches, drinking fountains, etc., should be provided.
CD6.4	Use sidewalk “pull-outs” at intersections in pedestrian-oriented areas.
CD6.5	Design trails, sidewalks, crosswalks, street furniture, and other open-space amenities to be accessible to the physically impaired.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD6.1	Require new public and private projects to consult with the City’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator.
CD6.2	Create a priority list for parkway, sidewalk, and trail improvement and incorporate that list into the Capital Improvement Plan.

Goal CD7

Use both public and private landscaping along streets, sidewalks, and property frontages to strengthen the existing City identity and ensure a pleasant environment.

Policies

CD7.1	Encourage the use of native desert plants and trees that require minimal water and maintenance.
CD7.2	Select plant species that will: (a) enhance the pedestrian character and convey a distinctive and high quality visual image for the City’s streets, (b) be drought tolerant and fire and pest resistant, (c) require low maintenance and no pesticides, and (d) complement existing landscape.
CD7.3	Amend the City’s Palm Tree Trimming policy to require skinning of trunks of Washingtonia robustas (Mexican fan palms) in the public right-of-way to create a more maintained appearance.
CD7.4	Phase out the use of Washingtonia robustas (Mexican fan palms) in the public right-of-way. As robustas die or are replaced, use Washingtonia filiferas for their replacement and in new landscape designs in the public right-of-way.
CD7.5	Ensure that all public landscaping is adequately maintained. Overpruning and pruning into unnatural shapes is discouraged. Rather, landscaping should have a natural look and feel. When appropriate, a licensed arborist should be consulted prior to installation and maintenance of public landscaping.
CD7.6	Ensure that new development provides for the installation of public landscaping in accordance with an approved landscaping plan.
CD7.7	Encourage the use of compacted coarse-grained sand, decomposed granite or pebbles in medians and areas with exposed ground to prevent dispersion by wind.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD7.1	Adopt a tree preservation ordinance.
CD7.2	Create a street-tree plan with a hierarchy of street trees for major thoroughfares. (See Figure 9-2, Special Streetscape Treatments.)
CD7.3	Create a landscape maintenance plan and develop a protocol for consulting with a licensed arborist as appropriate.
CD7.4	Facilitate the creation of volunteer groups to assist the City with the beautification of the public streets through fundraising and assistance in planting and maintenance of landscaping.

Goal CD8

Mixed-use infill projects are strategically introduced in underutilized areas to create neighborhood activity centers serving the day-to-day needs of nearby residents, employees, and visitors.

Policies

CD8.1	Encourage property owners to maintain the existing vegetation on developed sites and replace unhealthy or dead landscaping.
CD8.2	Require that developers incorporate appropriately sized vegetation and provide sufficient watering and maintenance in the landscaping of the project site that will provide a mature-looking landscape within three to five years of installation.
CD8.3	Ensure that landscape design provides for individual and public safety by applying “defensible space” concepts and addressing appropriate fire safety concerns (especially in hillside areas).

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD8.1	Update the City’s water-efficient landscape ordinance.
CD8.2	Develop an educational pamphlet for distribution to residents and property owners and placement on the City’s website addressing appropriate landscape materials and maintenance guidelines.
CD8.3	Create incentives for developers and individual residences to incorporate low-water, drought-tolerant, and sustainable landscaping into site design.
CD8.4	Work in coordination with the Desert Water Agency in outreach efforts to encourage residents and tourists to utilize water more efficiently.

Goal CD9

Convey a positive image through the use of attractive and well-designed public and private informational signage.

Policies

CD9.1	Encourage the use of creative, well-designed, and high-quality signage that will add to the visual continuity and community identity of the City.
CD9.2	Establish a consistent design vocabulary on a Citywide level for public signage, including fixture type, lettering, colors, symbols, and logos.
CD9.3	Create a “way-finding” signage system with directional and informational signage located strategically throughout the City. The way-finding system should include signage at two scales: one for motorists and one for pedestrians.
CD9.4	Ensure that signage is adequately spaced and clearly visible during the day and night to control vehicular traffic, bicycles, and pedestrians.
CD9.5	Place distinctive signage to identify principal entries to the City, unique districts, neighborhoods, locations, public buildings, and parks.
CD9.6	Utilize lively, colorful, well-designed, and well-placed banners for holidays, City events, and other City-approved special occasions.
CD9.7	Ensure that public signage is carefully placed and as appropriate to prevent clutter and confusion. Public signage should complement, not detract from, adjacent commercial and residential uses.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD9.1	Replace existing public signage with new fixtures that consolidate, as feasible, the diversity of signage information (parking, locational, traffic control, etc.).
CD9.2	Develop a program to identify locations for way-finding signage, create interesting and attractive designs for the signage, and implement a phasing plan for the financing and placement of the signage.
CD9.3	Restrict flashing and animated LED message board signs and phase out existing signs of this type.
CD9.4	Continue to place signage at the entrances to distinct neighborhoods and districts.
CD9.5	Complete an update of the existing sign ordinance to address deficiencies and ensure consistent sign guidelines and standards.

