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Friday, Oct. 30 | ☀️ 76°/60°
TGIF folks, and Happy Halloween Eve! By the time our next newsletter comes out, you will hopefully not only have had your fill of candy, but also voted — the Nov. 3 General Election is in only four days away! Aside from dozens of state and regional races and issues on the ballot, the district 4 and 5 Palm Desert City Council seats are up for grabs (check your district here). Need to drop off your ballot, vote in person, check your voter status, or see a list of city candidates? The city has you covered here. And if you need to register on election day, the state goes into detail about how to do that here.
🎶 Setting the mood: "Taffy" by Lisa Loeb
Leading Off
A city committee on Wednesday moved the city's first historic resources survey forward to the City Council. Above are some images from the 200-page report.
Historic committee backs first citywide survey, finding 142 eligible resources
Palm Desert’s Historic Preservation Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that the City Council accept the city’s first citywide historic resources survey. It found 142 resources that appear eligible for local designation.
Driving the news: Architectural Resources Group surveyed properties built through 1980. The 142 include 134 individual properties, five historic districts and three non-building resources: the Gillette Ranch date palms, the Palm Village Inn palm trees and planting features in Silver Spur Ranch.
Most individually eligible resources are single-family homes and small apartment or condominium complexes, according to the report.
What it means: The survey does not designate anything. If the council accepts it, the eligible properties would be added to the city’s informational Palm Desert Inventory, not the official Palm Desert Register.
Formal designation requires owner consent and review by the committee and council.
Between the lines: Surveyors worked only from public streets, so 37 more resources may be eligible but could not be evaluated. Many were hidden by tall fences or hedges, or sit in gated communities.
The report says more research and outreach would be needed to confirm their condition.
The recommendations: The consultants urged updating the survey every five years, telling owners about incentives such as the Mills Act, making the city’s register and inventory easier to find online, and studying changes to the preservation ordinance.
Briefly
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🏠 Palm Desert leads valley in homes for sale in latest report
Palm Desert had more homes for sale than any other Coachella Valley city last month, but its sales and prices were lower than a year earlier. The city had 612 homes on the market as of Oct. 1, up from 583 a year ago, according to the Greater Palm Springs Realtors’ latest Desert Housing Report.
Its “months of sales” ratio was 6.6, the valley’s highest and up from 5.8 a year ago. A ratio under 6.0 indicates a balanced market. Palm Desert averaged 93 home sales a month over the three months ending in September, down from 101 a year ago. Only Palm Springs had more.
Bottom line: A 2,200-square-foot detached home was priced at $683,364, down 2% from a year ago. The median home spent 66 days on the market, longer than the valley median of 57 days. The report calls the market supply heavy but says prices should hold unless selling times lengthen.
MADE POSSIBLE BY
📅 Featured Events
MULTIPLE DAYS
Juliet at McCallum Theatre ($64)
Spooktacular Boat Rides at JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort ($140)
TODAY
Pink is More Than a Color with Alison Mullins at Pure Barre at 6 p.m. ($72)
SATURDAY
College of the Desert Street Fair at 8 a.m.
Howl-O-Ween at The Living Desert at 9 a.m.
SUNDAY
The Rare Market at The Gardens on El Paseo at 10 a.m.
TUESDAY
Palm Desert Parks and Recreation Committee at City Hall at 8:30 a.m.
Palm Desert Planning Commission at City Hall at 6 p.m.
Deep Space Night at 6 p.m. at Rancho Mirage Observatory
WEDNESDAY
Gatherings: Inspiration Cube with Judy Nemer Sklar at Artists Center at the Galen at 10 a.m. ($26–$60)
b at McCallum Theatre at 7 p.m. ($50)
THURSDAY
Board Game Night at The Dragon Den at 5 p.m. ($10–$20)
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Find fall fares that fit
Cool air, colorful leaves or a whole new city skyline: There's still time to book your fall escape with Alaska Airlines. Watch the aspens turn golden in Denver, catch a set on Broadway in Nashville, or trade sweaters for sunshine in Palm Springs.
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✨ And Finally …
Palm Desert leaders approved placing 'Taffy' by artist Stephanie Lin (seen here) in a planned park in the northern section of the city. It had earlier been slated for installation at Civic Center Park.
Palm Desert’s loaner sculpture “Taffy” is getting a different address than originally planned after the City Council voted 4-1 to relocate the artwork from Civic Center Park to the planned Dave Irwin Park in north Palm Desert.
Driving the news: Staff will coordinate with the lender and the park’s design team, then return with confirmed costs, proposed funding and any needed agreement amendments.
Relocating would cost an estimated $870,000 more on top of about $230,000 already spent, for a total of nearly $1.1 million, paid from the public art fund.
About the art: The perforated metal piece has five towers ranging from 25 to 50 feet tall. It was first displayed at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and the council approved the loan agreement in January.
Why the move: Community Services Manager Shawn Muir said the Civic Center site is a turf field used for practices and pickup games, and sports fields are in high demand.
Where it might land: The 27-acre park is at 60% design. Other work at the park under consideration includes a pollinator garden, a landscaped triangle called Palm Plaza and a botanical promenade along Dinah Shore Drive.
No site is final, but Muir said one of the advantages of locating it in north Palm Desert is that the sculpture would be visible from Interstate 10.
The fine print: The sculpture would be stored at the city’s corporation yard for about 2.5 to 3 years at no cost. The 10-year loan term would begin at installation, with maintenance estimated at $5,000 a year. Muir said the city intends to renew the loan.
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