“I’m not a fan” of the short-term market, he said. “It has a negative impact on the feeling of the neighborhood. People would fall in love with Palm Springs and buy a house and rent it out to help pay the mortgage. Then wealthy people started buying more houses and never having the intention of using it as a second home.”

Ten percent of the homes in Palm Springs are now used as short-term rentals, Mr. Moon said. This past December, the cost of a short-term rental permit climbed to $900 a year from $225. “Tourism is very important,” he said, “but my first priority is to residents.” He acknowledged that regulation might negatively affect the value of homes, because potential buyers will know there are limits on how they can use the property, but, he added, “we don’t want to do nothing.”

About a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, this city has long been a glamorous retreat for Hollywood stars, executives and wealthy retirees. But since 2007, when the AMC series “Mad Men” started more broadly popularizing midcentury modern design and Coachella expanded into a three-day bacchanal, there has been a surge of interest in the area, whose local airport is now served by direct JetBlue and Virgin America flights from New York.

“What created the resurgence of Palm Springs is it became accessible,” said Tara Lazar, a lifelong resident who bought and renovated the Alcazar Palm Springs hotel in 2009 and now owns and operates three local restaurants and a bar called Seymour’s.

“It was always for the elite and the wealthy,” Ms. Lazar said, “and then all of a sudden, other people could afford to come and stay. There is now a middle market. We have young people in Palm Springs, and that hasn’t happened in more than 20 years.”

