Plans to place ‘Forever Marilyn’ statue outside PS Art Museum allowed to move forward
A judge has officially cleared the way for the 'Forever Marilyn' statue to go up at its originally planned site on Museum Way in downtown Palm Springs. Friday morning, the judge denied an injunction to stop the placement of the statue, and also lifted a restraining order that halted the process. Among the decisions, a tentative ruling was recently put forth in favor of the plan, and on Friday the judge affirmed that decision, allowing the contentious debate of the statue's placement to proceed.
"We're pleased with the judge's ruling. We think [the judge] got the decision right in terms of what the law is," said Palm Springs City Attorney, Jeff Ballinger. "It really vindicates the city council's decision which was really intended to benefit everybody in downtown and the rest of the city. I felt all along the city followed proper procedures and this is confirmation of that."
The city entered into an agreement with the group PS Resorts last November. The group has purchased the statue and started building the foundation outside the museum.
"Summers are brutal- the only business that we get is the weekend business but surviving 2 days out of 7 is impossible for businesses. Hopefully Forever Marilyn will bring in people 7 days a week and all the businesses will enjoy some businesses and, in turn, they will employ more employees," said PS Resorts Chairman, Aftab Dada.
There has been ongoing opposition, however, to this move. A committee formed arguing that the statue should not be allowed on Museum Way and that its placement there violates city zoning documents. During Friday's hearing, an attorney representing the citizens group, Committee to Relocate Marilyn, argued that the statue's placement would create more traffic, waste, and also was an overreach of the city's authority to close down the street.
Others have showed opposition to the statue for different reasons. A petition named 'MetooMarilyn' on Change.org had garnered more than 18,000 signatures as of Friday evening. The petition claimed that the statue was too 'misogynistic.'
"We’re disappointed but we actually just got off the line with our attorney and she has indicated there are other options available to us and so we are going to be working through those. So it’s definitely for us, not over yet," said Committee to Relocate Marilyn co-founder, Chris Menrad.
Menrad couldn't specify just yet what action they planned on taking.
The night before Friday's decision, Palm Springs City Council announced a victory for those in favor of placing the ‘Forever Marilyn’ statue in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum in downtown Palm Springs. Ballinger had announced the judge's tentative ruling, but ultimately they were waiting for the final call on Friday.
The museum itself has expressed concern over the statue’s placement outside its doors. "Our CEO Louis Grachos has been very vocal in the media that he's very much opposed to it. He does not think it's appropriate. His big fear is because of the planned placement, many people are going to assume it's part of our collection, something the museum sponsored, which it's not. We have absolutely nothing to do with that,” said Scott Slaven, Director of Marketing, Communications & Graphic Design, Palm Springs Art Museum.
