Palm Desert City Council - Regular Meeting, April 9, 2026

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[00:04:41] Mayor Trubee: All right, just in time. Let's do it. Okay. Nice. Oh, there we go. Okay. Welcome, everybody. We are going to call to order our regularly scheduled meeting for April 9th of 2026. The regular meeting of the Palm Desert City Council, the successor agency to the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency, the Palm Desert Housing Authority, and the Palm Desert Board of Library Trustees for Thursday, April 9th, 2026. May we please have roll call?
[00:05:32] City Clerk: Council member Harnik.
[00:05:34] Council Member Harnik: Here.
[00:05:34] City Clerk: Council member Moreno.
[00:05:36] Council Member Moreno: Present.
[00:05:36] City Clerk: Council member Nestande.
[00:05:39] Council Member Nestande: Here.
[00:05:39] City Clerk: Mayor pro tem Predetto.
[00:05:39] Mayor Pro Tem Predetto: Here.
[00:05:41] City Clerk: Mayor Trubee.
[00:05:41] Mayor Trubee: Here. And we have an announcement from the city clerk regarding our public hearings for today.
[00:05:46] City Clerk: Yes, for item 11 C, appeal of the Planning Commission decision approving an addendum to mitigated negative declaration, finding the project exempt from CEQA, and approving a precise plan and tentative tract map related to Portola Springs project. Staff is recommending that this item be continued to a date uncertain.
[00:06:06] Mayor Trubee: Very good. Thank you for that. I will now move on to item number two. We'll have a pledge of allegiance led by Mayor pro tem Predetto.
[00:06:37] Mayor Trubee: And for everybody's information, Council member Quintana was enjoyed or was married during the intervening time between last meeting and this, and she is now Council member Moreno, and we will look forward to having her words of inspiration.
[00:06:54] Council Member Moreno: Thank you very much, Mayor. Speaking of, I was at the Grand Canyon. That's where we went on our honeymoon, and it was a great opportunity to reflect that in the grand scheme of things, in the millions of years that it took for the Earth to get to today, in the millennia that it took for human evolution to get us to today, this day, this moment, and each of us here, we are merely a speck of dust. It was a very humbling experience. And I think that we need to look at today to find how we can make a difference in the life of one other person, whether it be that smile at a stranger, to recognize kindness, a talent, recognize humor, and appreciate the humanity that we all share. Let us find that shared humanity at a time when the world is at war, when there is anger, when there is division, and keep in mind what example we are placing forward before our children and the generations to come. And with that in mind, I want to give my thank you to Council member Nestande for reaching out and saying, 'Are you okay?' because I've only missed one other meeting before that, and I appreciate that a colleague would check in. So, thank you for that. I appreciate you.
[00:08:19] Mayor Trubee: Very good. Thank you. There was no closed session, so we'll move on to item number five, awards, presentations, and appointments. This is a proclamation and key to the city for Ron Gregory. So, if my colleagues will meet me down front, we'll read the proclamation.
[00:08:59] Mayor Trubee: All right. Here we go. No, you want to have your—you want to be facing the crowd here, man. Get all the photo ops and everything. Absolutely. Let's do this. All right.
[00:09:11] Mayor Trubee: Mr. Ron Gregory, I've got to admit I've known Ron for almost 25, 30 years now. He's a fellow cyclist, so this makes me especially proud to honor him today. Whereas, for more than four decades, Ron Gregory has given his time, expertise, and steady leadership to the City of Palm Desert, helping shape not only its growth, but its character; and whereas, from 1981 through 2025, he served with distinction on the Architectural Review Commission and the Planning Commission, guiding the city through formative expansion, economic evolution, and generational change; and whereas, during Palm Desert's earliest years of significant development, Mr. Gregory advanced rigorous architectural and landscape standards, insisting on solar protection, climate responsive design, desert appropriate materials, and meaningful landscape
[00:10:02] Mayor Evan Trubee: depth at a time when such principles were not yet common practice. And whereas, he played a central role in refining monument sign policy and guiding significant commercial, residential, and hospitality development along Highway 111 and El Paseo, ensuring that growth strengthened rather than diminished the visual integrity of Palm Desert. And whereas, across decades of public service, his institutional knowledge, principled judgment, and unwavering commitment to architectural excellence helped shape the very physical form of the city, leaving a lasting imprint on its neighborhoods, corridors, and civic spaces. And whereas, his legacy is visible not only in the buildings approved and policies refined, but in the enduring quality, coherence, and character of Palm Desert itself. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that I, Evan Trubee, mayor of the city of Palm Desert, California, on behalf of the entire city council, do hereby recognize and commend Ron Gregory for his distinguished and transformative service from 1981 through 2025 for his extraordinary contributions to the planning, architecture, and built environment of Palm Desert. And be it further proclaimed that in recognition of his lasting impact on the physical character and enduring quality of our city, we proudly present to Ron Gregory the key to the city of Palm Desert and hereby declare the 9th day of April 2026 as Ron Gregory Day in the city of Palm Desert, inviting residents to celebrate his remarkable legacy and long-standing civic stewardship. He has definitely left his mark on our city. We are so proud to have him. And Ron, we'd like to say a few words.