Goal CD10

Design visually attractive commercial and industrial signage that contributes to the visual quality of the City.

Policies

CD10.1	Encourage the use of simple, distinctive, and appropriately scaled signs in pedestrian-oriented areas. Awnings, wall signs, raised-letter signs, and projecting blade signs are preferable and should be encouraged.
CD10.2	Design signs that complement the architecture of the building without dominating it.
CD10.3	Encourage the placement of wall signs at approximately the same height along a continuous façade of storefronts to provide a unifying, horizontal design element.
CD10.4	Encourage complementary yet distinctive signage within commercial centers.
CD10.5	Discourage the use of free-standing signs. When free-standing signs are necessary, encourage the use of vertical monument-style signs with consistent lettering, styles, and colors appropriate to the architecture of the commercial center of which they are a part.
CD10.6	Prohibit pole, roof, flashing, and animated signs.
CD10.7	Ensure that signs are made of durable materials that can withstand the City’s desert climate—plastic signs and wood signs in direct sunlight should be prohibited.

Goal CD11

Utilize low lighting levels to emphasize the “village” character of the community and to minimize light pollution in the Coachella Valley.

Policies

CD11.1	Use illumination levels that are appropriate to the activity level or the size of the area.
CD11.2	Encourage the use of unifying and visually pleasing lighting fixtures throughout the City and on private property.
CD11.3	Encourage the incorporation of lighting into signage design when appropriate. Such lighting should be designed to minimize glare and lighting spillage while accentuating the design of the signage. Spot, back-lit, and downward-facing lighting fixtures and internal illumination features are preferred methods of signage lighting.
CD11.4	Require that outdoor light fixtures used for flood lighting, general illumination, or advertisement be fully shielded and properly focused to minimize glare and spill light into the night sky and onto adjacent properties.
CD11.5	Limit street lighting to safety lighting at intersections of streets designated as collectors or larger. The intensity of light should be related to the street classification, surrounding land uses, and traffic volumes.
CD11.6	Encourage that outdoor lighting, other than that used for safety and security, be turned off or lighting levels reduced to conserve energy when the area, business, or activity is not open to the public or otherwise in use.
CD11.7	Ensure that new projects and significant alterations to existing projects meet Title 24 outdoor lighting zone standards and energy conservation in lighting.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD12

Create active, vibrant, and attractive gathering places.

Policies

CD12.1	Integrate interactive, visually pleasing, and convenient gathering places—including plazas, pedestrian areas, and recreational open spaces—into the City’s design.
CD12.2	Design public spaces with pedestrian safety and comfort in mind.
CD12.3	Provide as many pedestrian amenities as feasible, including: Ample shade Mister systems for outdoor air conditioning Fixed and movable seating A central focal point, such as a fountain, piece of public artwork, historic marker, or monument feature Outdoor dining, where appropriate Wide paths or trails Drinking fountains and toilet facilities, where appropriate Decorative water features
CD12.4	Include landscaping, signage, and other design elements that reinforce the village character and design identity of the City into the design of gathering places.
CD12.5	Locate public spaces in areas with high levels of activity and visibility.
CD12.6	Orient development toward plazas, parks, village greens, outdoor eating areas, and other public gathering places.
CD12.7	Encourage the creation of small sitting areas and/or shaded court-yards within or close to shopping areas. Use landscaping and other buffering strategies in the design of these sites to minimize the impact of traffic and parking.
CD12.8	Design plazas that contain well-defined spaces, such as those created by the sides of buildings and other structures.
CD12.9	Ensure that gathering places are at a scale appropriate to the area and intended use.
CD12.10	Design gathering places so that they can be used by all age levels and are accessible to people with disabilities.
CD12.11	Incorporate design features that encourage interaction, such as fountains, outdoor seating areas, small amphitheaters or staging areas, and terraced walkways and patios.
CD12.12	Encourage well-designed, privately owned gathering spaces through public outreach and the design review process.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD12.1	Require developers to include gathering spaces within the project site the size of which are designed appropriately to the size of the development.
CD12.2	Ensure that gathering places are provided with appropriate pedestrian amenities such as shade structures, seating, bike racks, drinking fountains, and public toilet facilities.

Goal CD13

Establish a varied collection of public art pieces that add to the charm and character of the City.

