Palm Desert City Hall.
The Palm Desert City Council is set to consider major infrastructure, housing and development policy items when it meets Thursday afternoon.
The regular meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Palm Desert City Hall, 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, and will be conducted as a hybrid meeting allowing both in-person and remote participation. An agenda can be found here.
Among the most significant action items is a proposed Funding and Reservation Agreement with Imperial Irrigation District for the Cook Street energy substation, a project intended to provide new electrical capacity for the city’s North Sphere area.
The agreement would authorize the city manager to execute the deal, appropriate $4.7 million from capital bond proceeds and begin forming a Community Facilities District so property owners can pay their share of long-term energy demand.
The council will also hold a public hearing under the federal Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act for a proposed bond issuance by the California Municipal Finance Authority to support the Palm Desert Family Housing Project.
The hearing is required before up to $50 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds can be issued to finance the construction of a 298-unit affordable rental housing development at the northwest corner of Cook Street and Frank Sinatra Drive.
Another public hearing will focus on the adoption of hillside residential design standards, a city-initiated ordinance aimed at regulating single-family development in the Hillside Planned Residential zoning district.
The proposed standards address building size, grading, lighting, materials and ridgeline protection, and follow a multi-year public process involving the Planning Commission, Architectural Review Commission and community meetings.
The council is also scheduled to consider adoption of Ordinance 1439, which would amend the municipal code to adopt the 2025 California Building Standards Code with local amendments.
In addition, councilmembers will hear an appeal of a Planning Commission decision approving a precise plan and mitigated negative declaration for the Catavina residential project, a proposed 546-unit single-family community located south of Frank Sinatra Drive and west of Portola Avenue.
Get involved: Members of the public may participate in person, submit written comments by email to [email protected] before 10 a.m. the day of the meeting, or comment live via Zoom or telephone. The meeting will also be streamed live through the city’s website and YouTube channel.