JKA 25 Years: 2023

The City of Palm Desert traditionally relied on discretionary design review and anecdotal guidelines to shape buildings and places project by project. However with new California housing crisis legislation, this type of review is replaced by requirements that allow cities to only enforce objective, measurable, and quantifiable design standards also known as objective design standards (ODS).

In 2023, JKA with Tajima Open Design Office were retained by Palm Desert to develop ODS that would reflect the City’s setting and character. The new ODS emphasize the use of desert flora, drought-resistant landscape buffers, and defined open spaces between existing neighborhoods, homes, and new multifamily and mixed-use projects. The City’s overall atmosphere is further reinforced through a defined material and color palette inspired by the local desert and mountain setting. The adopted standards, both written and illustrated, align the design of new projects with Palm Desert’s unique Coachella Valley environment.

Adopted in 2024, The City of Palm Desert and JKA were awarded the American Planning Association Inland Empire Urban Design Award of Merit in 2025.