Policies

CD13.1	Maintain the existing collection of public art pieces throughout the City.
CD13.2	Encourage the placement of public art pieces that will add to the character and charm of the City where appropriate.
CD13.3	Encourage the incorporation of public art into large-scale private development projects in locations accessible to the public.
CD13.4	Encourage public art that is functional and interactive, such as bench sculptures and fountains incorporating seating into their design.
CD13.5	Use public art to reflect and reinforce the City’s culture, history, and character.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD13.1	Collaborate with the Arts Commission to establish a public art master plan that identifies key gateways into the city and areas within the city where public art should be located and possible alternative sources of funding.
CD13.2	Involve local artists and students in the creation of new public art through public outreach programs and design competitions.

Goal CD14

Ensure that appealing and attractive walls and fencing add to the visual quality of the City’s streetscapes.

Policies

CD14.1	Ensure that walls and fencing are attractive and well designed, especially along major corridors and in historic neighborhoods.
CD14.2	Encourage the use of styles and materials that complement the surrounding community and architectural styles.
CD14.3	Encourage the use of quality materials that are appropriate to the desert climate, such as stone, stucco, plaster, and metal.
CD14.4	Prevent long and monotonous walls and fencing through undulation, modulation, surface articulation, and landscaping.
CD14.5	Limit the height of walls and fencing and encourage the use of wall breaks and transparent fences to protect views.
CD14.6	Prohibit gated community entries and perimeter walls around entire neighborhoods. Instead, provide privacy through design features such as meandering streets, ample landscaping, and house placement that provides privacy and exclusivity.
CD14.7	Install landscaping along the edge of walls and fences to soften their appearance.
CD14.8	Enhance the visual appearance of utility enclosure fencing with the addition of landscaping.
CD14.9	Prohibit the use of chain-link fences.
CD14.10	Encourage metal fences to be dark colors to be less visually obtrusive.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD15

Provide safe, attractive, and well-designed off-street parking areas.

Policies

CD15.1	Encourage the use of parking plazas rather than traditional surface parking lots whenever possible.
CD15.2	Incorporate shade trees, landscaping, patterned paving, sidewalks, and other pedestrian amenities into the design of parking areas.
CD15.3	Screen parking from roadways through the use of sidewalk trees, landscaping, low berms, trellises, or grade changes.
CD15.4	Encourage the placement of parking lots behind or on the side of buildings to minimize the visual impact of parking areas on the street scene.
CD15.5	Encourage the use of permeable paving materials to increase on-site percolation and reduce stormwater runoff.
CD15.6	Encourage shared parking, including guest parking, for adjacent uses with different peak hours.
CD15.7	Provide shaded pedestrian and clear vehicular interconnections between adjacent parking lots to reduce short trip car movement between commercial centers.
CD15.8	Assess off-street parking requirements in the Zoning Ordinance and revise as necessary to provide adequate guest parking.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD16

Provide adequate on-street parking.

Policies

Implementation Actions

Goal CD17

Ensure attractive regional retail centers that provide pleasant, convenient and visually appealing shopping and work opportunities for the City and surrounding communities.

Policies

CD17.1	Design highly visible entrances to retail activity centers though the use of accent landscaping and lighting, enhanced intersection features, façade detailing, monument signs, public art, differential paving, and other design amenities.
CD17.2	Ensure the creation of pedestrian-friendly retail centers by requiring developers to include in site design gathering places and pedestrian amenities such as mini-plazas, arcades, court- yards, benches, outdoor eating areas, shade structures, accent lighting, public art, shade trees, and water.
CD17.3	Incorporate architectural interest and variety within the context of a unified design theme for large-scale retail activity centers. Architectural interest should be provided through varied rooflines, rich architectural detailing, accent lighting, and differential massing. Consistency should be maintained through commonalities of architectural style, color, landscaping, signage, and lighting.
CD17.4	Buffer parking areas from the street and adjoining uses through perimeter walls and landscaping.
CD17.5	Provide safe, clearly marked, and strategically located pedestrian walkways between parking areas and commercial uses.
CD17.6	Incorporate shade features, such as trees, shade structures, and canopies, into walkway and building entry design.
CD17.7	Avoid monotonous expanses of blank walls through the use of richly detailed and well-articulated façade designs and landscaping.
CD17.8	Encourage internal access between adjacent properties to minimize curb cuts along major thoroughfares.
CD17.9	Provide landscaped buffers between the curb and sidewalk along major perimeter roadways surrounding retail centers. Doings so will improve pedestrian safety as well as create a more visually appealing streetscape.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD18

Create attractive neighborhood retail centers that provide generous pedestrian amenities, distinctive architecture, and convenient access.

