55575.18100\44643805.1
ATTACHMENT A
(ORDNIANCE)
Ordinance No. 2127
ORDINANCE NO. 2127
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS,
CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTION 12.28.055 TO THE PALM
SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING VEHICLE
COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
TO PROMOTE TRAFFIC AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND
PROTECT RESIDENTIAL PARKING
City Attorney’s Summary
This Ordinance regulates the use of the public right-of-way for vehicle sales/rental activity to protect traffic safety, pedestrian safety, sight distance, and the reasonable availability of curb parking for City residents and visitors. The Ordinance
generally prohibits vehicle sales/rental activity in the public- right-of way, establishes a narrow safe harbor for limited sales/rental activity occurring within one-tenth (0.1) of a mile of the vehicle’s DMV-registered owner address, and
authorizes a temporary hardship permit process based on objective criteria.
WHEREAS, the City of Palm Springs has a substantial interest in promoting traffic safety, pedestrian safety, preserving sight distance on City streets, and protecting the reasonable availability of curb parking for City residents and visitors; and WHEREAS, the City has experienced recurring instances in which vehicles are parked and left standing on public streets for extended periods in a manner consistent with using the public right-of-way to facilitate private vehicle transactions, thereby reducing parking availability for nearby residents and encouraging pedestrians to stop and view the vehicles, which increase safety risks in areas where vehicle speeds are higher; and
WHEREAS, the City has previously prohibited the use of City streets for storage of vehicles (PSMC 12.28.040) as well as for the purpose of washing, waxing, wiping, greasing, or repairing vehicles (PSMC 12.28.050); and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to regulate use of the public right-of-way to address these impacts through objective, content-neutral regulations that do not depend on the content of any sign, writing, or communication; and WHEREAS, the City Council also recognizes that individuals may occasionally sell a personally owned vehicle in proximity to where the vehicle is ordinarily kept, and desires to establish a narrow, objective safe harbor and a limited temporary hardship permit process based on objective criteria; and
Ordinance No. 2127
WHEREAS, the City Council considered this ordinance at a duly noticed public meetings on February 25, 2026 and March 11, 2026, at which time all interested persons had the opportunity to appear and be heard on the matter; and WHEREAS, any and all other legal prerequisites relating to the adoption of this Ordinance have occurred.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City Council hereby finds that the foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein as substantive findings of this Ordinance.
SECTION 2. Section 12.28.055 is hereby added to the Palm Springs Municipal Code to read in its entirety as follows:
“12.28.055 Vehicle Commercial Activity in Public Right-of-Way – Prohibited; Safe Harbor; Hardship Permit.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
(1)“Adult” means, for purposes of subsection (f)(1) only, any person over the age of sixteen (16).
(2)“Person” includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity.
(3)“Proximity Radius” means one-tenth (0.1) mile, measured as a straight line distance from the nearest boundary of the parcel containing the Registered Owner Address to the
location where the Vehicle is parked or left standing, as determined by any readily available and reliable mapping or GIS methods available to the City.
(4)“Public Right-of-Way” means any public street, road, highway, alley, parkway, shoulder, or other property dedicated or accepted for public travel or use, including any parking lane, within the City.
(5)“Registered Owner Address” means the address listed for the registered owner of the Vehicle in official registration records available to the City.
(6)“Vehicle” means a vehicle as defined by state law and includes a motor vehicle, motorcycle, trailer, or other device Ordinance No. 2127
by which persons or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway.
(7)“Vehicle Commercial Activity” means parking, standing, stopping, placing, or leaving standing a Vehicle in the Public Right-of-Way for the primary purpose of facilitating the sale, exchange, rental, or transfer of ownership of the Vehicle for value, including conduct intended to solicit prospective purchasers, coordinate viewings or inspections, arrange test drives, or otherwise facilitate such a transaction.
(b) Prohibition. Except as expressly provided in this Section, no Person shall engage in Vehicle Commercial Activity in the Public Right-of- Way.
(c) Content-Neutral Enforcement; No Sign-Content Element. A violation of this Section may be established without regard to, and without evidence of, the content of any sign, display, writing, or communication. No particular sign or message is required to establish Vehicle Commercial Activity.
(d) Evidence; Rebuttable Presumption.
(1)In determining whether Vehicle Commercial Activity as occurred, enforcement personnel may consider the totality of circumstances, including, without limitation: repeated
placement of the same Vehicle in the same vicinity for
extended periods; repeated placement of multiple Vehicles by the same Person in the same vicinity; arranging inspections or test drives from the public right-of-way; or other conduct indicating the Vehicle is positioned or maintained to facilitate a transfer of ownership for value.
