City of Palm Desert
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In 2014, the City of Palm Desert completed a new strategic plan that envisions what the City will be over the next 20 years.
Titled Envision Palm Desert - Forward Together, the document was the culmination of a process that began in February 2013 when the Palm Desert City Council approved a contract with the nonprofit National Civic League for assistance with the preparation of a new strategic plan .
The first step was the identification of an Initiating Committee made up of community members representing various key entities and sectors in Palm Desert including College of the Desert, the McCallum Theatre, the Chamber of Commerce, and more.
The Initiating Committee was assigned the responsibility of working out the logistics of the strategic planning process, including establishing a meeting schedule and naming the effort. The Initiating Committee also identified key community stakeholders who should be invited to participate in the strategic planning process. All Palm Desert residents and business people were also invited, via an article in the BrightSide newsletter, to share their input by nominating themselves and others as volunteer stakeholders.
As a result of these outreach efforts, more than 100 community members representing diverse interests, backgrounds, and viewpoints served as volunteer stakeholders sharing their knowledge, experience, and insight to help produce a community-wide vision for the next two decades.
On May 22, 2013, these stakeholders met with National Civic League representatives and select City staff at Desert Willow Golf Resort as part of an initial kick-off meeting to learn about the process and discuss issues affecting the City’s future. The City Council, along with community stakeholders and participating staff, were also invited to complete an online survey to identify opportunities and challenges facing Palm Desert.
In subsequent meetings, stakeholders were assigned to task forces that discussed important community topics including Economic Development; Land Use; Education; Tourism and Marketing; Energy and Sustainability; Parks and Recreation; Transportation; Arts and Culture; and Public Safety. City staff worked with these task forces to answer questions and provide information. Stakeholders met a total of nine times between the kickoff meeting and the final meeting on December 10, 2013.
A blue ribbon panel of community leaders serving as the Strategic Plan Steering Committee used the input from these committees to help create the strategic plan document, which on February 27, 2014, came before the Palm Desert City Council for review and adoption..
Envision Palm Desert - Forward Together is the City’s fourth strategic plan since its incorporation in 1973. Accomplished goals from past strategic plans include the creation of the Civic Center/Civic Center Park complex, the establishment of Palm Desert as a Charter City and, most recently, the completion of the Palm Desert Aquatic Center.
The City continues to make progress on the goals outlined in the Envision strategic plan. For the first two years, that progress was measured in a Strategic Plan Progress Report. Current advancements toward these goals can be found in the 2021 Annual Report.
For more information, please call 760-837-1660 or email tsoule@palmdesert.gov.
The General Plan is the foundation upon which all land use decisions are to be based. The General Plan is a comprehensive informational and planning guide established by State law to provide a framework for making informed decisions about the future of the community. The Plan identifies the community's land use, circulation, environmental, economic and social goals and policies as they relate to land use and development.
The General Plan and supporting environmental documentation identify concerns and issues important to the community, analyze them, and establish goals, policies, and program implementation measures that resolve or effectively address these issues. It also provides the basis for a rational nexus to support development, mitigation measures and exactions; special studies and performance programs are also integral parts of the goals, policies, programs that assure effective implementation of the General Plan.
As adopted, the General Plan provides a progressive framework for the re-imagining of the "City Center" and vacant lands around the Universities along Cook Street. The Plan provides broad standards and guidelines for the envisioned transformation of the Highway 111 corridor into a mixed-use district complete with new landscape and pedestrian improvements, transformation of the San Pablo Avenue Corridor, and the allowance of building heights up to five-stories. The University area is also identified for the development of a multi-use and connected community that takes advantage of the proximity to the universities by providing a mix of housing choices, greater pedestrian and non-motorized transportation options, and ample open space.
One component of the General Plan is the Housing Element. The Housing Element identifies the City’s housing conditions and needs, and establishes goals, objectives, and policies that are the foundation of the City’s housing and growth strategy. The Housing Element is one of the mandatory elements that is reviewed as part of any General Plan; and is the only Element individually certified by the State's Department of Housing and Community Development. The City's Housing Element was last certified in 2013 and is expected to be updated in 2021.
Please contact Planning for more information.
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