Bob Mahlowitz Campaign Ideas

By Bob Mahlowitz

A discussion of: Public Safety, Downtown Development, Seniors, Shadowrock, Tourism & Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Bringing the City together, Open and Inclusive Government, Building Heights and Density, Environment and Green Technology.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Everyone deserves to feel safe at home and in their neighborhood. Our crime rates are too high. The City Council needs to take the lead to ensure there are more feet on the ground, to protect every neighborhood.

Palm Springs has long had crime rates at least twice as high as crime rates in comparable second-home cities such as Scottsdale, Arizona. Sadly, this is also the case across the Coachella Valley for all of our sister Desert Cities. We need to come together as a region to address our very high crime rates.

Bob Mahlowitz believes we need new approaches. We must find ways to put more police and other crime fighters on the streets of Palm Springs.

The current Police Advisory Board is also a concern because it doesn't have sufficient authority to oversee the Police Department. We need to reconstitute an independent citizen advisory group that does not report to the Police Chief.

As an independent outsider, Bob Mahlowitz will ask the tough questions and demand answers not burdened by current assumptions. Working together, the City Council, the Police Department and our neighbors will lead the way to a safer Palm Springs.

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

Time is up. Construction on The Fashion Plaza must begin within 18 months.

The future of our downtown is exciting. A host of new retail and residential centers are already under way and we will see more vibrant architectural projects sweep through downtown in the next few years. The missing piece is the Fashion Plaza mall. Time is up. Either the current owners of the Fashion Plaza must start construction within 18 months or the City should use its powers to find a capable developer.

Palm Springs can't afford the public services we want and need because the Fashion Plaza sits empty, starving the City of sales and hotel occupancy taxes.

We need more police on the streets. We want more and larger parks and recreation areas. We need to be sure all of our seniors are cared for. The money to pay for these public services comes mainly from retail sales taxes and hotel occupancy taxes. The vacant Fashion Plaza sits on the most valuable retail and hotel real estate in Palm Springs. Everyone in the City has a vested interest in seeing a new, thriving Fashion Plaza.

As a municipal law attorney, Bob Mahlowitz has a history of negotiating tough agreements that will lead the City to a solution for downtown. We must change the equation. First, we should continue to work with the current owner of the Fashion Plaza, The Wessman Development Company, to insist that current plans are realized and built. Mr. Wessman has worked hard and long to try to redevelop the Fashion Plaza.

The City, however, cannot wait to see whether Mr. Wessman's latest plans will be constructed. We should immediately identify another developer with a solid track record who is capable of redeveloping the Fashion Plaza. If Mr. Wessman is not able, within a specific time frame, the City should use its powers to enable another company to purchase and build the Fashion Plaza.

The City must negotiate out of a position of strength. To do that, we need to identify a real alternative. Whoever builds the project, it must begin now. Time is up.

CHINO CONE & SHADOWROCK

The Chino Cone represents the last expanse of undeveloped land in Palm Springs so we need to do everything we can to encourage property owners there to preserve the land or develop with the least impact possible.

There are many good ideas that can protect our natural resources such as density transfers and efforts to raise private funds to put land into conservancy trusts which will preserve open spaces into the future.

Measure C on the November 2007 ballot seeks to overturn the 10-year extension of the development agreement that applies to the Shadowrock resort and residential housing development on the Chino Cone. As an experienced attorney, Bob Mahlowitz supports the initiative because the City did not make an effort to negotiate favorable environmental protections when it approved another 10 year extension of the existing development agreement. Like so many other issues, the City approached Shadowrock simply as a "Yes or No" issue. Bob Mahlowitz will lead a different approach.

Rather than give the Shadowrock developer another 10 years to build under the same rules that applied 10 years ago, the City should have negotiated an agreement to develop under current standards. Times have changed. Environmental concerns have matured and evolved. New development should proceed under today's rules, not the rules that existed a decade ago. If Measure C passes, the City will be given the chance to re-negotiate with Shadowrock's owners and Bob Mahlowitz supports that.

SENIORS

We need to be sure our seniors feel safe in their homes and the community. Cost of living is also an issue. Rent, housing, medical expenses and utility bills are all matters that need constant attention. Additionally, in our car-based society, mobility can become an issue when driving is no longer an easy option.

Together, we can develop neighborhood-based solutions where we all look out for each other. Volunteers and non-profit agencies can be organized to help provide rides to the supermarket, doctors, the library, senior center or recreation areas. That's what a village is all about.

TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Tourism is the most important industry in Palm Springs and we must strongly support our hospitality businesses with existing programs and new ideas. Two of my ideas are strongly linked with supporting our tourism and hospitality industries: a Citywide wireless internet network and the Desert Arts Incubator.