(2)Vehicle Commercial Activity shall be presumed where the same Vehicle is parked or left standing in the Public Right-of- Way within any one-thousand (1,000) foot distance for more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours, unless the
responsible Person presents credible evidence establishing a lawful purpose unrelated to facilitating a Vehicle Commercial Activity.
(e) Safe Harbor Defense; Proximity to Registered Owner Address.
Vehicle Commercial Activity otherwise prohibited by this Section is permitted only if the person charged/cited can establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, all of the following are met:
Ordinance No. 2127
(1)The Vehicle is parked or left standing within the Proximity Radius of the Vehicle’s Registered Owner Address;
(2)The Vehicle is lawfully parked and in compliance with all other applicable restrictions, including posted time limits
established pursuant to the City’s parking regulations and applicable curb markings; and
(3)The Vehicle is not parked or left standing in a manner that creates a traffic or pedestrian safety hazard, including, but not limited to, obstruction of sight distance, interference with traffic control devices, blocking driveways, or stopping or parking in prohibited safety zones.
(f) Limitations. The safe harbor defense in subsection (e) shall not apply if:
(1)More than one (1) Vehicle per Adult residing at the same Registered Owner Address is parked or left standing in the Public Right-of-Way for purposes of a Vehicle Commercial Activity at the same time; or
(2)The Vehicle is parked or left standing in the Public Right-of- Way for purposes of Vehicle Commercial Activity for more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours, unless otherwise permitted by the applicable posted time limits or other applicable law.
(g) Exemptions. This Section does not apply to:
(1)Vehicles stopped or left standing due to mechanical failure, collision, emergency, or at the direction of a police officer, authorized officer, or traffic control device;
(2)Vehicles placed pursuant to a City-issued encroachment permit, special event permit, filming permit, or other written authorization that expressly allows right-of-way occupancy for a limited time and place; or
(3)Government vehicles used in the performance of official duties.
(h) Administrative Regulations. The City Manager is hereby authorized to promulgate administrative regulations interpreting and Ordinance No. 2127
implementing the provisions of this Section.
(i) Enforcement; Penalties; Remedies.
(1)Violations of this Section may be enforced by any peace officer or code enforcement officer of the City.
(2)Violations may be enforced through administrative citation in accordance with the City’s administrative citation procedures set forth in Chapter 1.06.
(3)Each day a violation continues constitutes a separate violation.
(4)A Vehicle involved in a violation of this Section may be subject to removal only to the extent authorized by state law and in accordance with applicable City towing procedures.
(5)The remedies provided herein are cumulative and in addition to any other remedies available at law.
(j) Relationship to other Regulations. This Section is in addition to, and does not limit, the City’s authority to establish parking prohibitions or time limits by sign or marking pursuant to State or City parking regulations, including Palm Springs Municipal Code Section
12.32.010.”
SECTION 3. The City Council finds that the proposed actions are not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15060(c)(3).) Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines provides that organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment do not qualify as a project subject to CEQA. Here, the proposed ordinance constitutes an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment because it establishes regulations governing vehicle commercial activity in the public right-of-way. Accordingly, the proposed actions are not a project subject to CEQA. Even if the proposed actions do qualify as a project subject to CEQA, they would be exempt from CEQA because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed actions in question may have a significant effect on the environment for the same reasons referenced above. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15061(b)(3).)
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance for any reason is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would Ordinance No. 2127
have adopted this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. The documents and materials that constitute the record of proceedings on which these findings are based are located at City Hall for the City of Palm Springs, located at 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, California. The City Clerk is the custodian of the record of proceedings.
SECTION 6. This Ordinance takes effect thirty (30) days following its adoption.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED BY THE PALM SPRINGS CITY
COUNCIL THIS _____ DAY OF _________, 2026.
NAOMI SOTO
MAYOR
ATTEST:
BRENDA PREE, MMC
CITY CLERK
Ordinance No. 2127
Ordinance No. 2127
CERTIFICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss.
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS )
I, BRENDA PREE, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do hereby certify that Ordinance No. ____ is a full, true, and correct copy, and was introduced at a regular meeting of the Palm Springs City Council on _________ and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on __________ by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Palm Springs, California, this ______ day of ______________, _________.
BRENDA PREE, MMC
CITY CLERK