City Hall Parking Reconfiguration
Update
On February 11, 2010 PSPF and the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PSModCom) produced a joint informational flier on the city hall parking lot reconfiguration issue. The flier was distributed during Modernism Week (February 12-21). To read the flier click here.
On February 9, 2010 the city’s Historic Site Preservation Board (HSPB) finally discussed PSPF’s August 2009 letter. The HSPB then unanimously voted to have city staff prepare a recommendation to the city council to declare the city hall an historic site (not just an historic building). The board then issued a stay of demolition for 90 days (with a potential extension of another 90 days) for the city hall site to include the parking lot.
On February 8, 2010 a group of concerned citizens (including PSPF board member Gary Johns) submitted a letter to the Planning Commission appealing the city’s January 25, 2010 decision (Case No. 3.3377-MAA) to proceed with the ill-advised parking lot reconfiguration. The appeal notes that, (1) an important historic and architectural resource (city hall) is impacted, that (2) the proposed project is poorly designed, and that (3) the project is fiscally unsound. The appeal letter also emphasizes that the proposed project’s more praiseworthy sustainability aims (e.g., a sustainability demonstration garden) can be easily achieved without negatively affecting the city hall site.
On August 23, 2009, PSPF sent a letter to Mayor Pougnet strongly objecting to a proposal to reconfigure the parking lot of the Palm Springs City Hall. The City Hall designed by Clark, Frey & Chambers (1952) is one of the icons of the city’s modernist architecture. The proposed reconfiguration blocks sight lines that have been in place for more than fifty years and trades a view of great architecture for a line of unsightly car grills. Please take a moment to read the PSPF letter to Mayor Pougnet for a more detailed explanation of the issue. |