[00:11:51] Ron Gregory: I am really honored. Wow. I was also thinking that I feel like the Grand Canyon. I mean, I came here as a little boy, almost 50 years ago, to be precise, 1977. And there was a lot of sand here and not buildings. And in fact, this was sand. And when our children, my wife is here, Marcy, daughter Carly, and Jeff, and my daughter-in-law Chiara, and my little Nyetta, Gwen, they were here. I just came out here and just hoped that it would work. And it's really really it's quite an honor to be standing here now and and have people like me. I'm not in jail, all those other things that could have happened. I've been joking in my mind about the key and I'm wondering what it what it might work to. So, I'm going to be experimenting for the next few days trying out the key. Thank you. So, um as you can see, I invited every friend I know to come. But, it's just really it this is a nice experience and I thank you all. I thank the city especially, too. You've been Well, everyone keeps changing, but over the years, the staff's been one of the pleasures in me working here and certainly the council. And so, it's been fun. And I I hope that other people who wish to do the same thing have as much fun as I did. So, thank you. Thank you all.
[00:13:28] Speaker: All right, here you go, sir. Madam, Sir Mayor, I ran into Ron recently and he said, 'What's what are they going to give me, Joe?' I said, 'Have you heard of Flavor Flav?' And he says, 'I have not.' And I said, 'Well, I got you.'
[00:14:06] Speaker: There we are. ...that they had to be a special person. So, I was close. You're the ice man. You're the guy. Awesome. There you are, Ron Gregory.
[00:14:31] Mayor Evan Trubee: All right. So, we're going to we're going to do some photo ops here and then staff has graciously got some cupcakes. We're going to do a little celebration in the room next door here. Apparently, they got 90 cupcakes, so everybody can have 2.75 cupcakes per person. But, we'll take like 10 minutes or so after all the photos and and celebrate Ron. 40 years, I think it merits that. So, thank you. Family, get the family, the whole nine yards. Let's do one with the council and one with the family.
[00:16:35] Mayor Evan Trubee: Very good. Okay. Should we break until about 4:25? And if everybody wants to recess to the ACR, which is the room just down in the hall to the left, we'll just celebrate Mr. Ron Gregory.
[00:29:48] Speaker: Mhm.
[00:30:43] Mayor: Number six, our City Manager comments.
[00:30:45] City Manager: Thank you, Mayor and Council. I do have a quick update. I'd like to invite up the Palm Desert softball team, who you will see wearing their jerseys. So, this is the Palm Desert softball team, and they compete against other agencies, both city, special districts in the Coachella Valley. I'll have Martine kick us off with the good news, and please bring over the Palm Desert cup.
[00:31:12] Martine: Good afternoon, Mayor, members of the City Council, staff. I'd like to kick off and congratulate our 2026 Civic softball champions, your Palm Desert team. Before I go into a couple more details of the season, I want to thank all of our supporters, the City Council for allowing us to participate, our manager, and other staff members that supported us. There were a lot of members from our team outside of this team, from our city staff, that helped us, supported us, brought us snacks, brought us goodies, kept us energized, and really helped us get through our undefeated 12 and 0 season. Oh, sorry, 10 and 0? Okay. I missed one game or two, I think. Yeah, 12 and 0 undefeated. We had some really, really good games. This team stuck together. The effort, the teamwork, the support that they gave each other was amazing. And that's really a reflection of, I think, our entire staff. The collaboration, teamwork that we have built over the years really showed in this team. Each one of them played a vital part and just had an amazing time. And one thing I would say is that this team never gave up. We had some come-from-behind wins. We had some errors here and there, but we had some amazing plays that happened throughout the season, and they all supported each other and just kept it going. So, we're really proud to have been part of this, and we can't thank enough the city for letting us do this. And we're looking at a back-to-back next year. So, just be aware and ready. We're already here in training for that. So, once again, thank you very much. And here, I don't know if, Marie, if you want to miss anything.
[00:33:08] Marie: Thank you to DRD for putting it on, Andrea for her support in rallying, you know, all of staff to cheer us on and carry us through the season. It was a really fun, maybe not so traditional way of us to build camaraderie, you know, compete and connect, where otherwise on the day-to-day operations, we probably wouldn't be able to do, or we wouldn't do normally. So, yeah, it was just a great experience for us, and we can't thank everyone enough for the support that we had through the season. So.
[00:33:48] Council Member: So, I just got a quick question. There's, I'm counting nine players. It takes nine to field a team, right? Aren't there any backup players, no subs, no? So, this was it?