Citywide Wi-Fi will allow people to connect to the internet anywhere, anytime. We should do a search for a company to build and operate the network. When finished, it will provide our hotels a competitive edge because visitors will be able to conduct work anywhere in Palm Springs + we can run a "stay Monday" marketing campaign.

We can also choose to subsidize or provide free internet access to students living in Palm Springs to ensure all of our children are prepared to compete in today's information society.

Finally, citywide Wi-Fi will provide a third alternative to Verizon and Time-Warner for internet and phone services.

Desert Arts Incubator. Bob Mahlowitz has formed a group consisting of representatives from the Desert's arts institutions, galleries and art enthusiasts to transform Palm Springs into an arts-driven economy much like Santa Fe. Santa Fe sees upwards of $1.1 billion in revenue from the arts each year. Palm Springs should work to develop world-class arts events similar to the International Film Festival throughout the year. It's a perfect fit with our village traditions.

NEIGHBORS

Palm Springs is a city of neighborhoods. As the Chair of the Office of Neighborhoods, Bob would like our neighborhoods to play a larger role in the life of the city. Neighborhood groups are perfectly suited to fostering consensus and cooperation.

Bob Mahlowitz founded his neighborhood's group three years ago, the Sunmor Neighborhood Organization. Sunmor has come together to form a neighborhood watch program, install neighborhood watch signs and is actively working to close a street to dangerous cut-through speeding traffic. What's more, the neighborhood has become a place of good friends that gathers for quarterly wine & cheese and an annual winter and spring party. A thriving neighborhood is a safer, more pleasant place to live.

INDEPENDENCE AND BRINGING PALM SPRINGS TOGETHER

Bob Mahlowitz is running as an independent Democrat, trying to bring Palm Springs together to move the City forward. He believes Council Members must represent everyone, not certain special interests. Bob's campaign is not affiliated with any group, either on the left or the right, straight or gay, Democrat or Republican that may seek to control the City. Instead, he is focused on ideas that will move the City forward.

Too many divisions have been getting in the way of making Palm Springs a better place to live, work and visit. Whether newcomers or long-time residents, we all want to make the City a better place. Bob Mahlowitz is committed to representing everyone in Palm Springs because together we can make Palm Springs thrive.

OPEN, INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT

Trust in government stems from full access to information. Bob Mahlowitz believes everything available for public review at City Hall should be available on the internet + especially because so many of our residents split their time in other places. Bob Mahlowitz will hold open office hours each week to ensure that everyone can talk to a Council Member.

He has already taken action to make government more transparent by posting the financial disclosure statements of all of the Council Candidates on his web site. This information is publicly available at City Hall and now anyone can review contribution and expenditure information at any time. Bob Mahlowitz believes such simple actions can result in profound change.

BUILDING HEIGHTS AND DENSITY

Many in our community are con­cerned about development stan­dards such as height and density. The problem is uncertainty heightened by our building codes which lack any standards regulating variance from estab­lished rules. Instead, any majority of the City Council is able to ap­prove any development for any reason. The rules need to be clearly written down for all to understand. When that happens, we can all have confidence in our government again.

Downtown building guidelines, for example, call for buildings of no more than 60 feet in height. Builders can obtain a variance from this limit for any reason or no reason at all + so long as three members of Council approve the project.

We need standards in place that tell us when a building can vary from the existing rules. For example, we should have a list of reasons for which a building would be permitted to exceed applicable height limits. Reasons could include: the creation of more open space as a result of more height, creation of more free public parking downtown, creation of affordable housing.

Once we all agree on the rules, we can work together to make the City a better place to live, work and visit.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Bob Mahlowitz has been talking about green and clean technology since he announced his campaign. You can view a video of him discussing Living Green here. The City should lead the way with incentives for green building, going green itself and by developing a green/clean technology innovation zone to bring these new businesses to the City. It will protect the environment and save the City money + money that can be used to make this an even better place to live, work and visit.

By creating incentives such as reduced permitting fees or fast track permitting for green construction we can spark environmentally-friendly business in Palm Springs. And Palm Springs should be a natural home for green and clean technology. We are already pioneers in solar, wind and geothermal energy. We should devote resources to identify and provide incentives for companies to come to Palm Springs that are related to the green and clean industries.

The City should also go green to protect the environment and save money. One simple thing we can do is replace all median strip landscaping with either desertscaping or new artificial grasses. This will preserve water and, in the long run, save money for water and maintenance + and it will enhance the beauty of the City.

We should also pursue private power agreements where a private entity pays for and builds solar power sources for each City facility in exchange for the City agreeing to purchase the power generated. Cities such as San Diego are already doing this. We should join and lead the way. Palm Springs would get free solar panels, clean energy and electricity at prices below what Edison charges. The money we save will benefit us all -- enhanced public safety, purchasing more recreation land and protecting seniors. Everyone wins.