Policies

CD18.1	Create visual interest and focal points at the corners of retail centers. Measures include special architectural features (such as towers), distinctive roof design, accent landscaping, monument signage, and sculpture elements.
CD18.2	Locate parking in a neighborhood retail center in parking plazas where practical. Massive, oversized parking lots should be avoided. (See the Parking section of this chapter for a description of parking plazas.)
CD18.3	Screen views of surface parking areas using shade trees, low-perimeter hedges, and other plantings. Incorporate landscaped planters, shade trees, and defined pedestrian pathways into the parking lot design.
CD18.4	Incorporate pedestrian-scale design amenities such as awnings, large storefront windows, arcades, small sitting areas, special paving and color treatments, and accent landscaping into building and site design.
CD18.5	Encourage pedestrian access to and from adjacent uses by providing pedestrian and bike paths and breaks in perimeter walls or landscaped buffer areas.
CD18.6	Develop a consistent sign program that encourages distinctive and high-quality design within the overall theme of the retail center. Such a program should include style, scale, type, and placement of signage.
CD18.7	Ensure that the scale and massing of neighborhood retail centers are sensitive to the context of surrounding residential development.
CD18.8	Encourage the provision of at least one accessible, attractive, and comfortable public gathering place within the center.
CD18.9	Encourage the creation of vehicular and pedestrian access between adjacent commercial properties with similar or compatible uses.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD19

Create mixed-use and multi-use areas that are visually attractive, pedestrian friendly, easily accessible, and contain a blend of commercial, office, and residential uses.

Policies

CD19.1	Encourage design flexibility in mixed/multi-use development by allowing the vertical and/or horizontal mix of uses in specified areas.
CD19.2	Ensure that new mixed-/multi-use developments are compatible with adjacent neighborhoods through project design, scale, and appropriate buffers and transitions between uses. In general, taller projects should step down their heights as they approach adjacent development.
CD19.3	Locate mixed/multi-use development in areas of high visibility and accessibility, and along streets that balance vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
CD19.4	Locate commercial or office uses on the ground floor with residential or office uses on the upper floors in vertical mixed-use projects.
CD19.5	Encourage architectural design that differentiates ground-floor commercial/office uses from residential uses above.
CD19.6	Locate ground-floor commercial uses near the sidewalk to provide high visibility from the street.
CD19.7	Design new development with the pedestrian in mind by including wide sidewalks, shade street trees, sitting areas, and clearly defined pedestrian routes.
CD19.8	Minimize the visual impact of surface parking by providing parking structures or rear or side-street parking with effective landscape buffering.
CD19.9	Segregate residential parking from commercial and office parking.
CD19.10	Ensure privacy for residents by providing each residential use with its own private space (such as balconies, patios or terraces) and larger communal spaces such as lobbies, central gardens, or courtyards.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD19.1	Amend the zoning code to create mixed/multi-use development standards. The standards should remove potential barriers to this type of development, such as parking, open space, and setback requirements, as well as ensure the feasibility of the implementation of the above policies.

Goal CD20

Encourage attractive and well-designed midblock corridor residential development along the North Palm Canyon Drive/Indian Canyon Drive corridor, and other corridors where appropriate.

Policies

CD20.1	Create a pedestrian-friendly environment along midblock corridor residential development through the use of landscaping, shade trees, special paving, pedestrian-scaled lighting, and small gathering spaces.
CD20.2	Design street-facing building façades to include a diversity of architectural detailing, materials, colors, and rooflines.
CD20.3	Encourage alley-loaded or rear parking in areas where they exist.
CD20.4	Require a minimum landscaped setback between the sidewalk and the front yard or building façade to provide more privacy for residents and to allow for an additional row of trees and landscaping.
CD20.5	Require that each dwelling unit have a reasonable amount of usable private open space, such as elevated decks, terraces, and rear yards.
CD20.6	Provide highly visible and well-lit connections to nearby retail, transportation, recreation, and educational centers.
CD20.7	Encourage visual breaks in appropriately scaled walls and fencing along the corridor to balance privacy needs with aesthetic impacts. Long continuous blank walls are highly discouraged.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD20.1	Identify potential areas for midblock corridor residential development along the City’s corridors.
CD20.2	Create development standards for midblock corridor residential projects. Ensure that these standards address design features as well as open space, parking, and setback requirements.

Goal CD21

It is a goal of the City of Palm Springs to create convenient, attractive, and well-designed industrial and business parks.

Policies

CD21.1	Strengthen the image of business park areas through entry monument signage, distinctive landscaping, and complementary architectural design elements.
CD21.2	Encourage clean and distinctive industrial/office buildings with clearly visible entrances.
CD21.3	Avoid the use of long, blank walls by breaking them up with vertical and horizontal façade articulation achieved through stamping, colors, materials, modulation, and landscaping.
CD21.4	Use screening techniques, such as landscaping, walls, and berms, to minimize views of surface parking, storage and service areas.
CD21.5	Encourage adjacent buildings to share open spaces to serve as employee outdoor eating and gathering places.
CD21.6	Require buffers, such as walls, landscaping and berms, between industrial and business parks and adjacent residential areas.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD22

Create and maintain safe, attractive, visually interesting, identifiable, and well-connected single-family neighborhoods.

