Palm Springs, CA

In a post pandemic world, the City of Palm Springs is at a crossroads with a renewed focus on the future. Recently, I got to interview Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein, and ask him specific questions centered around many issues important to the community at large.

Mayor Bernstein took the time to address a range of issues and questions, including his personal experience as mayor, the homeless navigation center, the downtown parking study, the economic development of our business districts, the controversy surrounding Marilyn Monroe and Prescott Preserve, the future development of our oasis in the desert, and more. Here is our full interview:

Eric Gray: How has your experience been from being a Downtown Palm Springs business owner to becoming Mayor of Palm Springs?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: In many ways it’s been eye-opening.  As a small business owner, it’s easy to take a good idea and run with it.   In government, it’s a much more involved process.  There’s not only the need for consensus building, but also much more process, and in some cases bureaucracy, involved.  Interestingly, the dual roles have affected both jobs.  Sometimes in the City, I have been able to move certain things quickly just by staying focused.  With my business, I think I’ve become more thoughtful and deliberate in how we proceed.

Eric Gray: What do you enjoy most about being an elected official in Palm Springs?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: My greatest enjoyment is in getting to meet some of the most interesting people in the world.   Palm Springs is this amazing melting pot of talent, experience, and passion.  This was one reason I decided to run. However, in my current role, I’m able to meet many others I wouldn’t have otherwise.  Interestingly, so many are unassuming

Eric Gray: How do you feel about the new location of the Marilyn Monroe statue and are you glad the drama is coming to an end?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: I’m certainly glad the drama is coming to end.  More importantly, I’m happy that funds and time which have so much better uses, will not continue to be spent.   I think the lawyers are the ones who made out on this.  Personally, I’m a fan of Forever Marilyn and I’m happy it will remain downtown.   Ironically, I do think it helped drive traffic to the museum.

Eric Gray: What do you say to critics who say that the Homeless Navigation Center is not prioritizing the homeless in Palm Springs but instead is servicing all of Riverside County potentially drawing more homelessness to our city?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: The Navigation Center does prioritize the homeless in Palm Springs.  Additionally, almost every expert I’ve heard from and study I’ve seen supports that the homeless are not drawn to cities with navigation centers or even shelters.  There’s been an operation in Indio for some time, which didn’t draw the Palm Springs homeless residents.

Eric Gray: With new housing continuing to develop in Palm Springs, do you worry about the possibility of over development like what has happened in some of the coastal cities in California?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: There’s no question that we need more housing, and in particular, affordable and moderate-income housing.  The key is to do so thoughtfully.  We are in the midst of our General Plan and Zoning Code updates.   The key is having development where it doesn’t destroy the character of Palm Springs.

Eric Gray: With regards to the sluggish real estate market in Palm Springs, are there any steps the city is taking to draw more potential homebuyers to the area?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: I’m not so sure it’s accurate to say our real estate market is sluggish. We had a tremendous growth over the past few years.  That’s just not sustainable.  I do believe we will experience a ‘new normal’ and continue to draw homebuyers.

Eric Gray: How does our economic development department work with the community to potentially recruit the types of businesses residents would like to see?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: One of the first things I did on Council was to push for an expanded and focused Economic Development department.  Previously, it was combined with the Housing, Homelessness and Community Development Department.  We have one business liaison who has been very focused on developing our commercial districts.  We now have thirteen distinct commercial districts formed or in the works, e.g. Smoketree, Arenas, Rimrock, South Palm Canyon, Sunny Dunes.  What we hear from the community is the need to develop other areas, e.g. Racquet Club and Desert Highlands.   There’s clearly a need for a grocery store in the north end….and a good Chinese restaurant!

Our Chief Economic Development director is also actively involved in this as well.    He’s been working directly with developers, businesses, etc. to bring them to Palm Springs.   One of his other goals Is to look at new business sectors, e.g. tech, arts & culture and renewable energy. Additionally, he’s focused on larger scale projects going on, e.g. the Convention Center and Convention Hotel upgrades.

Eric Gray: As many events like the Village Fest happen in Downtown Palm Springs, are there any talks to do events to drive people to businesses in Uptown Palm Springs?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: This is one of the drivers of the formation of commercial districts.   I believe there’s opportunities for events in commercial districts throughout our city.   There are some issues when it comes to on-street events, as some areas don’t have the necessary power for booths, etc. 

Eric Gray: Could you give an explanation regarding what type of parking study is being done for Downtown?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: The Parking study is done to assess whether we have enough parking, is it used efficiently, and what can be done to improve flow.   The first assessment came out clearly that we have enough parking, and meters are not being considered.  Some of the issues are things like wayfinding.  Many don’t know how to find our parking lots and garages.  How can we make the lots and garages easier to navigate and more appealing? Do we have enough handicapped parking and spaces for rideshares?   Are the parking times correct?  One of my pet peeves is that with 3 hour 12pm-8pm parking on Palm Canyon, cars can park legally from 5 pm to 3 pm the next day.  A reparking ordinance is also an option.  If it’s 3-hour parking but you can move 20 feet and get another 3 hours, that doesn’t make sense.  The goal is really to ensure we have the best plan to help businesses, residents, events, and visitors.   I should add that parking studies are not ‘one and done.’   They become a basis that gets reviewed over time.

