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En Español
Cathedral
City is not the sleepy town it was when incorporated back in 1981. The City’s
population has increased from 11,096 back then to today’s 53,402 – an increase
of over 480%. That’s a lot of growth! Cathedral City has the second largest
population of the eight cities in the Coachella Valley and it is predicted
to have the largest population by 2020. – just a dozen years from now.
It’s no wonder. Cathedral
City is located in the heart of the Coachella Valley – just minutes from
the restaurants and excitement of Palm Springs, world class golfing in Rancho
Mirage, and some of the best shopping around in Palm Desert.
Even with all this growth,
Cathedral City is still a modest community where everyday people live, work
and play. In short, it’s the best of both worlds – convenience and community
with all types of wonderful people living here.
With the increase in population,
many new businesses have also come to Cathedral City – popular restaurants
like Trilussa, Big Mama’s, and soon Picanha; new businesses like the Burlington
Coat Factory; popular destinations like Buddy Greco’s Supper Club; family
entertainment like BOOMERS and Big League Dream Sports Park; and one of
the largest Auto Centers in Southern California. Not to mention the many
small businesses that are its backbone.
The City issues more business
licenses each year than any other city in the Coachella Valley. There are
also tried and true businesses like the House of Lamb and Red Tomato Restaurant,
El Gallito Restaurant, and many unique home improvement shops on Perez Road
that have been Valley favorites for years.
With the recent annexation
of nearly 4,000 acres of land north of I-10, planning is underway for Cathedral
City’s “North City” – the City’s last big blank slate for commercial development.
There have been ongoing public presentations and discussion as a Specific
Plan for the area is being developed, to be sure that the area can be put
to the most effective use.
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And the
growth will continue, with Cathedral City having some of the highest projected
growth in population in the Coachella Valley.
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Growth
Presents Challenges, Too.
Growth also means new homes requiring
additional city services which are always a challenge for a post-Proposition
13 city like Cathedral City. Post-Proposition 13 cities do not share in
property tax like California cities incorporated before 1979. Less than
$15 a year of the property tax on a typical Cathedral City home ends up
in the City’s General Fund.
That means more “rooftops”
in Cathedral City bring more demands for City public safety, fire, emergency
medical, street repair and other public works services, but don’t create
enough income from property tax to pay for these additional services.
More Demand For Fire/Emergency Medicine Service
Just in the past ten years, Cathedral City’s population has grown 36%. Calls
to 911 for Fire Department services, the great majority of which are calls
for emergency medical services, has increased 68%. Fire Department staffing
has only increased 29% to handle this increase in demand.
In 1997 the Fire Department
had .68 firefighters per thousand to serve Cathedral City residents. In
2006, the number of firefighters per thousand decreased to .65 per thousand.
The City’s General Plan calls for 1.5 firefighters per thousand. The ratio
recommended by the International City Manager’s Association is 2 firefighters
per thousand. Even to improve Fire Department staffing to 1 firefighter
per thousand, a minimal would cost the City an additional $2,850,000 a year.
What Does This Mean To Cathedral City Residents?
Cathedral City’s firefighters do a great job. They are well trained and
committed to the highest standard of public service – there just aren’t
enough of them!
More demand for emergency
medical service without additional staffing to respond to those calls simply
means needing to wait longer for a medical aid unit to arrive at your door.
For example, if you had a heart attack, every moment you are not treated
has an impact on your chances of survival. When you are in an emergency
condition – you want and need medical assistance as soon as possible.
What
About Police Services?
Just like the Fire Department, the
Police department is staffed with dedicated public safety professionals
– but again, there just aren’t enough of them.
Response time is also climbing
for police services. In 2000 the average 911 response time for Cathedral
City police services was 4.2 minutes. With a 33% increase in calls for service
between 2000 and 2006, response time has slowed to 6.7 minutes.
On any given shift, there
simply aren’t enough police officers to always be able to respond to all
the requests for services. In fact, there is a 75% chance that when a 911
call is made that all available police officers have been assigned to another
call. Dispatch is always prioritizing which calls are most important to
protect life and property. Coming home and finding that a thief has broken
in, stolen your personal property and fled may be a high priority to you,
but someone being assaulted with a weapon will be a higher priority to available
police officers.
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It would
take 11 new officers ($2 million including equipment) to bring police
response times back to 2000 levels.
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