Palm Springs City Council could be changing up regulations for parklets in their city and whether or not they’ll still be in use after the June 15th reopening.

This comes after some residents have been complaining, saying that during the day when temperatures are on the rise and into the high 100s, the parklets sit empty. The city council addressed some of the concerns including parklets blocking storefronts.

“If not immediately, very very promptly make sure that we do not have any retail establishments that are blocked by a parklet for a restaurant or some other establishment that is not directly in front of their store,” explained Lisa Middleton, Mayor Pro-Tem of Palm Springs.

Along with complaints that they’re just plain unsightly.

“Standards regarding how the parklets are going to look, they need to be consistent and they need to be something that are consistent with the kind of architectural values that we associate with palm springs,” added Middleton.

The city also clarified the distinction between parklets and expanded outdoor dining.

“A parklet is a commercial or public use located in an on-street parking space,” explained city staff.

Also up for discussion is whether or not parklets will be left open for public use.

“The parklets have been extremely beneficial to me and we got a lot of great reaction and comments from the customers, how much they like it,” said Johannes Bacher, Owner, and Chef of Johannes Palm Springs.

Johannes wasn’t a big fan of parklets at first, but as the pandemic wore on and more businesses adapted to parklets, he invested a lot of time and money to create his restaurant extension.

“We haven’t recovered our cost and return for all the investments we had to do, you know I spent about $60,000 on the parklet including furniture,” explained Johannes.

Mayor Pro-tem Middleton hinting at the possibility of keeping parklets for the year, but saying guidelines must be put in place.

“Keep it for a period of time, maybe another year until the end of 2022, that would be awesome,” suggested Johannes.

No new regulations have been set for parklets, city staff will compile new regulations that will be put into measures to be voted on in the coming months.

Palm Spring City Council To Make Decision On Parklets In Coming Months