[00:33:58] Martine: No, we had a couple players that couldn't make it today.
[00:34:01] Council Member: Okay. All right.
[00:34:09] Council Member: I have two questions. Can I trouble you to name them all out? We want to be sure that they get their recognition. I mean, if you guys went 12 and 0, a medal's one thing, but I think the city deserves to show you some love.
[00:34:31] Council Member: This has to be recorded, man.
[00:34:35] Martine: Go ahead. You probably know the roster.
[00:34:36] Marie: Oh. Mark Valdez, Anthony Perez in finance. He was very quiet and timid, but he made it out, and he helped. He helped a lot. Who else do we have? Miranda Jimenez. Eric Lomeli was there for part of the season. Your son, Isaiah. Martine's son, Isaiah, made it out to help us because Caesar was in Paris, so he couldn't make the playoff and championship. So, we had... Yes. Yeah. So. But otherwise, this is the team, and we stuck it in there.
[00:35:20] Council Member: So, who's on the injury list? IL. Tell us about the IL.
[00:35:24] Martine: Well, I'm not going to get into a long-winded story that I told, but there was one particular member here that stuck it out through blood, sweat, and tears, through injuries, and we're very proud that he made it to Eisenhower Hospital in time to get treated. But Ryan was our pitcher, and he's a standout, and he dealt with injuries, and he stuck it out, and we're very proud of the entire team. And Ryan was the...
[00:35:52] Marie: And he was our MVP as well, so.
[00:35:59] Council Member: So, now do you have a name, or is it just Palm Desert?
[00:36:03] Martine: That's enough, but says it all. Okay.
[00:36:12] Mayor: Awesome. Great work, guys. Love it. Can't hide that Palm Desert pride. Expecting that trophy back next year. Good job.
[00:36:17] Mayor: All right, City Manager, any other... Anything else to add? Okay, on to item number seven, Mayor, Council Member reports and request for action. Out of habit, I'm just going to keep it simple and begin, if you don't mind, with Council Member Moreno.
[00:36:29] Council Member Moreno: I do. You always pick on me. I always start. Then I feel like I take over the reports of things that others should be reporting on and sharing your experiences instead of saying...
[00:36:39] Mayor: I can start on the other end.
[00:36:40] Council Member Moreno: Yeah, go for it.
[00:36:41] Mayor: All right, Council Member Harnik, if you don't mind.
[00:36:46] Council Member Harnik: Of course not. I hope everybody enjoyed their weekend springtime celebration, however they chose to celebrate. I hope it was meaningful and with friends and family and people you love. I'll leave the senior inspiration awards. I think that's a mayoral call out on that. I did want to mention that you'll get one of these in the mail. Everybody will get one of these. This comes from the Southern California Association of Governments. It's for the SoCal Transportation Study. It's to put together the regional transportation plan. And what they want you to do, they give you three ways to answer some questions, complete a study. You can go online, you can call toll-free, or you can use an access code. They do say, I saw this, "Please complete the study, and we'll send you a gift card of $15 or more as thanks." So, please fill this out, because this goes into a regional transportation plan, our RTP, that we do every 4 to 8 years. It truly makes a difference. It impacts where the projects are going to be, and if a project isn't listed in the RTP, we can't get funding for it. So, it must be listed in there. So, please fill it out and talk about what your needs are as far as transportation. This impacts everything, and also the sustainable communities strategy goes hand in hand with this. This impacts our... No, it's not. We... No, it's just... This impacts our environment, our air quality, and it's a big issue. So, please, when you get this in the mail, fill it out. Thank you.
[00:38:52] Mayor: Okay, very good. Thank you, Council Member Harnik. We'll move on to Council Member Nestande, please.
[00:39:00] Council Member Nestande: Not this evening, thank you.
[00:39:03] Mayor: Okay, on to Council Member Quintanilla.
[00:39:06] Council Member Quintanilla: Thank you, Mayor. Let's see. I have a few. The Coachella Valley Animal Campus, I'm very thankful that over the last few years, thanks to ongoing engagement and folks speaking up, and every city looking to make sure that our funding was being spent where we need to, it has led to some creative thinking and innovation. And one thing that they announced is a program, the Ironwood Dog Foster Program, in which they pair dogs that need adoption with inmates. And that allows them to have some healthy outlets and bond with an animal, and the prison staff has said they've seen an improvement in behavior and outlook, and it's led to adoptions because some of these staff at Ironwood see the animals and they end up taking them home. And they have been working with the...
