A local writer argues that development is putting the unique character of Palm Springs in peril by taking advantage of the city's Planned Development Districts.
Frank Tysen writes a scathing op-ed about an ongoing threat to the character of the city of Palm Springs: the Planned Development District (PDD). "The idea is to allow difficult to develop projects to proceed by providing some zoning concessions in exchange for clearly stated public benefits," writes Tysen. "Unfortunately, those benefits are usually very superficial and meaningless."
The consequence of the PDD in Palm Springs, according to Dysen, is a wave of new developers, "many from Orange County, who only see this city as a cash cow," because "We have basically become a town without zoning and planning."
Tysen supplies a list of the business and places that have disappeared from Palm Springs that he believes made the city unique. The solution to this encroachment of development, Tysen believes, is "to get the PDD monster under control."
FULL STORY: Is Palm Springs destined to become Orange County?
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Early Sharrow Booster: ‘I Was Wrong’
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California Rejects Six-State Colorado River Plan, Proposes Its Own
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Washington Focuses Road Safety Efforts on Individuals, Neglecting Design
Legislative efforts to reduce traffic deaths could move the needle toward Vision Zero, but state leaders failed to commit infrastructure funds to making structural improvements.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
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York County, Human Resources
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
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City of Piedmont, CA
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
