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Kirk WickershamKirk Wickersham AICP, Attorney at Law 13112 SE 93 Tern Rd. Summerfield FL 34491 907-351-3726 kirkwickersham aagmail.com December 22, 2025 City of La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans Members of the City Council Members of the Planning Commission Residents of La Quinta and Vista Santa Rosa Scott Nespor, Senior Planner Ladies and Gentlemen: I am submitting the attached proposal to give La Quinta and the stakeholders of Vista Santa Rosa the option to create the first holistic 21 st Century community in the United States, and in the process, inspire the transformation of urban America for decades to come. Vista Santa Rosa is a unique, and spectacular, site for a new community. However, you will not have this opportunity without this proposal. Respectfully, no matter what the Vista Santa Rosa Master Plan calls for, without this proposal, the area will develop as sprawl. It may be nice sprawl, but it will be sprawl. I say, "respectfully," because this is not the fault of the City, its planners, the future Master Plan consultant or future developers. Sprawl is the inevitable result of the land use decision -making system that La Quinta and all other American communities have used for the past 80 years. I have spent the past two years developing a bundle of planning and regulatory measures that replace sprawl with holistic new communities — a 21 st Century version of the traditional organic community. It is detailed in my new book, Stop Sprawling and Start Building New Communities! A copy has been delivered to Scott Nespor in your Planning Department, and it is incorporated into this proposal. I am not offering to perform the Master Plan project, but simply to give you a new community as one of the alternatives for consideration within the Master Plan process. I understand that La Quinta wants to minimize multiple consultants. I could team with a prime consultant, but then that firm may not win the contract. I feel that La Quinta should be able to consider this alternative with any prime consultant you select. Thus, I am proposing this as a separate, small ($26,000) contract to work alongside your eventual consultant at the beginning of the process. If, as a result of this threshold analysis, the City decides to pursue one or more new community alternatives, I could work either directly for the City or as a subcontractor under the prime consultant. I am submitting this proposal well in advance of the deadline for Master Plan proposals, to give you the opportunity to consider it independently. I hope you agree that the City should have the option of developing Vista Santa Rosa as a holistic new community. Please call me at your convenience. Sincerely, Kirk Wickersham Attachments: Proposal and Exhibits Resume Stop Sprawling and Start Building New Communities!, previously delivered Proposal to the City of La Quinta A Holistic Community as an Option for Vista Santa Rosa Kirk Wickersham AICP, Attorney at Law 907-351-3726 Goal This project will answer two questions: kirkwickersham(cbgmail.com NewCommunities.US • Is a holistic community feasible in Vista Santa Rosa? • If so, does the City want to consider a new community as an alternative in its Vista Santa Rosa Master Planning process? The City needs to make this decision before the prime consultant starts developing alternative master plans. The Context La Quinta is an excellent candidate for development as a new community. It has -- • Steady growth pressure, • Stable political leadership, • A commitment to master planning the entire area before approving further development, • The (reasonable) expectation of a full spectrum community with a self-sufficient tax base, • The City wants to see an alternative to sprawl. Vista Santa Rosa is an outstanding candidate for development of a holistic new community. It has -- • Adequate size, 0 A compact configuration, • Proximity to public and private services and facilities, • Stakeholders expect development, • A market for urban / suburban development. • (extra credit!) The current residents' interest in golf and equestrian activities make it easy to develop primarily — not exclusively — for alternative transportation -- NEVs (essentially, street -legal golf carts) AVs, robotaxis, bridle trails, and other non -motorized transportation. This has dramatic lifestyle benefits, lower cost of living, and dramatic public savings, as set forth in the Book' and Exhibits. Terms and Concepts Sprawl begins with the arterial grid, with low- .■ -- .—.."'I.10 intensity housing tracts in the center and high- mom -_M■M! 0' intensity commercial along the arterials with ■ schools, parks and other public facilities located L more or less randomly, hopscotching indefinitely across the landscape. A car is required for even the M ■� most mundane daily activities. r J _...-_..: .. 1 The Conventional Implementation Process. Probably no public comprehensive plan has ever ' called for more sprawl, but that is how American cities and suburbs have developed over the past 80 years. The reason is our land use decision - making process — reactive, incremental, ad hoc decisions on single -purpose projects on parcels -� designed for farming rather than urban ' development.' ' Stop Sprawling and Start Building New Communities!, previously delivered to your Planning Department and incorporated in this proposal. 