Palm Springs hires long-promised consultant to research Section 14 history
The city of Palm Springs said Thursday it has selected a consultant to document the facts surrounding the Section 14 neighborhood, which was demolished in the 1960s to make way for new development.
The move comes at a time when the city is negotiating what could be a multi-million-dollar settlement with former residents of Section 14, who claim the evictions caused trauma and a loss of generational wealth.
The San Francisco-based firm Architectural Resources Group was selected after the Palm Springs City Council directed city staff to find a qualified consultant during an April 11 meeting. ARG is currently working with the California Office of Historic Preservation to document the history of African Americans in California in an effort to identify properties associated with their heritage. The firm has also conducted research into the historical context of certain parts of cities in southern California.
“The City Council values an external third party who will analyze historical documents and provide the City and all residents and stakeholders with a comprehensive historical report of Section 14,” Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein said in a news release. “My Council colleagues and I are united in agreement that we want to work together as a community to address the inequities of the past and this Historical Context Study is the first step in the process.”
The release states that ARG will be used to conduct a historical context study of the time when Palm Springs was asked to assist in the clearing of property owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The city said in the release ARG was "uniquely qualified to conduct the review" because it had overseen similar studies for Los Angeles, Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Culver City.
Work on the study began earlier this month, according to the release. The city expects a draft of the report to be completed in September, with a final presentation to the council in November.
Costing $74,900, the report will in part help the city determine its role in in the Section 14 evictions.
In April 2023, the city council voted against hiring a consultant to help design a reparations scheme, with a majority of council members saying they wanted to hire someone to provide objective historical context before they made any decisions about such payments.
In April of this year, the council agreed to offer $4.3 million in payments and take other actions to settle a claim by the group Section 14 Survivors. The group soon rejected the offer and negotiations continued.
The Desert Sun asked Bernstein why the council seemingly reversed course and made the offer without the historical information members had wanted.
The mayor replied that the city had tried to find a researcher but had not found anyone interested in doing the work. But he said the city council remained committed to getting historical context.
This is a developing story.
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs hires consultant to research Section 14 history
