Independent Research Project

DHS 2040

How is the candidate examining where the city could go over the longer term?

Looking beyond the next election.

Desert Hot Springs is changing quickly, and some of the decisions being made today will shape the city for decades.

DHS 2040 is an independent research project I started to ask a bigger question:

Research question

What could Desert Hot Springs realistically become over the next 10 to 15 years?

The project looks at economic development, downtown, hospitality, extreme heat, shade, walkability, public spaces, infrastructure and the way people actually experience the city.

The goal is not to prove that I have all the answers already. It is to bring together research, outside expertise and local experience, test ideas honestly and identify practical opportunities that could make Desert Hot Springs a stronger place to live, work and visit.

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DHS 2040

Economic Development

What kinds of growth create lasting value?

DHS 2040 looks beyond simply attracting individual projects.

The research asks questions such as:

What industries fit Desert Hot Springs particularly well?
What kinds of businesses are residents leaving the city to use elsewhere?
What development generates jobs and sustainable local revenue?
Where can hospitality and wellness continue growing?
How can local entrepreneurs participate in that growth?
And which investments could unlock additional private investment afterward?

The City’s current planning framework already prioritizes high-quality freeway-corridor development, Downtown business development and substantial growth in the Hotel/Spa Zone.

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Economic Development

DHS 2040

Downtown

What would make people actually spend time there?

Downtown development is about more than constructing buildings.

A successful district depends on the relationship between businesses, streets, sidewalks, shade, parking, gathering places, events and the ability to move comfortably from one destination to another.

DHS 2040 examines how Downtown might gradually become a place where residents and visitors have multiple reasons to arrive, walk around, eat, shop, attend an event and stay longer.

The City’s adopted strategy specifically calls for revitalizing the Downtown Art and Culture District to attract events, support business development and enrich arts and culture for residents and visitors.

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Downtown

DHS 2040

Hospitality & Wellness

How far can the mineral-water identity go?

Desert Hot Springs already has something unusual: a recognized mineral-water and spa identity that cannot simply be recreated somewhere else.

The research asks how that asset could support a broader hospitality economy.

That may include examining hotels and resorts, day-use wellness concepts, food and beverage, recreation, retail, events and complementary businesses that encourage visitors to spend more time and money inside Desert Hot Springs.

This subject also has direct fiscal significance because the City’s Strategic Plan identifies the Hotel/Spa Zone as a major growth area and sets a ten-year goal around increased transient occupancy tax.

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Hospitality & Wellness

DHS 2040

Extreme Heat, Shade & Walkability

What does walkability mean in a desert city?

A planning idea that works somewhere with mild summers may not work the same way in Desert Hot Springs.

DHS 2040 therefore looks at pedestrian comfort alongside pedestrian infrastructure.

That means considering:

shade
distance
street design
building orientation
trees and drought-tolerant landscaping
bus stops
rest areas
crossings
materials
nighttime activity
and summer temperatures.

The question is not whether every part of DHS should become walkable in the same way.

The question is where better pedestrian conditions would be useful, and what is required for people to actually use them.

Existing public investment already reflects some of these issues. The Hacienda Avenue Green Corridor project includes paths, shade structures, seating, landscaping, transit-stop improvements and stormwater features.

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Extreme Heat, Shade & Walkability

DHS 2040

Public Spaces

Where does community life happen?

Parks matter, but public life is not limited to parks.

It happens downtown, outside businesses, at events, around schools, on sidewalks, near transit stops and anywhere people naturally gather.

DHS 2040 looks at how relatively small improvements can sometimes make existing places more useful: shade, seating, landscaping, safer crossings, public art or simply creating a comfortable place to stop.

The objective is not to build expensive public spaces everywhere.

It is to understand where targeted improvements could have an outsized effect.

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Public Spaces

DHS 2040

Infrastructure

What has to happen before growth can happen?

Every development concept eventually meets physical reality.

Roads, drainage, sewer, water, power, transportation access and other infrastructure can determine what can be built, when it can be built and what it costs.

DHS 2040 therefore treats infrastructure as part of economic development rather than a separate subject.

A useful long-term vision has to distinguish between ideas that sound attractive and projects that can realistically be supported.

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Infrastructure

Research Before Conclusions

The goal of DHS 2040 is not to prove that I have all the answers already.

The project is intended to bring together:

Local experience

People who live, work and operate businesses here understand conditions that outside experts may not see.

Public data

Budgets, development activity, transportation information, economic data and City plans provide a factual baseline.

Outside expertise

Planning, urban design, hospitality, finance, engineering, heat mitigation and other specialties can challenge assumptions and introduce ideas DHS may not have considered.

Real-world examples

Other communities can provide examples of what worked, what failed and what might translate to a city like ours.

The purpose is to test ideas honestly, discard the ones that do not hold up, and identify practical opportunities worth pursuing.

DHS 2040

What Comes Out of DHS 2040?

The work should lead somewhere.

As research develops, DHS 2040 can become a public collection of:

Research & Data

Important information about the city presented in an understandable way.

Ideas Worth Exploring

Concepts that appear promising but still require additional research.

Opportunity Areas

Places or sectors where public and private investment may have particular potential.

Outside Perspectives

What planners, designers, business operators and other specialists see when they examine DHS.

Practical Recommendations

Ideas that survive the research process and could reasonably be considered by residents, the City or the private sector.

A long-term vision should be tested, not assumed.

Desert Hot Springs has real opportunities ahead of it. DHS 2040 is my attempt to better understand those opportunities, the obstacles standing in their way, and what it would actually take to turn the strongest ideas into something real.

Explore the research ↑

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