2 Planning makes these projects better, but the sum of good projects is not a good community, just better sprawl. A Holistic New Community can take many forms. The Book describes a 215t Century version of the traditional urban form that evolved for centuries prior to the Auto Age. The high -intensity, important uses surround a central town square (zocalo), with diverse neighborhoods anchored by an elementary school, recreation facilities, and small retail on a village green, with a defined outer boundary. It is the opposite of sprawl, and can be designed from scratch primarily (not exclusively) for micromobility and alternative transportation. (In Vista Santa Rosa, I can envision a network of bridle trails that lead to the village greens and the town center — commuting by horse) All the important uses in the Town Center, with common parking •` A diverse neighborhood — a "Village" r u� The Village Green, anchored by an elementary school and neighborhood retail The New Community Implementation Process. A new community must be planned holistically (envisioning the entire site as a single, mostly self-sufficient "organism"), and then built out in phases. The process is detailed in Chapters 9-12 of the Book, but in brief, the overall process -- not the scope of this proposal -- consists of • Imposition of a temporary moratorium on new development, • Using a stakeholder engagement process,3 to develop and adopt a comprehensive policy plan to govern development of Vista Santa Rosa (all alternative Master Plans, not just the new community), • Selection of a single lead developer, • Consolidation of the undeveloped land into a single site,' either by the lead developer or by the landowners themselves,5 • Development of alternative master plans for the entire site, • The City would use the policy plan and its (perhaps enhanced) PUD approval process to adopt the final master plan. It, together with the development agreement would become an amendment to the City's comprehensive plan and development code, and the moratorium would be lifted. • Finally, the lead developer would plat and obtain entitlements for the first phase of the community, and sell tracts to local builders. ° 0 0 0° °0 0 o ° o ° o° oG00 o ° 000 ° o0 Optionally, a new community can be designed from the ground up for alternative transportation. 3 See e.g. "Wickersham Workshops" at NewCommunities.US. 4 It is fundamentally illogical to use existing farm -based property lines and the arterial grid to design urban development, but that is what we normally do. Likewise, it is fundamentally unfair for the public sector to designate one parcel as the new downtown, and another parcel as greenbelt. Thus, the undeveloped land in Vista Santa Rosa should be consolidated prior to master planning. 5 Typically, the owners of the undeveloped parcels create a development company and trade their property for shares in the company on a pro rata basis. They retain an exclusive, no -cost lease on their home and farm until the time comes for development. Work Program, Deliverables. and Budget This work program deals only with the two threshold issues described above. It is not a substitute for Phase 2 of your Master Plan process. Timetable. The timetable is completely flexible. I will fit into the prime consultant's schedule. Cost Calculation. Costs are based on $$100 per hour with a daily maximum of $700. 1 am sight impaired and I do not drive, so my wife accompanies me. I bill her expenses but not her time. I estimate expenses for both of us (airport parking, car rental, hotel, and meals) at $350 per day. Round trip air fare is about $600 per person. I do not bill for travel time. Severability. This is proposed as a single contract, but each Step is billed separately. If, at any point, either a new community appears unfeasible, or the City determines that it does not want to consider a new community option, the City can terminate the contract. Step 1: Legal and Regulatory Checkoff.' I will consult with and support the City Attorney to ensure that the anticipated process complies with California law, and with the prime consultant to ensure compliance with CEQA. Services: two days, remote Cost: $11400 Step 2: Familiarization. I would meet with City officials, staff, the prime consultant, and perhaps key stakeholders, visit Vista Santa Rosa, and otherwise familiarize myself with the community and the project. Services: four days in La Quinta and Vista Santa Rosa Cost: $5,400 Step 3: Implementation Program Design. There would be several elements to this step, including — • City Incentives and Disincentives. I would develop a list of possible incentives and disincentives for developer and landowner participation. The City would informally endorse elements of that list for use in the planning process. This is for discussion purposes, not a City commitment to any particular measure. • Hypothetical Cost -Benefit Analyses. I would prepare a report estimating costs and benefits for the City, developers, and landowners, for each of the following development scenarios — ' All the implementation techniques comply with standard enabling statutes and established legal precedent. They have all