[00:40:03] Mayor Pro Tem Predito: ...Wing to Wings of Rescue. They have had 58 dogs were flown out to different areas to get forever homes. They will be having Barkchella April 10th through 19th, and that means they're going to be having free adoption at the shelters including spay, neuter, microchips, vaccinations, and engraved ID tags. And they're going to have that on Monday the 13th, and they're hoping people register. And then they're also having that at the Santa Jacinto shelter. And Wags on Wheels April 19th at the county or the Western County Animal Shelter. So, there's a few things that they're going to have to make it fun and engaging for families and just remind folks that if you want to treat your pet like your family, you need to be responsible for them as well. I have been meeting with the CEO of SunLine to talk about what we can do as a region in looking forward. And I'm on the ad hoc committee regarding the SunLine Reimagined. So, thank you to everyone that filled out a survey. As a result, they had record numbers of individuals that responded, which now have led to the first draft of the maps to see whether the community would prefer having less routes with the concentration along 111 that come by more frequently, or more routes that extend all across the valley that would take longer intervals. So, as those become available to have public engagement in May, they want folks to really get involved and let us know what it's going to take. And additionally, at the end of the month, I'll be going to the League of Cities Leader Summit. And in the discussions with Mona, with the CEO, to see what the priorities are that we can advocate, following on Council Member Harnik and her comments about what transportation looks like and how we can get funding and ensure that we are ahead of the game. I attended the McCallum Leadership Circle and a conversation with the producer of Hadestown, and it was a reminder of the world-class performances. He talked about how he started the first exhibition of this in London. And we take it for granted because it's here, and, you know, it pays homage to the arts of why Palm Desert has been such a big supporter of the arts since the very beginning. And how the McCallum supports education programs that give that to our kids at a time when a lot of the education funding has been cut, the city helps contribute to their appreciation. And I guess the fashion week continues, so April seems to be a nonprofit fashion week. And Jocelyn and Bloom, our very own Daniel Hurtado, looking very meek and humble back there. He was flashing a winning smile on the runway, recognized as a model citizen. And so, it was great to see staff there cheering him on and taking pictures and video and had a good time, joined by Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. And then on Friday is Desert Best Friends Closet. And the great thing is to know that these events sell out. They sell out and let us know that we're supporting good work as the city. Saturday, April 4th, I attended the Trans Day of Visibility, a queer field day that happened here at the Civic Center Park. And they mentioned that there was a lot of support from the community that mentioned that given things that have transpired, to see events like this in the city made them feel welcome. And learned about resources that they have at the Center in Palm Springs and Coachella, including crafting summer camp, tenants' rights workshops, which I think we often don't associate with some of these nonprofit groups, belly dancing, sound baths. So, things that aren't necessarily out of the ordinary, but they create a safe space. So, I thought it was neat to find that out. Congrats to staff. Oh, one last thing on that item: Lesbian Visibility Week, April 20th to 26th. And then the congratulations to staff for renewing the autism certification. The initial certification was for two years, and upon renewal, this is now a four-year certification. So, thank you for your commitment to inclusion and visibility not only within the Palm Desert family and the extended family, but to the community and your supportive economic development programs that let those that visit Palm Desert know that this is an inclusive place to feel embraced by our beautiful city. And my request for action, we had a few emails that came to City Hall. One in particular on the ADA issues, so I think that would be interesting to see what can be done, if at all, given our jurisdiction on private versus public issues. And another email that came in was on fruit trees. And I thought that we often focus on when we have developments making sure that they adhere to the native landscape and plant pallets. But I thought, you know, what was brought up was why don't we have more fruit trees? When we talk about food insecurity, we talk about how everything's more expensive. And a side conversation we had at the Jocelyn event is I don't think the city's about to revise the ordinance letting people have chickens anytime soon. So, if you can't have your own eggs, at least maybe have more fruit in these new housing developments. So, just a consideration for the future. And that's all for me.
[00:45:45] Mayor: Thank you very much, Mayor Pro Tem Predito. Next door right now, we have a group of people dedicated and working answering phones for our 911 dispatch. And they work quietly, and they work around the clock, and we rely on them, and we thank them for their work. And last week I was able to join the Riverside County dinner honoring our dispatchers. So, I want to take a moment to just recognize the good work they do for our community and say thank you. Let's applaud for them. Very good. Okay. Just a couple quick comments. As Council Member Harnik alluded to, we were able to honor a Palm Desert resident, Carla Sullivan, who is director of the Coachella Valley Disaster Preparedness Network. There's the Senior Inspiration Awards that happen annually. All nine cities participate. Mayors nominate the winner. And I got to say, you know, it's my first time through as mayor, and what came to me were a list of nominees. And really, there wasn't a whole lot of bio information on them. The real criteria that I used was number of hours donated in service to the community. And Carla, you know, was the highest. You know, she had donated more hours than anybody else on the list. However, I'm really, really proud that she won the award. I think what she's doing is great work. It's kind of been keeping what I see as a personal goal for the city is to have more residents who are independent, able to handle emergencies on their own so they rely less on public services in the event we have an emergency. So, very, very proud to see her recognized and honored for the work she does here in the city and throughout the whole Coachella Valley. And then on March 27th, the Visit Greater Palm Springs, which is the tourism agency that helps market the entire Coachella Valley to the rest of the world to try to get tourists here. And of course, our city funds Visit Greater Palm Springs through transient occupancy tax, etc. There was a presentation by Hundan Partners, who Visit Greater Palm Springs is hiring to do a destination stewardship study and program whereby they spend about a year basically individually going to each city and meeting with staff and kind of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each of the nine cities because we want to sort of stand out and play to our strengths and maybe bring up our weaknesses or vice versa. And so, that's a worthwhile program, and I'm really glad they're doing it because I think one thing that we have to look when all nine cities do contribute to this organization, there's a fear that we're getting lost in the mix. That, okay, they're just marketing the entire Coachella Valley willy-nilly without any kind of special consideration for our city. So, I was so pleased to see that without any additional funding required, they're going to put forth this program to help us stand out and market our city above and beyond what they do for the greater Coachella Valley as a whole. So, very worthwhile program, and I'm sure our city staff will work well with Visit Greater Palm Springs, and you can expect the report to come out next late winter, early spring. So, very good. Okay, and that's it for me. We are now on to item number eight.
