Ask City Hall

Happy New Year, 

Foremost, I hope you enjoyed using Engage Palm Desert and found it informative. City Hall employees are adding content to this website daily, so make sure to check back for the newest information about our city. 

Currently, the City does not plan to underground utilities in Council District One. There is only one active district for undergrounding and it is called Tamarisk UUD. I've included a link to the City of Palm Desert Utility Undergrounding Master Plan (also known as the UUMP). This document provides a step-by-step guide to creating a district for undergrounding utilities. 

If you have further questions about this process, please feel free to reach out to Ryan Gaylor at rgayler@cityofpalmdesert.org.

Best, 

Ryland Penta

Dear TwoWheelsLA,

Thanks for sending in a question. I hope you found Engage Palm Desert easy to use and informative.

Regarding undergrounding utilities, the City of Palm Desert does not currently have plans for the electrical lines on Portola. Transmission lines, such as those around the Portola and Country Club intersection, are estimated to cost about $1,600 per linear foot. The City does not currently have the resources to fund an undergrounding project of this size. Large undergrounding projects along arterial streets are funded many times by a utility users tax or a community facilities district. To initiate a tax or create a CFD, the issue would need to be brought to a vote and receive approval from at least two-thirds of the registered voters. It may be difficult to get two-thirds approval of the voters since many residents have already paid for (or are currently paying for) the undergrounding of their utilities at their own cost via an assessment district. You can learn more about undergrounding utilities and assessment districts in the Utility Undergrounding Master Plan.

Best, 

Ryland Penta

Hi Marshallr, 

Foremost, thanks for writing us. Engage Palm Desert is a new platform and I hope it was easy to use and that it will become a regular resource for you. 

I reached out to our Public Works division regarding your question. They responded with the following points:

• Chapter 7 of the City’s General Plan, last updated in 2016, describes the City’s goals and policies related to noise, both regarding stationary noise sources, and mobile noise sources. Chapter 7 recommends policies pertaining to land development, traffic calming, and synchronization of traffic lights as ways to mitigate mobile noise sources.
• The City’s Development Services Department manages land development activity.  Development proposals meeting established state-established thresholds require California Environmental Quality Act analysis to mitigate impacts to the community, including environment, air and water quality, traffic, and noise, among other potential impacts.  For more information on land development policies and procedures, please go to https://www.palmdesert.gov/departments/planning.
• Public Works is presently reviewing proposals to develop the City’s first Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan, an initiative of City Council once completed will provide a toolbox to the City and neighborhoods for calming traffic on neighborhood streets. The City will be engaging the community in 2022 for public input on this important transportation planning effort.
• Public Works is also working with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) on a valley-wide traffic signal synchronization project. CVAG is presently constructing the first phase of this multi-year, multi-million dollar project, and preparing plans for the second phase to be bid in 2022. The first phase of the project in Palm Desert includes Highway 111 and Washington Street. The second phase will include Country Club Drive, Fred Waring Drive, Dinah Shore Drive, Monterey Avenue, Cook Street, and Portola Avenue. For more information of the CV Sync project, go to https://www.cv-sync.com/ 

Hope you have a great New Year,

Ryland Penta

Good Morning and Happy New Year, 

Foremost, thanks for reaching out and using Engage Palm Desert. I hope you found the website informative, easy to use, and that it will continue to be a resource for you in the future. 

I forwarded your message to our Economic Development department, which can use this feedback for future incentives. As you may have noticed on our Lupine Plaza page (linked), the City looks to further enhance the El Paseo shopping district with a permanent plaza for dining and recreation, adding to the dynamism of that neighborhood. We'd gladly welcome feedback on that page as this project is in the design phase. 

Best, 

Ryland Penta