been used successfully in communities around the country, although not in the combination described in the Book. While I do not expect legal or regulatory issues, these initial reviews will be important. o Conventional development o New community with conventional transportation infrastructure o New community primarily designed for alternative transportation. • RFQ for the Lead Developer. I would prepare a Request for Qualifications from large developers for publication by the City. It would not commit the City to a new community alternative. Services: ten days, remote Cost: $7,000 Step 4: Landowner Participation. Landowner participation in site assembly is not necessary, but it is desirable. Using the materials developed in Step 3, 1 would informally approach major Vista Santa Rosa landowners to gage support for the program, If there are significant concerns, I would offer solutions. Services: five days in Vista Santa Rosa Cost: $69450 Step 5: Final Report: The final report will include — • The elements and findings set forth above, • A recommended implementation plan, • Recommended action steps, and • A decision framework for the City. Services: four days, remote Cost: $2,800 Step 8: City Decision. Assuming a new community is feasible, the City would make the policy decision whether to include one or more new community alternatives in the Vista Santa Rosa Master Planning process. Services: two days in La Quinta (I do not have to be there, but if a new community is feasible, I would like to). Cost: $3,300 Total Cost. Creating and analyzing a new community alternative will cost a small fraction of the total Master Planning project. 27 days x $ 700 18,900 6 Flights x $ 600 3,600 11 per diem x $ 350 3,850 Total cost "not to exceed" $269350 Follow On. If a new community is feasible, and the City decides to have it as an alternative in the Master Planning process, I would like to continue working with the City and the prime consultant. Qualifications My resume is attached. Briefly, I am an AICP urban planner and Yale -educated lawyer, former Chair of the APA Planning and Law Division, and a recipient of the National APA Meritorious Planning Program Award for creating, and implementing a (then -revolutionary) land use decision -making process. I was awarded the first two patents ever issued for a home -selling process, and I have over 55 years of experience in planning, law, and real estate brokerage. I have done the foundational work for this project. I am the only person who can offer you a new community implementation process, and thus, the only person who can offer you the alternative of a new community in Vista Santa Rosa. Conclusion Vista Santa Rosa is a perfect opportunity to build a holistic new community. In the process, it will offer its residents a better quality of life at a lower public and private cost. More information in in the attached Exhibits, but for example -- If the remaining 6,528 acres develops out at the same density as La Quinta it would hold about 18,774 new residents, plus the commercial, recreational and employment facilities to support them. • Using the design principles in the Book, which include the same size house and yard as conventional sprawl,' Vista Santa Rosa could accommodate either o The same 18,774 people, and save 1,788 acres for greenbelt, farmland, or additional golf courses, or o Another 7,509 people (total of 26,283 people) A new community would offer a dramatically lower development cost for the developer and homebuilders, which could be passed on to homeowners. It would offer the City and the School District lower capital and operating costs. It would provide a better quality of life for its residents, with lower housing costs, transportation costs, utility costs, and taxes. Vista Santa Rosa could be the first community designed and built, from the ground up, for life in the 21 st Century. La Quinta could lead the way. The design principles do not stuff people into multifamily housing or mass transit. Exhibit 1 Kirk Wickersham AICP, Attorney at Law 907-351-3726 kirkwickershamn@gmail.com NewCommunities.US Wickersham is a Yale -educated attorney and community planner with over 50 years of civic and professional experience. CAREER Land Use and Community Planning — Wickersham drafted Colorado's innovative land use and subdivision laws. On an EPA grant to the Rocky Mountain Center for the Environment, he created the Permit System of development controls, now widely emulated throughout the country. He prepared the Breckenridge, Colorado Development Code as the first example of the Permit System and was awarded the APA's National Meritorious Planning Program Award. As a consultant to local governments, resource developers, land managers, Indigenous Peoples and private developers, he created a DIY planning and regulatory system used by communities throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, and the Canadian Arctic. "Wickersham Workshops" have been attended by officials from over 185 communities. Law Practice - In the Boulder City Attorney's office, he created one of the nation's first local government growth -management systems, and one of the first low and moderate - income housing programs for private development. He also implemented the nation's first local government program