[00:49:04] Staff: Not with me today. Sorry, Mayor. On the question about the ADA, the comment, staff is already working on a design to address that issue, but we'll follow up with additional information. Thank you very much.
[00:49:16] Mayor: Got it. Cool. All right. Item number eight, non-agenda public comments. Now, before I even read the rules regarding non-agenda public comments, I see that I have no blue cards. Are there any online comments, Mr. City Clerk?
[00:49:27] City Clerk: For those on Zoom, if you want to participate in public comment, please click the raise hand button on your computer or smartphone. And if you're joining in by calling on your phone, please dial star nine to raise your hand, and when called upon, press star six to unmute yourself. And we have no raised hands.
[00:49:42] Mayor: Okay. Well, then no non-agenda public comments. We'll move on then to item number nine, the consent calendar. And all matters listed on the consent calendar are considered routine and may be approved by one motion. The public may comment on any item on the consent calendar for up to three minutes. I again don't see any
[00:50:02] Mayor: Blue speaker cards or any online? And no online comments.
[00:50:05] Mayor: Very good. Okay, any of my colleagues wish to pull an item?
[00:50:13] Council Member: I'll move approval.
[00:50:17] Council Member: I will second it. I'd like to make a quick comment and a comment only on 9E, which is the Palm Springs Art Museum in the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden. I just wonder, and I truly wonder—I don't know if we are or aren't—it is phenomenal. There's some outstanding pieces of sculpture in that garden. I just wonder how much we're marketing it. I don't think many people know that they can just go take a free stroll over there and see amazing sculptures besides a beautiful garden. So, I just like to make a little note of that.
[00:50:58] Mayor: Very good. All right, thank you.
[00:51:01] Council Member: I will second, Mayor Pro Tem.
[00:51:04] Mayor: Oh, I beg your pardon. Okay, then let's get a vote.
[00:51:12] Mayor: We're not doing a verbal this time. Beg your pardon, I'm sorry. There we go.
[00:51:16] Mayor: Excellent. Motion passes five to zero.
[00:51:18] Mayor: Okay, on to item number 10, the action calendar. The public may comment on individual action items with a three-minute time limit. Speakers may utilize one of the three options listed on the first page of the agenda. I again don't see any blue cards, any online comments.
[00:51:39] Staff: And I'm sorry, it's just for item 10A.
[00:51:41] Mayor: I beg your pardon. Yeah, sorry. Item 10A. Sorry about that. Introduction of an ordinance adding section 5.10.130 to chapter 5.100 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code to implement the short-term rental facilitator act of 2025 regarding short-term rental facilitator reporting, CEQA determination.
[00:52:12] Arlene Adiano: Good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Arlene Adiano, accountant in the finance department. I am presenting an ordinance to add section 5.10.130 to implement the short-term rental facilitators act of 2025 under Senate Bill 365. This ordinance allows the city to access data for short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, while remaining consistent with our existing regulation and not impacting compliant permit holders. It strengthens our oversight by improving tax compliance, enhancing enforcement, and increasing transparency. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions.
[00:53:05] Mayor: Okay, so before we go back to council, again, I don't see any blue cards on this item, and are there any online comments?
[00:53:17] Staff: No online comments.
[00:53:17] Mayor: Terrific. Okay, I'll open it up to my colleagues. Any questions of staff?
[00:53:23] Mayor: All right.
[00:53:25] Council Member Moreno: Council member Moreno. How often do you see, or how are you aware of STRs that may be operating illegally?
[00:53:36] Arlene Adiano: Well, the city already has a really good short-term rental program. We do use an online platform called Deckard to help us with the compliance portion of it. And that's more in development services. They have a specific person that handles the permitting portion. So, this will help catch the ones that aren't registered through the city, but are listing on the sites.