Eric Gray: Do you think Prescott Preserve and Mesquite Country Club can work its issues out and is the City playing any role in that?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: I do think they can resolve the issues, and the City is actively involved.

Eric Gray: Why do you think it’s harder to find doctors with openings for new patients in the Coachella Valley, and is there any work being done to change that?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: A lot has to do with increases in population, advancements in healthcare, and more residents living here year-round.   The three major health care agencies: DAP Health, Eisenhower and Desert Care Network are all undergoing expansions.  Desert Regional is due for a major overhaul.  Eisenhower is adding several properties in Palm Springs.  On top of that we are seeing that many doctors find Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley in general to be very appealing, more so than many large cities.  We have that small town feel and embracing of diversity has  so much to offer.  The last element is really improving the educational offerings.   The more we can encourage local youth to go into the medical field with their start locally, the more we’ll see them come back and practice in the area.

Eric Gray: How  do you think the Thompson Hotel will change the landscape of Palm Springs?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: The Thompson will be a game-changer.  As the GM of a ‘competing’ hotel told me, a rising tide lifts all boats.   The Thompson will raise the hospitality profile of Palm Springs, encourage others to up their game and increase focus on Palm Springs as tourist destination.  Having seen and eaten at the Thompson, I can tell you it has incredible art, food, design and vibe.  I know both visitors and locals will embrace it. The other key element is that it will not only help the surrounding businesses, but also improve the connectivity between uptown and downtown.

Eric Gray: Do you have thoughts about the potential merger between Kroger (Ralphs) and Albertsons?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: I do worry that consolidation would not be in the best interest of the consumers.  I’m an advocate for small businesses.   I’d be very happy to see more smaller operators come to Palm Springs, a Food Coop, even an incubator space/market for local food entrepreneurs.

Eric Gray: As Palm Springs is a resort city and the prices to dine out can be pricey for locals, are there talks about encouraging or designing a resident discount program?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: There are several establishments that do specials now. I think we’ll see more of that as the economy slows a bit.  The problem is that the businesses are facing much higher costs. For my small business, I estimate costs to be 30% higher than last year between cost of goods, rent, payroll, utilities, etc.  The city did test a Love Local campaign this summer where we funded an extra 50% on gift cards to be used at local businesses.  That helps not only the local businesses, but also residents.  I think we’ll see that come back.

Eric Gray: What are some new things you are excited about that are in the process of happening in Palm Springs?

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: I’m very focused on two initiatives. One involves our Arts & Culture community. We have so much to offer for a small city.  However, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  With less than 50,000 residents we have four major museums, half a dozen Film Festivals, two large choral groups, two jazz festivals, half a dozen theater companies,  Pride, Modernism Week, over 70 live music venues, over 100 galleries and studios, Desert X, two dance companies and a lot more.   We are now seeing music studios pop up.  Arts & Culture is not just about community offerings and big events, it’s becoming an economic driver.

Tech is also very interesting.  AI and other advances mean that large campuses are no longer necessary.  Much of the talent and new businesses are here now in Palm Springs.   There are also several tech people who worked 10,20, 30 years for large companies like Microsoft, Google and Facebook. They are moving to Palm Springs and starting smaller businesses.  Their goal is not so much the next billion-dollar IPO, but rather to create…and to give back.   With AI the whole world is at ‘day one’ so our kids who are 90%+ socio-economically disadvantaged and not behind the rest of the world.   If we harness the talent, and focus on education, it could change the future landscape of Palm Springs.

In addition, we have a lot of new projects:  parks master plan, library renovation, convention center upgrade, zoning code update, the Plaza Theatre, an airport modernization.  I think having customs and international flights to Mexico and Europe would be great for the residents.

With that one of the things I’m most excited about is the West Valley Campus of the College of the Desert.    The groundbreaking is in November with an opening date of 2027.   They plan to have two bachelor’s degrees as well, creating what will be quite unique – a destination community college.

Eric Gray: What infrastructure improvements do you foresee happening in Palm Springs.

Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein: The most important thing right now is the removal of the sunset on Measure J. That provides 12% of our city’s budget but it’s set to sunset in 2037.   Removing the sunset will allow us to plan infrastructure projects as they require long term financing.  We would need to take 30-year bonds for things like the convention center, library and fire station.  We can’t get a 30-year loan with only 12 years of income to finance it. We have a lot of work to do on our roads but have come a long way, and that’s in large part due to Measure J.  The best part of Measure J is that 60% is paid by visitors and there’s no change from we have now.  In addition, I think the bridge projects (particularly Indian Canyon) is finally on the fast track. 

Palm Springs Mayor, Jeffrey Bernstein