Policies

CD22.1	Require new and infill development to be of compatible scale, materials, and massing as existing development. Also ensure that the design character of the new development is appropriate to the area.
CD22.2	Allow new and infill projects to be excluded from sidewalk and other streetscape improvement requirements if those requirements are not consistent with the existing neighborhood character (especially in historic areas). However, do not allow exceptions where the General Plan Circulation Element requires streetscape improvements along arterial highways.
CD22.3	Ensure that new neighborhoods and communities are designed to be unique and visually pleasing additions to the City.
CD22.4	Ensure that new residential development does not overwhelm natural features, especially washes and views of the mountains.
CD22.5	Actively enforce development standards, design guidelines, and policies to preserve and enhance the character of neighborhoods in Palm Springs.
CD22.6	Encourage buffers or transitions such as landscaping, or decorative screening, between single-story homes and multistory development.
CD22.7	Ensure that residential communities are well connected with each other and with nearby commercial uses through the inclusion of pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly design features, such as trails, paths, and pedestrian-oriented streets, in the neighborhood’s design.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD22.1	Identify and enhance the key design elements (landscaping, design character and detailing, etc.) that characterize the City’s existing neighborhoods. (See Table 9-1 for key design elements for some of the City’s important neighborhoods.)
CD22.2	Institute special neighborhood improvement programs in areas that lack a distinct identity, that struggle with day-to-day maintenance issues, or have a repeated history of code violations.
CD22.3	Update the existing single-family residential zoning ordinance to require that new development be appropriate to and compatible with the scale and character of the surrounding neighborhood.
CD22.4	When traffic calming is required within residential neighbor-hoods, encourage the placement of appropriate traffic-calming features (such as corner sidewalk bump-outs, special paving, and curvilinear streets) that are both effective and aesthetically pleasing.
CD22.5	Continue to involve architects, landscape architects, and other trained professionals in the design review of new residential projects currently subject to such review.
CD22.6	Encourage the creation of neighborhood organizations or homeowner associations in areas where they do not currently exist.
CD22.7	Encourage neighborhood organizations and homeowner associations to form volunteer groups for the beautification and general improvement of the neighborhood.
CD22.8	Conduct yearly meetings with organized neighborhoods within the City to identify neighborhood issues and develop strategies to address them.
CD22.9	Explore creation of a residential street tree program.

Goal CD23

Ensure quality residential development that respects and protects the existing hillsides.

Policies

CD23.1	Encourage hillside development that respects the natural terrain rather than detracts from it by designing houses that fit into the natural contours of the slope.
CD23.2	Encourage hillside development to preserve natural vegetation during the construction process and to incorporate the natural environment into the design of structures as much as possible.
CD23.3	Encourage the use of natural and environmentally friendly materials and design features.
CD23.4	Require hillside development to preserve viewsheds and view corridors.
CD23.5	Preserve public access to open space and trails through hillside areas.
CD23.6	Require development on slopes of 10 percent or greater to undergo special design review to ensure it is sensitively integrated into the existing landform.

Implementation Actions

Goal CD24

Ensure safe and attractive multiple-family housing developments that complement the surrounding neighborhood.

Policies

CD24.1	Encourage the use of landscaping, colors, and materials comparable to those used in the surrounding neighborhood.
CD24.2	Encourage architectural creativity that is appropriate to the neighborhood.
CD24.3	Encourage architectural definition, façade articulation, and the modulation of large, flat surfaces to create a more visually appealing streetscape.
CD24.4	Reduce the visual impact of parking by encouraging alley-loaded, tuck-under, garage, or subterranean parking when possible. Where on-street and street-facing parking are necessary or already exist, landscaping and special paving should be incorporated when appropriate to the neighborhood.

Goal CD25

Recognize, preserve, and enhance the aesthetic value of the City’s hillsides, mountains, canyons, and natural terrain.

Policies

CD25.1	Preserve the frontal slopes of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains and slopes of individual landmark peaks that face the desert floor as permanent open space to protect their scenic value.
CD25.2	Preserve scenic views along primary corridors in the Chino Cone and along Highway 111.
CD25.3	Require that all land uses and future development proposals respect and protect the scenic values of the desert and mountain terrain.
CD25.4	Windfarms, where technically feasible, shall consist of equipment that is of a uniform type, size, color, and placement.
CD25.5	Preserve and maintain, through public acquisition and placement into a public trust, environmentally sensitive hills, canyons, or other topographical features that exhibit exceptional scenic value.

Implementation Actions

Action Number

Implementation Action/Program

CD25.1

Continue active interjurisdictional and interagency planning for the conservation and preservation of the Santa Rosa Mountains in their natural state with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Coachella Mountains Conservancy.