[00:53:59] Council Member Moreno: Okay, perfect. Thank you.
[00:54:02] Mayor: All right, terrific. Anybody else?
[00:54:04] Council Member: All right, so I'll make a motion to approve.
[00:54:06] Council Member: Right, I'll second the motion.
[00:54:14] Mayor: Motion passes five to zero.
[00:54:16] Mayor: Terrific, thank you. Thank you. All right, item 10B, resolution adopting the code of conduct for elected and appointed officials.
[00:54:25] Mayor: And looking for a staff report.
[00:54:28] City Clerk: Good evening, Mayor and Council. This item brings forward a proposed resolution adopting a code of conduct for elected and appointed officials. The purpose of the code is to consolidate governance and professional conduct expectations into a single adopted document. At present, those expectations exist across state law, the municipal code, training materials, and established practice, but not in one locally adopted document focused specifically on conduct expectations for elected and appointed officials. The proposed code is intended to be proactive and preventive. Palm Desert has not experienced the kind of governance challenges seen in some other jurisdictions. However, the operating environment for public officials has become more complex, particularly with evolving public engagement, communication platforms, transparency requirements, and legal considerations surrounding public communications and decision-making. The code does not create new legal requirements, supersede existing law, or alter the independent role of elected officials. Rather, it establishes locally adopted expectations intended to support professionalism, role clarity, orderly governance, and effective decision-making consistent with the city's council-manager form of government. The code also applies selected provisions to appointed officials serving on boards, commissions, committees, and task forces where appropriate in order to promote consistency in professional standards while recognizing the distinct role of those advisory bodies. And that concludes my presentation, and I'm available for questions.
[00:55:56] Mayor: Terrific. Okay, before I open up to my colleagues, I guess we'll again, no blue cards on this item, any online comments?
[00:56:04] City Clerk: No online comments.
[00:56:04] Mayor: All right. Any questions from my colleagues for the city clerk?
[00:56:07] Mayor: All right, Council member Moreno.
[00:56:11] Council Member Moreno: In looking through the proposed language, it says that if we should have our personal communication devices during the closed session... I know now that we can use our watches or our phones as keyless entry systems. Are you going to have a box or a cabinet, or how will that be addressed?
[00:56:32] City Clerk: We have a box. So, it'll be a box inside the room where you can put your devices in if they're not already powered off.
[00:56:38] Council Member Moreno: Okay, so watches and all of the above. Okay, perfect.
[00:56:45] Council Member: I don't have a question. I just want to say kudos to Anthony and staff. This is not an easy line for staff to walk. They're preparing for us rules that we are placing on ourselves, and that's not always something easy staff can submit to us. It's difficult. So, thank you for the work you've done on this.
[00:57:07] City Clerk: Thank you.
[00:57:08] Council Member: Uh, this is excellent. It is short. It is concise. And it hits some important things. And I remember when I first got on council, it was always the law is down here, but our behavior's supposed to be up here. That's just the ground; we're supposed to be above it. And we operate avoiding even the appearance of impropriety should be our standard. And ethics and integrity are so important in what we do and in our governance, and it's an important reflection on our city. There are two items I would like to just set forth for my colleagues' consideration. And they're both—again, they're just consideration. Whatever you think is best is fine. On page 229, it talks—it's under section seven, the last section in there, 'interactions with appointed bodies.' I just wonder if we need a little more specificity on appointed bodies. Is it the city's committees and commissions? And it doesn't state clearly. I know I do—I'm aware that later on appointed bodies are clarified in the code, but I wonder rather than going back and forth, if it might serve us to have it in that section. And that removes any questions that way. Then on page 224, and I know we kind of go by Robert's Rules of Order Light, but it talks about the role of the mayor on—oh, I'm sorry, yeah, 224, the last section, 'role of the mayor and mayor pro tem.' And later it's also addressed later in this, and I'm sorry I didn't tag it, but how it's prescribed in Robert's is that, of course, the mayor does all the ceremonial. If the mayor is unavailable, then the mayor pro tem. If both of those parties are unavailable, then it goes to the most recent mayor. And then it goes to the others. This is not stated that way, and it's up to my colleagues what you'd like to do with it. Robert's states it one way, this states it another. If we want to be aligned with Robert's, we can add that piece. If we feel that this is adequate, then we leave it as is. Those are my only comments, but I do want to say again, this is just an excellent piece of work. It's clear, it's concise, and it holds us to the standards that we should.
[01:00:00] Council Member: ...be using when we represent Palm Desert. Thank you.
[01:00:06] Mayor: Okay, so you'd like us to, on page 224, was that section two, delineate kind of a succession thing? If neither the mayor or mayor pro tem are available, then it goes down the line. Yeah, and it's somewhere else. Anthony, can you recall where it is in the other?
