Palm Springs’ Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the Tramview Heights Specific Plan on Wednesday, November 18, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The proposal would set development rules for about 120 acres in the city’s north end. The commission is expected to make a recommendation to the City Council; Planning Services Director Christopher Hadwin told The Palm Springs Post that the council could consider it as soon as December 16.
The hearing concerns a new plan for land once associated with a proposed College of the Desert campus. The Desert Sun reported that Palm Springs and college officials abandoned the north Palm Springs campus proposal in April 2014 and pursued a campus at the Palm Springs Mall site instead. The city’s current planning effort followed the College Park plan’s collapse; city materials describe a community-driven update covering roughly 510 acres, a broader area than the 120-acre Tramview Heights plan. The city’s Engage Palm Springs project materials document that planning effort.
Rules on paper, development still to come
The proposed plan allows apartments, condominiums and single-family homes, and identifies potential options including multifamily, higher-density, multigenerational, senior and affordable housing. The Palm Springs Post reported that developments with more than 20 units would have to include moderate-income housing, even if other units are sold or rented at market rates. These provisions establish what development could include; they do not by themselves mean homes will be built.
The plan also sets aside 10 acres for commercial development intended to accommodate a neighborhood shopping center, potentially including a grocery store and pharmacy. But the city will not build a store, and existing water facilities occupy part of the designated commercial land, limiting what can be developed there. A grocery store has been a recurring request at community discussions, including a February workshop covered by KESQ. Whether the plan’s commercial provisions attract a grocery operator remains unresolved.
Residents have also raised questions about the housing mix. Deiter Crawford told The Palm Springs Post he wants affordable single-family and multifamily options and suggested including self-help homes. That request has a local precedent, though not at this site: Palm Springs’ 2014–2021 Housing Element records that the city agency and the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition worked on self-help housing that resulted in 13 single-family homes in Desert Highland. In a separate 2021 Desert Highland zoning effort, The Desert Sun reported that the City Council supported Crawford’s proposal among three zoning changes it considered. Those efforts provide context, not a guarantee that similar housing or decisions will result from this plan. The Tramview proposal also calls for a task force of community members, council members and city staff to set priorities and pursue grants, according to The Palm Springs Post.
The hearing schedule is itself contested
Crawford told The Palm Springs Post that residents learned the commission date late and wanted comparable time to organize and advocate; he also raised concern that neighbors could be priced out. Councilmember Grace Garner, who represents the area, said she had told residents to expect a November review and moved the hearing from an earlier date to allow more time for attendance. Garner said the process could allow additional discussion and that she would accept a delay: under that scenario, the plan could return to the commission in December and go to the council in January. She had previously said a delay was possible if residents sought changes, the outlet reported.
Residents are not united on whether to postpone. Lisa Hoffman told The Palm Springs Post that 45 people had volunteered to attend in support of the plan as written and urged approval. The outlet also reported that some residents have proposed reducing commercial space to make room for more multifamily housing. The commission’s recommendation and any council action will determine the next step; the disagreement over timing, land use and the neighborhood’s priorities remains ahead of the hearing.