of purchasing peripheral greenbelt and open space, and created the concept of the open space easement, now widely used by governments and conservation organizations. Wickersham's private practice has focused on civil litigation, securities, real estate, and land development. In 1971, while working for Colorado Rural Legal Services, Wickersham represented the plaintiffs class in Euresti v. Stenner, which granted low- income people the right to health care in federally funded hospitals and broadly increased health care availability in the United States. Real Estate - Wickersham created the FSBO System, which provides professional guidance to DIY home sellers. It is centered on an integrated multidisciplinary, seven - step on-line home -selling tutorial, which was awarded the first two patents for a home - selling process. He established FSBO System, LLC, a successful alternative real estate firm whose 4,000+ clients sell faster and have a better chance of closing than normal agents, yet costs only about one percent of the sale price. Title Insurance - Wickersham was a co-founder of Attorneys Title (now Alyeska Title), an innovative title insurance agency, and worked with the legislature to pass reforms to the Alaska title insurance laws. PUBLIC SERVICE Highlights include Regent of the University of Alaska, Chair of the Alaska Real Estate Commission, Commissioner of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, Trustee of the University of Alaska Foundation and its Investment Committee, Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Association founding member of AICP and Chair of the APA Planning and Law section, and many other civic contributions. CREATIVE Wickersham has written the interactive FSBO System tutorial, The Permit System, two other published books and Stop Sprawling and Start Building New Communities! published in 2025. He has written over two dozen professional journal articles, and lectured before more than 50 conferences, professional development seminars, continuing education classes, and university classes. EDUCATION University of Alaska B.A. 1966 - Political Science Yale Law School J.D. 1969 University of Colorado Master's in Urban and Regional Planning 1974 University of California Los Angeles Graduate Certificate in Screenwriting, 2005 PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES CURRENT: Alaska Bar Association 1982- Present American Institute of Certified Planners 1976-1992, 2023-Present PREVIOUS: Licensed Real Estate Broker Colorado 1976-1982 Alaska 1982-2022 Florida 2021-2024 Colorado Bar Association 1969-1982 BUSINESS, PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC POSITIONS AND HONORS American Institute of Certified Planners National Meritorious Planning Program Award American Institute of Certified Planners Founding Member, Chair, Planning and Law Section Regent, University of Alaska Treasurer, Secretary and Vice Chair Awarded the first two Patents for a Home -Selling Process, Executive Committee, Yale Law School Association Chair, 45t" and, 50t" reunions Alaska Real Estate Commission, Member and Chair Trustee, University of Alaska Foundation, Member of the Investment Committee Commissioner, Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education Commonwealth North, former longtime member ABA Real Estate Law Section, Executive Committee for many years ABA Environmental Law Section, Executive Committee for many years, and former Chair Anchorage Board and Alaska Association of Realtors, longtime member Governor's Transition Team, Chair, Commerce and Economic Development, 2006 Anchorage Mayor's Transition Team Chair, Planning and Zoning, 2009 Anchorage International Rotary Club, longtime former member WEBSITE NewCommunities.US Exhibit 2 Vehicle Space and People Space Sprawl New Community 55% People Space 77% People Space Exhibit 3 Increased Density With the Same Size House and Yard Sprawl -Y ■ 8 Houses New Community 11 Houses 37.5% % higher density with the same size house, same size yard, and other personal space. Exhibit 4 A New Community Compared to Sprawl 30,000 People Major Nonresidential Buildings Neighborhood Commercial Parking School Sites Housing Parks, Public Facilities Industrial Sites Collectors and Arterials City Limit Open Space Local Jurisdiction Sprawl New Community 16 Sq. Mi. 11 Sq. Mi. Arterial roads Downtown Arterial roads Village Center On site Common Random Village Center Tracts Villages Random Village Center, Town Square Random Periphery Grid Radial None -- undefined Greenbelt Random, Interspersed Greenbelt, Reserve Random, patch quilt Matches City Exhibit 5 Land Use: Sprawl vs. a New Community Population Housing Mix Single Family Apts. / Condos 2-4 plex Average Single -Family House SFR sq. ft. Lot sq. ft. Garage / Carport Average Daily RT Commute Transportation Mode Private Vehicle ANEV/ANET Micromobility Public Transit Vehicle Space People Space People Space Unit Gross Density per Acre Density Increase Total Developed Sprawl 30,000 70% 20% 10% 2,000 8,000 2 39 miles 87% 0% 0%-1 % 0% - 3% 45% 55% 8,000 sq ft. 3.0 Land Area 10,000 acres Plus, vacant hopscotched land Land Area Conserved: 2,857 acres. or 4.46 sq. mi. New Community 30,000 2,000 8,000 1 9 miles 45% 45% 5% - 10% 0% (cont'd) 22% 77% 8,000 sq. ft. 4.2 40% 7,142 acres Contiguous Area