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TGIF, folks, where we hope you’ve got your rain gear ready because it’s going to be wet (most likely extremely wet) the next couple of days. We also hope you check in with any organizers of outdoor events that you be planning to attend. One we reported on earlier this week — a community cleanup event at Homme-Adams Park on Saturday — has been postponed, and a new date is yet to be announced. Need assistance in the event of a flood? Read how the city has you covered here.
🎶 Setting the mood: "Here Comes The Rain Again” by Eurythmics
📰 LEADING OFF
The city's animal control regulations were established in January 1998 and had never been updated until Thursday evening.
Palm Desert approves first animal control update in nearly 3 decades
The Palm Desert City Council unanimously approved modernizing the city's animal control regulations Thursday, updating rules that haven't changed since 1998.
Driving the news: The council voted 5-0 to introduce amendments to Title 6 of the Municipal Code that add mandatory microchipping and spay-neuter requirements for pets, establish procedures for handling dangerous and noisy animals, and prohibit backyard breeding and public animal sales.
Why it matters: The current regulations have become outdated, leaving gaps in enforcement for issues like noisy animal nuisances, backyard breeding operations and dangerous animal protocols.
The modernized ordinance gives code enforcement better tools to resolve neighbor disputes.
What's new: The amendments add two chapters — one for potentially dangerous animals with clear impoundment guidelines, and another for noisy animals with administrative hearing procedures.
The licensing chapter now requires mandatory microchipping and spay-neuter procedures.
Yes but: The city chose not to fully adopt Riverside County's animal control ordinance because doing so would eliminate enforcement authority for quality-of-life regulations like requiring pet owners to clean up after their pets.
Between the lines: One councilmember praised the update for moving regulations into the 21st century, noting it will help staff resolve disputes rather than simply issuing tickets with accumulated fines.
Up next: The ordinance will return for second reading and final adoption at a future council meeting.
📰 BRIEFLY
City leaders are looking to solidify the rules and process around who gets a ceremonial Key to the City in the future.
🔑 City officials considering updates to Key to the City criteria
The Palm Desert City Council discussed revisions Thursday to its Key to the City policy, establishing two pathways for honorary recognition: one for community service contributions through volunteer work, philanthropy or civic engagement, and another for individuals who generate community excitement and provide tourism or cultural benefits.
Councilmember Karina Quintanilla questioned whether celebrity appearances at city events should carry equal weight to longtime community service. City staff, however, emphasized the promotional criteria is separate from community contribution standards and intended for individuals with wide public reach.
Details: 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. The policy revision will return to the council at a future meeting.
🌧️ Residents urged to prepare for weekend rain
Rain showers are expected to begin overnight tonight and continue into early Saturday, with light rain starting around midnight and intensifying through the morning before tapering off by late Saturday afternoon.
The city is providing sand and sandbags for residents in flood-prone areas. Sand is available through the end of today at Civic Center Park north of the Dog Park, adjacent to the Baseball Fields. Residents are encouraged to bring their own sandbags and shovels.
Bottom line: Officials warn that as little as one inch of water can move a car and urge residents to turn around at flooded areas, never drive around barricades or road closures, and avoid driving in heavy rains when possible to allow emergency vehicles to move efficiently.
A MESSAGE FROM COD
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📅 FEATURED EVENTS
"The Art of Giving" Charity Auction
Today | 5:30 p.m. | Melissa Morgan Fine Art Gallery
A charitable art auction benefiting Food Now, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting hunger and food insecurity in the Coachella Valley.
A Christmas Carol
Today - Sunday | 7 p.m. / 2 p.m. (Sunday) | College of the Desert
A non-traditional telling of the classic Dickens story, pared down to its essential elements. ($15-$20)
Arts and Letters: Susan Straight
Tuesday | 6 p.m. | UCR Palm Desert
National Book Award finalist Susan Straight in conversation with Tod Goldberg on the release of her new novel, "Sacrament." (Free)
📆 SAVE THE DATE
The Shops on El Paseo tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 22 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Palm Desert Water Lantern Festival at Civic Center Park on Nov. 22
📣 AND FINALLY …
Marrakesh Country Club is now a historic district. (Photo: Marrakesh Country Club)
Palm Desert's Marrakesh Country Club just joined the ranks of historically protected properties, though don't expect any dramatic changes to the mid-century development that has graced the desert landscape since the late 1960s.
Driving the news: The Palm Desert City Council unanimously designated the 155-acre property as a historic district at meeting last month, recognizing the property's mid-century architecture and landscape design.
The designation covers everything from the guardhouse to the golf course to all 155 residential condominiums within the complex.
The backstory: Built between 1967 and 1979, the development was the vision of developer Johnny Dawson working with architects John Elgin Wolf and Richard Harrison, plus golf course architect Ted Robinson—a dream team of mid-century desert design.
Why it matters: The designation formalizes preservation review criteria under local law, meaning future alterations will face additional scrutiny to maintain the property's character-defining elements.
City staff noted that some inappropriate changes made over the years "would not be approved today under the HOA's existing architectural standards."
What's next: Despite the historic designation, no immediate construction or restoration work is required — the property already retains its primary mid-century character quite nicely.
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