[01:00:22] Anthony: It's Section 8, Official Representation.
[01:00:26] Mayor: Okay, thank you. Okay, so it says if the mayor or mayor pro tem is available, the mayor may designate another council member to serve as the city's representative, which is fine if that's how the council would like it. Robert's Rules of Order says it would then go to the most recent mayor. So, either way, it's up to this body how they would like to have that represented.
[01:00:50] Council Member: I like it. It takes away any subjectivity. It's just out there in black and white, so I would advocate for that as well. I'm fine. I'm aligned with that.
[01:01:00] Mayor: That's fine. Okay, very good. And then the other one was giving a more clear definition of what an appointed body is, is that correct?
[01:01:07] Council Member: Yeah, I think just rather than having somebody question what the appointed body is, this is specific to our committees and commissions within the city, and it wouldn't hurt to say that there. I think that's a worthwhile addition.
[01:01:19] Mayor: Yeah, terrific. All right, very good. Anybody else have anything else to add?
[01:01:23] Council Member: All right, then I will move approval with the suggested changes.
[01:01:29] Council Member: I second.
[01:01:36] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Okay, terrific. Thank you. Next item, number 11, Public Hearings. The public may comment on individual public hearing items within the three-minute time limit. The applicant and appellant will be provided with up to 10 minutes to make their presentations. Following public testimony, the appellant and applicant will be given opportunity to offer rebuttal comments for up to three additional minutes. And we are on to Item 11, introduction of an ordinance amending Chapter 9.26 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code relating to unlawful camping. And we have Mr. Pedro, sir.
[01:02:16] Mr. Pedro: Good afternoon, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and City Council members. This ordinance before you is an introduction to amend Chapter 9.26 of the city's municipal code as it relates to unlawful camping and storage of personal property on public property. Back in 2009, the city adopted Ordinance Number 1197, which regulates those activities. Due to recent court cases, our current ordinance is not in alignment with the recent rulings of the case that's known as Grants Pass v. Johnson. In that case, the Supreme Court overruled a previous court case, which was called Martin v. City of Boise, where in that case, the court ruled that enforcement of sleeping outdoors and sleeping on public property violated the Constitution—it was unconstitutional by violating the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. That's been overruled. By default, our ordinance at that time had some provisions in there that permitted temporary sleeping in RVs for up to 72 hours, allowed the city manager at his discretion to review and dismiss citations that were issued for those activities if, at that time, the individual cited, the shelters were at capacity. So those were already in that ordinance by default. This new ruling under Grants Pass v. Johnson, which was just recently passed in June of 2024, reversed that. Now the cities have the authority to enforce those regulations, and as a result of that, this amendment before you is a reflection of that. So the proposed amendments will align with the recent Supreme Court ruling. It'll provide clarity and remove outdated language, protect public health and safety and general welfare, and it'll also help maintain safe, accessible public spaces. So some of the amendments to that ordinance: under the prohibited acts, it'll clarify the language where prohibitions of unlawful camping on private and public property. It also clarified language to define prohibitions of sleeping and camping in vehicles on private property, which would be like shopping centers and parking lots open to the public. And under the exemptions section, it would remove the allowance of sleeping in RVs for up to 72 hours with permits. And under the enforcement section, it would modify that language and remove certain language in there that would allow the city to dismiss those citations. We currently have adjudication processes for our existing citations where individuals can contest and go through their due process if they felt they were aggrieved by the citations. Our law enforcement partners have used our current ordinance, and it's been very effective. After our legal team reviewed these cases and they looked at our ordinance, I'm happy to report that these are the only three minor changes we had to make to make ourselves in alignment. So I feel our ordinance is in very good shape. It's very broad, but it covers a lot of ground where we're not limited to just certain spaces or certain locations. It's prohibited across the city, like, for example, in encampments that are not defined within certain spaces, like other jurisdictions have camping that you can't have it within 16 feet of certain areas or 20 feet of public spaces. That just means that you just move another foot over and you're in compliance. So ours is broad where it's just prohibited anywhere that it's public or private property. And on private property, we utilize the PC 602 forms, which is a very effective tool where we have the property owners fill that out, then we go out and take enforcement action. So basically, our ordinance is focusing on the enforcement to address the nuisances caused by such activities, and our law enforcement partners can come in and deal with the crimes that are committed by these folks that are in these encampments if they are committing crimes. So with that, that concludes my report, and if you have any questions, I'm here, happy to answer questions.
[01:06:44] Mayor: Very good, thank you so much. Actually, I need to open the public hearing. And then, I don't see any blue speaker cards. Are there any online comments?
[01:06:57] City Clerk: No online comments.
[01:06:59] Mayor: All right, well, in that case, I'm going to close the public hearing and ask my colleagues if there's any questions of staff. Okay. Council Member Moreno.
