Concern from business owners leads Palm Desert City Council to cancel plans for pedestrian plaza

A planned pedestrian plaza, known as Lupine Plaza, that was set to be constructed near El Paseo in Palm Desert will no longer move forward after City Council voted Thursday night to cancel the project.

The idea for the project was established in September 2020 with the temporary closure of Lupine Ln. in an effort to support local restaurants during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the June 22, 2023, City Council Meeting, direction was given to City staff to modify Lupine Plaza's preferred design concept from a full street closure to a "slow street / flexible plaza" concept. $4 million was originally set aside for the project. $170,832 has already been used for concept design, leaving around $3.8 million which will be used for other projects which have yet to be determined.

However, opposition from business owners concerned over the impact of the project to their shops along with concerns over better ways to use the money ultimately led council to throw out the plan altogether.

Watch News Channel 3 at 6:00 p.m. for more on the decision and what the city is considering doing with the money set aside for the cancelled project.