Establishment of a great working relationship between the Staff of the City of Palm Springs and The Movie Colony Neighborhood Organization.

Keeping the neighborhood in the ‘eye’ of the City, and acting as your lobbying agent with City Hall.

TMC was recognized as an official neighborhood by the City in July, 2005, allowing our participation and vote at the Office of Neighborhood Involvement meetings and our attendance on a monthly basis at the City Staff meeting to pose questions and comments on behalf of TMC.

A representative of TMC attended the majority of City Council meetings, making our presence known to the City.

Business Meetings: Provided outstanding agendas with informative information about “your neighborhood” for both our Annual and Fall Neighborhood meetings. Speakers have included: City Manager David Ready, Police Chief Gary Jeandron; Fire Chief Blake Goetz, Council Members Chris Mills and Ginny Foat, Director of Public Affairs Lee Husfeldt, former Director of Development Gerry Ogburn, CEO of the Desert Healthcare District Wayne Soucy, and Mike Donovan with Mercy Air (helicopters).

Neighborhood Socials: Organized neighborhood Social in October 2004, November 2005 and April, 2006.

Designed and implemented TMC newsletter.

Designed and developed a website, themoviecolony.org, providing us with a tool to communicate information efficiently & effectively, as well as communicate information of interest to our members, as well as anyone interested in learning more about TMC. ([email protected]).

Neighborhood Watch Program - Established a Neighborhood Watch Program under the direction of Chuck Brobeck, Retired Police Chief, Irvine California, resident of TMC and Advisor of TMCNO. See our website for information on Neighborhood Watch.

Established a relationship with the Airport Commission and Desert Regional Hospital in the mitigation of helicopter noise. See our “Fly Quiet Program” on the website under Neighborhood Watch.

Established a relationship with the Desert Healthcare District during the development of the Wellness Park. Invited to groundbreaking on May 4, 2005 to present on behalf of The Movie Colony residents, thanking the Desert Healthcare District, the Palm Springs Unified School District for the land and the City of Palm Springs.

Road Paving - Occurred in February, 2005, under the 2004 Palm Springs City budget. TMC Advisors worked closely with the City Engineer, following up frequently on the proposed 2004 road paving schedule. Roads in TMC had generally not been paved since the early 1980’s.

El Alameda Street closing occurred in the Spring of 2004, with the City vacating land to two nearby residents, eliminating non-resident traffic, noise and garbage on the road, turning the immediate area into a “walking community”. Bob Evans, our Vice President and Advisor, was responsible for accomplishing this closing.

Training Burn of vacant property on 77 E. Alejo in December, 2004 following our Fall Neighborhood Meeting in October, 2004, resulting from Fire Chief Blake Goetz’s presentation and vote by attendees.

Removal of the abandoned trailer and eucalyptus log from Via Corta which had been left there for approximately a 2-year period, after discussing with Code Enforcement.

Traffic Calming Project – On May 1 and May 20, 2004 a survey was conducted by TMC to 62 residents/property owners requesting the closing of Via Altamira and Granvia Valmonte and a crosswalk with flashing lights at the intersection of Granvia Valmonte and Indian Canyon.

Of the 62 property owners /residents surveyed, 34 or 54.8% responded. 33 or 97.1% voted YES on each of the three issues. One or 1.6% voted “No” on each of the three issues.

On June 8, 2004 we presented our survey results to the Engineering and Planning Departments of the City.

On July 27, 2004 a Neighborhood Meeting was held at City Hall to review their proposed solution.


Various other meetings were held with City officials to finalize the proposed solution to our Traffic Calming Program.

In April, 2005, the Planning Commission approved the proposed Traffic Calming Program in The Movie Colony. On June 15, 2005 the City Council approved Case 5.1047, Traffic Calming in The Movie Colony, an application to implement The Movie Colony Traffic Calming Program. “As part of this program a series of one- way traffic circles would be installed on Via Chica (at the intersections of Via Colusa, Granvia Valmonte and Via Altamira) with the intent of limiting through –traffic from Indian Canyon Drive into the neighborhood. The Council will also consider vacating portions of the right of Via Altamira , Valmonte Norte, Valmonte Sur, via Colusa and Via Chica”.

June 20, 2005 – The Architectural Advisory Committee recommended approval of architecture and landscaping, as submitted.


In July , 2004 met with the Heavenstone Collection representatives to discuss their proposed gates on Via Colusa and Indian Canyon.

On September 7, 2005 the City Council approved the Spanish Inn project. The resolution included the following:

“Whereas, the applicant has agreed to pay for The Movie Colony Street (s/b Traffic) Calming Program”.

On November 3, 2005, a memo from Jin Yeo, Principal Planner to David Ready, City Manager, and Thomas Wilson, Assistant City Manager states, “ The project was also conditioned to provide upfront funding of the Movie Colony Traffic Calming Program (approximately $362,000) with the option of entering into a reimbursement agreement with the City in order to provide for reimbursement from other affected property owners (Other documentation from the City states that the Spanish Inn’s portion of the $362,000 is $111,000). “The TMC Traffic Calming Program is materially tied to the Project because of the vacation of Via Altamira, Granvia Valmonte and Via Chica is needed in order for the project to achieve the proposed number of units”.

The November 3, 2005 memo also states that “the applicant, the Spanish Inn, is preparing a written objection to the condition of approval that requires funding of the Movie Colony Traffic Calming Program. The applicant indicates that he misunderstood the condition and cannot provide the upfront funding for the Program. Prior to the public hearing, staff made every effort to explain the conditions to the applicant and will continue to work with the applicant to try and resolve the funding issue. Changes to the conditions of approval will require approval of the Planning Commission and City Council”.

On Thursday, April 13, 2006, at the monthly Office of Neighborhood Involvement Committee (ONIC) meeting, The Movie Colony requested the City to provide us with information to establish an alternate method of financing the Traffic Calming Program.

Our objective, when we surveyed the neighborhood, was to separate the commercial from residential property, eliminating hotel parking in the neighborhood and eliminating the pass-through traffic off Indian Canyon in many cases to avoid the traffic light at Alejo Road.

On March 7, 2006 a couple of TMC advisors met with the City Attorney, Doug Holland, regarding the status of the three hotels under renovation and the Traffic Calming Program which has been tied to the renovation of the Spanish Inn. It was ascertained that from a legal perspective an assessment district or a community services district could be established as a means of alternative financing to fund the project. As of such date, we are awaiting a response from the City regarding such criteria.