[01:07:12] Council Member Moreno: In regards to the exemptions for motor homes, can you clarify if that means that removing the outdated language means that now they are allowed to occupy up to 72 hours in a motor home?
[01:07:25] Mr. Pedro: No, it's never been allowed, only in the exception where these court cases were in effect. So it's not allowed at this point at all.
[01:07:34] Council Member Moreno: Okay, perfect, because I thought, does that mean that if after 72 hours they move, the same thing, right? If they move to somewhere else, it restarts. But okay.
[01:07:41] Mr. Pedro: No, this language was just included in this ordinance, but we have a separate chapter that regulates that activity for private and public property as well.
[01:07:49] Council Member Moreno: So is there any amount of time that someone is allowed to park in a motor home? Is overnight okay, or is—
[01:07:54] Mr. Pedro: It's not permitted at all. It's just that the parking and storage on driveways or public streets, there's a permit process, but no sleeping is permitted within RVs.
[01:08:06] Council Member Moreno: Okay, thank you.
[01:08:08] Council Member: Actually, I do have a question. It seems like the impetus or the motivation for doing this ordinance change is to be in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling. Have you seen many people camping overnight in Palm Desert?
[01:08:23] Mr. Pedro: Well, I'm sure they are in different locations. I know that Sergeant Nelson's here, and he could probably tell you he's probably found quite a few in different locations. But these tools that we have will allow them to use the tools to properly enforce and offer the resources necessary as our first contact, and then take enforcement action if they refuse to take the resources that we have available.
[01:08:44] Staff: Mayor, if I may, the most recent Supreme Court case is more permissive of enforcement than was in the past. So when we update our ordinance, it's giving us more tools.
[01:08:53] Council Member: Okay, so when this gets adopted down the road here and becomes a bona fide ordinance in our city, we can expect a little bit more robust enforcement from law enforcement. I will say personally, I ride my bike early in the mornings, whatever, before the sun's up sometimes, and down by the Bump and Grind, it seems like there's a lot of RVs camping. So, okay, that's one of the places I thought, and I always questioned like, why are they there? But from now on, they probably won't be there. Okay, terrific. Thank you.
[01:09:21] Council Member Moreno: I have one more question. Does this mean that we need to then allocate more funding if there will be more code officers visiting areas such as down off of Washington, where we know is a common encampment for the unsheltered?
[01:09:36] Mr. Pedro: No, I think the current staff level that we have is adequate to address these issues.
[01:09:41] Council Member Moreno: Okay, thank you.
[01:09:43] Mayor: Okay, so I guess I'll open up for a motion to entertain a motion here.
[01:09:48] Council Member: Move approval.
[01:09:50] Council Member: Second.
[01:09:56] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Excellent. Okay, on to Item Number 11b.
[01:10:02] Mayor: Adopt and approve Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, substantial amendments to the annual action plans for program years 2023-2024. And we have a staff report.
[01:10:14] Alvin Toriano: Uh, good afternoon, Mayor, City Council. Alvin Toriano, Development Services. Uh, today we're just here to bring a presenting an item about two substantial amendments for program years 20, um, 23-24.
[01:10:26] Alvin Toriano: And just quickly just going over, you know, why amendments are needed, uh, in most cases because either one or two things: one being, uh, there's an allotment or certain amount of funds that meets, uh, over meets a threshold, or sometimes when a project is not fully seen and sometimes we have to reallocate those funds.
[01:10:44] Alvin Toriano: And the proposed budget—I'm sorry, the proposed reallocation plan is just to take, uh, uh, roughly about 130,000, uh, and allocate those dollars to our housing authority for three separate projects: uh, one being the One Quail Place for playground improvements, uh, elevator improvements at the—at Sage Crest, and pool plaster improvements at California Villas.
[01:11:05] Alvin Toriano: Um, and some of the community and fiscal impact, the reallocation is simply benefit low- to moderate-income families, uh, and residents by improving household conditions, uh, accessibility, common areas across the housing authority properties.
[01:11:18] Alvin Toriano: And, and just simply requested action is staff recommends that the City Council approve the two substantial amendments for program years 23 of a reallocation of 125,000 and approve the program year 24 reallocation of 5,000, and, and authorize the implementation. And with that, I conclude my presentation and here for any questions.
[01:11:38] Mayor: All right, very good. I guess we will now open the public hearing. Um, I don't have any blue cards again. Anything online, Mr. City Clerk?
[01:11:46] City Clerk: No online comments.
[01:11:48] Mayor: Well, in that case, I will close the public hearing and, um, any questions from colleagues? All good? Okay, I will entertain a motion.
[01:11:57] Councilmember: Move as staff recommendation.
[01:12:00] Councilmember: Second.
[01:12:07] Mayor: Motion passes 5 to 0. Terrific. Thank you so much. And as item 11c has been postponed, then we are officially adjourned at 5:07 p.m. Thank you, everybody.