Committee to Relocate Marilyn responds to proposed ballot initiative to keep statue in current location
The Committee to Relocate Marilyn released a statement reacting to the announcement of a proposed ballot initiative that would permanently keep the "Forever Marilyn" statue on Museum Way in downtown Palm Springs.
Last week, the group, “Protect Our Marilyn,” announced its plan to keep the statue in its current location by putting an initiative measure on the March 5th, 2024 ballot. This would let the voters decide if the location on Museum Way should be made a permanent location making way for the city to amend the downtown's specific plan, which was at issue of a lawsuit.
"This would lay the groundwork for a possible street vacation of that portion of street. That would enable the proponents to keep the Forever Marilyn statue at its current location," wrote Palm Springs City Attorney Jeffrey Ballinger.
“The language of this voter initiative proposed by this new entity has yet to be disclosed. Worse, the information that has been circulated regarding the initiative thus far has often been misleading. An initiative cannot legally permanently close Museum Way to vehicle use, nor can it legally provide for a license agreement with PS Resorts to allow the permanent installation of a statue in the middle of a public street. Does it make sense for City tax revenue to be funding an initiative when the court has ruled the street closure illegal? We think not.”
- CReMa organizer Trina Turk
Protect Our Marilyn is sponsored by PS Resorts, which purchased Forever Marilyn for $1 million in Feb. 2021.
CReMa has been at the forefront of the debate on where the statue should be located since Marilyn's return to the city was announced in late 2020.
Trina Turk, co-founder of the committee, has previously said they are not opposed to the statue being in Palm Springs, however, its location obstructs the view of the Palm Springs Art Museum and interferes with the original 2016 downtown plan.
The group held a protest in early 2021 to express “community dissent to the statue on Museum Way.”
In March 2021, the group filed a lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit was initially dismissed, however, in Feb. 2023, California's 4th District Court of Appeals overturned that decision, ruling that Museum Way was closed illegally for the placement of the statue.
"In 2022 the City of Palm Springs allowed the illegal closure of Museum Way – a public street constructed with public tax dollars – so that a statue of Marilyn Monroe (called “Forever Marilyn”) could be situated on that street. This street closure was described as “temporary.” CReMa was formed to protest this illegal street closure and provide an open dialogue with the citizens of Palm Springs about this closure. In February 2023, a Court of Appeals ruled that in fact Museum Way was closed illegally for placement of the Forever Marilyn statue."
- CReMa Statement (9/27/23)
CReMa's statement on Wednesday reaffirms its position on moving the statue.
"CReMa's goal is to urge the City of Palm Springs and PS Resorts to revert to the long-planned intended location for the Marilyn statue – IN the adjacent downtown park – or to find another suitable location in the city. The current placement co-opts the taxpayer-funded street leading to celebrated Palm Springs architect E. Stewart Williams' architecturally significant Palm Springs Art Museum, a Class 1 Historic Site. The museum is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places."
- CReMa Statement (9/27/23)
CReMa states that at this time, it does not appear the city has evaluated any other potential locations for the statue.
The group, “Protect Our Marilyn,” said they need more than 2,500 verifiable hand-written signatures by registered Palm Springs voters must be turned in by October 6 in order to make it on the March 2024 ballot.
Ballinger said if the downtown plan is amended by the proposed ballot measure, a street vacation would need to be approved by the City Council.
Forever Marilyn has been located Museum Way in downtown Palm Springs right behind the Kimpton Rowan Hotel in downtown Palm Springs for a little over two years now.
