Palm Desert City Council members discussed revisions to the city's Key to the City policy Thursday, seeking to balance recognition for community service contributions with promotional and tourism benefits.
The policy update, presented by Oscar Per Martinez, a student intern in the City Clerk’s Office, establishes two distinct pathways for receiving the honorary recognition.
One focuses on individuals who have made significant community contributions through volunteer service, philanthropy or civic engagement. The second targets individuals who can generate measurable community excitement and provide tourism or cultural benefits to Palm Desert.
Under the proposed process, the mayor and mayor pro tem would review applications and make initial recommendations before bringing selections to the full city council for approval.
Councilmember Karina Quintanilla expressed concerns about the tourism-focused criteria potentially overshadowing community service recognition.
"I don't think I would be consistent with my own character if I would have any hesitation for who is this really for," Quintanilla said, questioning whether celebrity appearances at city events should carry equal weight to longtime community service.
The tourism criteria includes participation in city-sponsored or community events that promote civic pride or tourism, and requires recipients to have a meaningful connection to Palm Desert that generates widespread community excitement.
City staff explained the promotional criteria is intended to be broad and apply to individuals with wide public reach, and that "This is only one side of the criteria. There is a completely separate side for the community contributions," Sheehan said.
Quintanilla also asked for clarification on what constitutes "measurable and widespread community excitement," seeking more specific guidelines for evaluating applicants.
Mayor Jan Harnik confirmed the updated policy would require full city council approval for all Key to the City recipients, regardless of which criteria pathway they meet.
The policy revision will return to the council at a future meeting.