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Friday, Aug. 28 | 🌤️ 106°/86°
Happy Friday, Palm Desert! Today marks the premiere of the once-shelved Coyote vs. Acme film, and you probably aren’t surprised to learn that coyotes aren’t really designing elaborate systems to catch roadrunners. They’ve called our desert home longer than any of us and, among other things, help keep rodents in check. If you’d rather see them on the big screen than your yard, the city offers a full list of do's and don'ts for coexisting with coyote country here.
🎶 Setting the mood: "Coyotes" by Don Edwards
Leading Off
Shutterstock graphic
Palm Desert home prices dip as valley market levels out
Palm Desert's median price for a detached home fell 3% to $696,000 over the past year, while the wider Coachella Valley market held roughly flat. The latest Greater Palm Springs Realtors Desert Housing Report points to a market moving toward more balance between buyers and sellers.
By the numbers: Palm Desert's attached home prices rose just 0.1% to $507,000. Valley-wide, the median detached home price was $650,000, level with last year, while attached prices dropped 3% to $435,000.
All valley cities except Coachella and Rancho Mirage saw detached home prices decline year-over-year. Attached prices rose in only two cities: Indian Wells and Palm Desert.
Sales and inventory: Palm Desert logged 130 sales in the three-month period ending in July, the second-highest total in the valley and a slight increase from last year. Valley-wide, sales remain about 28% below average.
Palm Desert had 582 homes on the market at the start of the month, the second-highest count in the valley but down from 620 a year earlier. Valley-wide inventory fell nearly 10% to 2,668 units.
Between the lines: Homes are selling at a slightly higher discount this year, and fewer are going for over list price. Palm Desert homes are taking an average of 56 days to sell, on par with last year and slightly above the valley's 52-day average.
Briefly
The existing building (left) and proposed renderings for the medical office (right).
🏥 ARC delays vote on church-to-clinic conversion
Palm Desert's Architectural Review Commission voted Tuesday to continue its review of a proposal converting a former church at 72700 Fred Waring Drive into a medical office for DIG LLC Medical Center, directing the applicant to revise design elements before returning.
Despite a staff recommendation for approval, commissioners objected to a new entrance proposed for the east side, a raised parapet at the north end, and a stone-clad column and standing-seam metal roof at the south end. Staff said the building appears on the city's survey of potentially historic resources but isn't certified, so it doesn't require historic preservation review. Commissioners also said proposed landscaping wouldn't match existing plantings elsewhere in the parking lot.
Details: The applicant must revise the east entrance, the north parapet, the south stone element and its integration with the roof, and the landscape plan — including reconsidering the proposed slipper plant — before returning for further review.
📅 Featured Events
SATURDAY
Rat Pack Duo at Hotel Paseo at 6 p.m.
Observatory Public Exploration Night at 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
Indoor Pickleball Round Robin Tournament at Civic Center Park at 7:30 a.m. ($20)
TUESDAY
Palm Desert Parks and Recreation Committee at City Hall at 8:30 a.m.
Disco Dogs & Pawlroom Dancing at Civic Center Park at 10 a.m. ($25–$35)
Palm Desert Planning Commission at City Hall at 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Line Dancing at Civic Center Park at 6:30 p.m. ($17–$68)
THURSDAY
Board Game Night at The Dragon Den at 5 p.m. ($10–$20)
Observatory Public Exploration Night at 8:30 p.m
✨ And Finally …
Fire station 33 (top) will be renovated and fire station 71 (bottom) will be demolished and rebuilt during a two-year project.
For about two years starting in 2027, Palm Desert firefighters will call a former Sheriff's substation home while the city rebuilds two of its fire stations.
Driving the news: The Palm Desert City Council voted last week to award a task order worth up to $3.3 to Accenture LLP for construction management on the renovation of Fire Station 33 and the demolition and reconstruction of Fire Station 71, according to a staff report presented by Senior Project Manager Lucero Leyva.
The council also approved using the former Sheriff's substation at 73-710 Fred Waring Drive as a temporary fire station during construction, which is expected to run from the second quarter of 2027 to the second quarter of 2029.
Why it matters: Fire personnel can't stay in either station during construction, and housing them at the substation instead of building two separate temporary stations is expected to save the city $2.5 million to $5.5 million — while keeping response times within Cal Fire's four-minute standard.
Worth noting: Improvements made to the substation, including an apparatus shade structure and interior upgrades, will become permanent assets of the city-owned building once the temporary fire station closes.
The city has authorized $28.7 million combined for the two projects, with about $23.6 million remaining.
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