CD25.2

Continue implementation of the Hillside Development Ordinance that regulates development on hillsides with a slope of 10 percent or greater. Periodically review the ordinance to ensure that it contains:

Grading standards;
Water quality and runoff;
Development standards, including open space; and
Site planning standards (landscape, street design, etc).

Goal CD26

Preserve and enhance view corridors.

Policies

CD26.1	Protect and enhance view corridors by undergrounding and screening utility lines and facilities.
CD26.2	Create/enhance building height and massing restrictions to ensure the preservation of existing public view corridors.
CD26.3	Frame views along streets through the use of wide parkways and median landscaping.
CD26.4	Require specialized design review for development along scenic corridors including, but not limited to, building height restrictions, setback requirements, and site-orientation guidelines.
CD26.5	Orient new streets to maximize the view of open space, parks, mountains, and built landmarks where possible.
CD26.6	Create attractively landscaped street edges in residential neighborhoods to frame mountain and other views.
CD26.7	Coordinate scenic highway programs with City, county, and state levels of government and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.
CD26.8	Promote continuity in scenic highway programs through coordinated planning with neighboring jurisdictions.
CD26.9	Seek to preserve and maintain, through acquisition or regulation, those areas or sites that are found to have exceptional scenic value.
CD26.10	Require the removal of billboards along scenic corridors and encourage their removal along enhanced landscape corridors.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD26.1	Develop and adopt landscape plans for the identified Citywide scenic corridors and enhanced landscape streets. The landscape plans should identify tree types and placement.
CD26.2	Develop and adopt landscape plans for the identified Citywide scenic corridors and enhanced landscape streets. The landscape plans should identify tree types and placement.
CD26.3	Alter existing building height restrictions and stepback requirements when necessary to adequately preserve view corridors.

Goal CD27

Preserve and enhance the architectural quality of Palm Springs.

Policies

CD27.1	Design new structures in architectural styles that reflect the City’s diversity and creativity yet are compatible in scale and character with the City’s existing buildings and natural surroundings.
CD27.2	Encourage visual diversity in the predominant architectural styles of different parts of the City.
CD27.3	Encourage the use of high-quality materials and materials that are appropriate for the desert climate.
CD27.4	Ensure that publicly owned buildings and structures serve as examples of superlative architecture.
CD27.5	Continue to require the application of 360-degree architecture on new buildings, to ensure all sides of structures contain architectural treatments and detailing.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD27.1	Continue to include design professionals in the City’s planning process to encourage a high level of design review in new construction and renovations.
CD27.2	Enforce the vacant buildings ordinance to ensure property owners maintain and secure their buildings to prevent “demolition by neglect.”

Goal CD28

Ensure the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and sites.

Policies

CD28.1	Support the preservation of historically, architecturally, or archaeo-logically significant structures and sites as prescribed by the Historic Preservation Ordinance.
CD28.2	Encourage the establishment of historic districts to identify suitable concentrations of historically significant structures.
CD28.3	Support tax incentives (such as the Mills Act), mutual covenants, protective covenants; purchase options; preservation easements; building, fire, and City code modifications; application fee reductions; and any other methods deemed mutually agreeable between the City and the landowner that will help to preserve historic resources.
CD28.4	Establish a program of low-interest rehabilitation loans for the maintenance and upkeep of significant architectural, historical, and cultural buildings.
CD28.5	Encourage property owners to submit applications to qualify appropriate properties and buildings for the local historic register.
CD28.6	Require that new construction in designated architectural/historical/cultural districts complement the existing historic structures and open space characteristics such that the new construction does not imitate or copy the style of the historic structures.
CD28.7	Encourage developers of sites containing a significant architectural, historical or cultural structure to adaptively reuse and expand it, in lieu of demolition and replacement, where financially feasible.
CD28.8	Make historic markers available to identify individually designated structures, sites, and features of architectural, historical, or cultural significance and require owners to display their historic markers so they are readable from the public way.
CD28.9	Periodically require that the Citywide Historic Resources Survey be updated.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD28.1	Update the historic preservation ordinance to provide a clear review process for the development or alteration of survey properties.
CD28.2	Coordinate preservation efforts with local historic and architectural preservation groups.
CD28.3	Provide property owners, upon their request, with information on how to research, rehabilitate, and preserve their architecturally, historically, and culturally significant property.
CD28.4	Provide information to the public on historically significant sites in Palm Springs.
CD28.5	Encourage residents to identify historic sites and districts for possible Class I designation.
CD28.6	Investigate certification of the local historic program as a Certified Local Government Program (California’s federally funded historic preservation program).

Goal CD29

Establish the City as a leader in energy efficient and environmentally sustainable development and planning practices.

