RIVERSIDE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION GIVES NOD TO THERMAL DESIGN GUIDELINES
On April 29, 2009 the Riverside County Planning Commission gave a unanimous positive review of the Thermal Design Guidelines prepared for the County by PDS West. It will now go before the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
The purpose of these design guidelines is to capture and strengthen Thermal’s sense of place within the rapidly growing eastern Coachella Valley. Unlike the resort-oriented communities such as Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage to the northwest, Thermal grew from agricultural roots and the railroad. It represents the low-scale, expansive rural ambience of the eastern Coachella Valley. Its most distinctive design icons – packing houses, date palm groves, table and citrus croplands, and the single-engine plane of famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, evoke an earlier time.
Celebrating its agricultural bounty, improving its streetscape landscaping, strengthening its community core and developing attractive public space are the major goals of these guidelines. This document crystallizes Thermal’s best qualities and creates an attractive, low-key design vocabulary, including industrial and packing house architecture. But these guidelines are also forward-thinking and adopt principles of environmental sustainability, energy conservation and green building design. With its abundant resources, growing population and employment needs, Thermal is looking to the future to become a catalyst in creating buildings, industry and opportunities in green building and alternative energy.
Click here for complete guidelines on the County Web Site
