This year the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS Modcom) celebrates its fifth anniversary as an organization dedicated to preserving the city's rich mid-century architectural heritage. We polled our 200-plus members regarding their visions for Palm Springs, and one theme consistently emerged: Palm Springs must carefully manage growth in order to strengthen its tourist base while maintaining quality of life for residents who have invested so much in their beloved city.
By Peter Moruzzi
Special to The Desert Sun
July 23, 2004
One of the key reasons that Palm Springs is back on top is the fact that our city's wealth of modern architecture has been recognized as a rare and valuable asset that tourists and homebuyers have eagerly embraced. Just like Miami Beach's rebirth, which has continued since the late 1980s -- when its Deco District was rediscovered -- the excitement over Palm Springs' desert modernism has led to the revitalization of neighborhoods throughout our city that will continue to draw cultural tourists and real estate investors for decades to come.This is just one component of what makes our city unlike any other -- and worth protecting.
PS Modcom's priorities center around emphasizing the historic character of Palm Springs by retaining our village atmosphere, preserving our historic neighborhoods, protecting our mountains from urban sprawl and promoting cultural tourism. We believe that the attraction of Palm Springs is its uniqueness versus other desert cities and urban Southern California -- this is the marketing edge that brings in vital tax dollars. What makes our city attractive to residents and visitors is the mix of people, neighborhoods, pedestrian-friendly downtown, architectural styles, mountain views and laid-back atmosphere. Given current growth trends, much of this is threatened.
Our group's vision includes higher standards for new development in architectural design, quality of construction, density and heights. Given the current real estate market, our city officials can and should demand the highest standards and reject mediocrity.
Palm Springs is a low-density village that is being surrounded and infiltrated by high-density suburban cookie-cutter sprawl. By constantly increasing our residential population, we tax our infrastructure, fire, police, schools and water resources, increase traffic and light pollution, and sacrifice desert views and open spaces. Bit by bit, drop-by-drop, growth for its own sake eats away at what makes Palm Springs unlike any other desert city.
Instead, let's learn from cities such as Santa Barbara and Savannah, where carefully managed growth has paid off in tourist dollars and long-term real estate values.
As Palm Springs residents we must continually challenge ourselves and our elected officials to be vigilant in striving to maintain those qualities that brought all of us, longtime residents and newcomers, to this utterly unique, spectacularly beautiful, yet fragile oasis.
Peter Moruzzi is founding chairman of the Palm Springs Modern Committee