Policies

CD29.1	Require the use of energy-efficient and green building practices that are appropriate to the desert climate. Developers should identify energy and resource savings measures that they have incorporated into their project.
CD29.2	Require the use of green building techniques in the design and construction of public buildings and facilities.
CD29.3	Encourage site planning and building orientation that maximizes solar and wind resources for cooling and heating.
CD29.4	Require landscaping practices that increase energy efficiency and conserve natural resources, such as drought-tolerant landscaping, seasonally and locationally appropriate tree plantings, and natural drainage systems. These practices could include things such as desert-friendly landscaping on medians and other public lands.
CD29.5	Encourage the use of resource-efficient and ecologically sound building materials.
CD29.6	Encourage the use of solar energy systems and energy- and water-conserving appliances.
CD29.7	Encourage infill development to make efficient use of existing land.
CD29.8	Encourage on-site design practices that reduce stormwater runoff, including on-site retention, permeable paving, and increased native landscaping.
CD29.9	Continue to provide and expand recycling services and maximize waste stream diversion.
CD29.10	Become a conservation leader in the Coachella Valley with respect to resource conservation in parks, medians, greenbelts, and public buildings.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD29.1	Develop a green building ordinance.
CD29.2	Consider participation in the CEEP (Community Energy Efficiency Program) Certificate and Recognition Program.
CD29.3	Adopt LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) design standards for public buildings.
CD29.4	Implement “green planning” site design incentives, such as density bonuses, reduced parking requirements, reduced processing fees, and expedited plan checks.
CD29.5	Publicize information on green building/site design concepts and environmentally friendly/sustainable landscaping strategies and plant palettes.
CD29.6	Collaborate with other Coachella Valley organizations, programs, and initiatives to promote energy and resource conservation.

Goal CD30

Support and sustain a vibrant and active Downtown.

Policies

CD30.1	Require new development in the Downtown area to conform to the Downtown Urban Design Plan for design guidelines. New development applications in the Downtown area shall include an analysis of a project’s compliance with the provisions of the Downtown Urban Design Plan.
CD30.2	Integrate streetscape improvements, landscaping, and signage that uniquely identify the Downtown area as the principal commercial activity center of the City.
CD30.3	Encourage retail uses that maintain extended evening hours and support nighttime activity.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD30.1	Evaluate and adopt the appropriate regulatory tools in the Zoning Code to implement the Downtown Urban Design Plan such as Specific Plan, design overlay, and/or zoning amendment.
CD30.2	Distribute the Downtown Urban Design Plan to prospective merchants, developers, architects and others who might have an interest in developing projects Downtown.
CD30.3	Facilitate continued communication between the Downtown merchants association and City staff to help maintain the unique character of the Downtown area.
CD30.4	Coordinate and guide volunteer groups to assist with the beautification and maintenance of the Downtown area.

Goal CD31

Reinforce visual continuity between Section 14 and areas directly adjacent.

Policies

CD31.1	Ensure the implementation of the design guidelines and landscaping plan sections of the Section 14 Specific Plan.
CD31.2	Refer to the Downtown Urban Design Plan when appropriate.
CD31.3	Encourage future projects to be sensitive to the need for visual as well as physical continuity (pedestrian, vehicular, etc.) between Section 14 and the surrounding areas.
CD31.4	Strengthen the physical and visual linkages between Downtown and attractions in Section 14, such as the convention center.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD31.1	Continue to work with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to visually integrate new development into the surrounding areas through the use of appropriate scale, height, building orientation, and landscaping.
CD31.2	Ensure that parks and the downtown are provided with appropriate pedestrian amenities such as shade structures, seating, bike racks, drinking fountains, and public toilet facilities.

Goal CD32

Create more intensive high-quality development and streetscape improvements along the Gene Autry Trail corridor.

Policies

CD32.1	Encourage the development of quality commercial, office, and industrial uses and business parks along Gene Autry Trail. (See the Industrial and Business Park Development section of this element.)
CD32.2	Incorporate Citywide design features and specialized streetscape elements to give the corridor a distinctive identity and visual continuity. Such elements may include consistently placed parkway trees and landscaping, medians, street furniture, banners, and public signs.
CD32.3	Use key intersections as opportunities for design improvements such as specialized paving, enhanced setbacks, accent landscaping, and intensified uses.
CD32.4	Provide landscape and safety buffers between pedestrian and bikeway areas and vehicular lanes.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD32.1	Implement a program to guide the development and visual enhancement of the Gene Autry Trail corridor.
CD32.2	Develop plans for design enhancements at key intersections along Gene Autry Trail.
CD32.3	Include the Gene Autry Trail improvement program and plans in the Capital Improvement Plan.

Goal CD33

Create a visually distinctive and attractive entry to Palm Springs along the I-10 corridor that reflects the high-quality architecture and design of Palm Springs.

Policies

CD33.1	Develop a unified design theme for development along the I-10 corridor, including architectural elements, colors, signage, and landscaping.
CD33.2	Incorporate specialized design elements, including accent land-scaping, monument signage, and specialized lighting, at key locations along the I-10 corridor.
CD33.3	Encourage high-quality development along the freeway.
CD33.4	Buffer unattractive uses with landscaping and walls.
CD33.5	Encourage modulation and articulation of walls to avoid large expanses of blank walls facing the freeway.
CD33.6	Stimulate continued investment of properties within this high profile location to ensure a positive first impression of the City.
CD33.7	Promote the use of multi-tenant signs adjacent to the freeway right-of-way to minimize the visual clutter along the corridor.

Implementation Actions

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD33.1	Develop design criteria for project evaluation along the I-10 corridor.
CD33.2	Develop and implement landscape standards for properties fronting the I-10 corridor.
CD33.3	Continue to enforce the Wind Energy Conversion Systems ordinance.

Glossary

CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design): CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) is a physical design approach to crime prevention. The concept is based on the idea that crime can be reduced through the use of planning and design strategies that discourage crime and encourage people to keep an eye out for others. CPTED concepts include design strategies that increase visibility, reduce potential hiding spaces, create well-defined public and private areas, and encourage directed pedestrian movements.

Mixed-use: Mixed-use projects contain two or more uses located vertically within a building. The most common design for mixed-use projects consists of ground floor commercial/office uses with second floor and above residential/office uses. This positioning allows ground floor commercial/office uses to benefit from easy pedestrian access and upper-story residential/office uses to retain more privacy because of their location above the ground floor.

Multi-use: Multi-use projects contain two or more uses located within horizontal proximity to each other. This type of land use designation allows for multiple uses within one project site. Multi-use projects allow for a flexible positioning of uses, such as commercial uses along a street front with residential or office uses located behind and off the street.

Office of Neighborhood Involvement: In 2005, the City Council established the Office of Neighborhood Involvement and created a neighborhood empowerment program. The intent of the City Council was to create a mechanism to facilitate communication between residents and the City staff and encourage continuous neighborhood improvement throughout the City.

Hillsides: Hillsides are defined as any area with a slope of 10 percent or greater. The goals, policies, and action items in this section are intended to apply to all hillside development with the exceptions of the Chino Cone and Palm Hills, which have their own standards.

Habitable: a dwelling area that is occupied, or that is intended or designed to be occupied, by one family with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.

Green building: Green building is the term used to describe design, construction and planning techniques that are more environmentally friendly than traditional building practices.

Scenic corridors: All major thoroughfares and freeways are designated as scenic corridors. Views along these roadways should be preserved and enhanced wherever feasible.

Enhanced landscape streets: Enhanced landscaping treatments should be used to frame the views along these streets.

View Corridor: A view corridor is a direct line of sight from an area to a point of interest or significant feature

Viewshed: A viewshed is the landscape of topography visible from a geographic point.

Palm Springs Modern Architecture: The City is best known for its Mid-Century Modern architecture. The clean lines and creative style of Modern architecture fits well into the desert environment.

The Mills Act: The Mills Act is a tool that local governments can use to participate in the preservation of historic buildings. The act allows cities to enter into contracts with property owners with the expressed intention of preserving historic sites. Under these contracts, property owners agree to restore, maintain, and protect their historic property for a minimum of 10 years in exchange for potential property tax relief during that period.

LEED®: LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) design standards were created by the US Green Building Council to provide a voluntary national standard and rating system for the design of sustainable buildings.

CEEP: CEEP (Community Energy Efficiency Program) is a program that local governments can implement to encourage builders to construct energy-efficient housing that meets or exceeds the national Energy Star guidelines.

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CD16.1	Retain existing and encourage the creation of new on-street parking in the Downtown and neighborhood commercial centers, when appropriate.
CD16.2	Encourage the creation of east–west parking streets with angled parking (such as Arenas Road) in the Downtown area.

Action Number	Implementation Action/Program
CD16.1	Initiate a study of Downtown streets to identify opportunities for angled parking.

PALM SPRINGS 2040 GENERAL PLAN

Purpose and Introduction

Figures and Tables

Goals, Policies, and Actions

Goal CD1

Goal CD2

Goal CD3

Goal CD4

Goal CD5

Goal CD6

Goal CD7

Goal CD8

Goal CD9

Goal CD10

Goal CD11

Goal CD12

Goal CD13

Goal CD14

Goal CD15

Goal CD16

Goal CD17

Goal CD18

Goal CD19

Goal CD20

Goal CD21

Goal CD22

Goal CD23

Goal CD24

Goal CD25

Goal CD26

Goal CD27

Goal CD28

Goal CD29

Goal CD30

Goal CD31

Goal CD32

Goal CD33

Glossary