good afternoon welcome to the March 1st formal meeting of the Phoenix City Council we'll begin with an invocation from police chaplain Robert fesmaier you're welcome to join me in prayer almighty God thank you for today a gift never to be taken for granted for renewed strength and the courage to do good to be kind and to make a difference in someone's life regardless of their ability to do that for ourselves you were the one that taught us the sacred call to mourn with those who mourn Rejoice with those who Rejoice cause each of us to reflect that which is right that which is good true and worthy and may we show gratitude for all you provide and are able to keep because of those protectors you have called and set apart for us bless all those gathered here with truth and wisdom as you bless them in acting upon the wisdom that you give for we pray this in your holy name amen thank you chaplain councilman Pastor Will you lead us in the pledge Allegiance and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all well now call to order the formal meeting will the clerk call the roll councilman decisio council member Garcia here councilwoman guardado here councilwoman O'Brien here councilwoman Pastor here councilwoman Stark here councilman Waring vice mayor I'm sorry mayor Gallego here Carmen Kota is with us to provide Spanish interpretation Carmen would you introduce yourself good afternoon thank you mayor good afternoon my name is Carmen Kota I will be providing interpretation for our Spanish-speaking audience please give me a minute to introduce myself to them thank you mayor thank you will the city clerk read the 24-hour paragraph the titles of the following ordinance and resolution numbers on the agenda were available to the public at least 24 hours part of this council meeting and therefore may be read by title or agenda item only ordinances number g7079-7086 s 49442-49484 and resolutions 22101-22103 thank you I'll next turn to our City attorney to explain public comment thank you mayor may speak for up to two minutes to comment on agenda items comments must be related to the agenda item and the action being considered by the council General comments that go beyond the scope of the agenda item must be made in the citizen comment session at the end of the agenda the city council and staff cannot discuss or comment on matters related to pending investigations claims or litigation the city code requires speakers to present their comments in a respectful and courteous manner profane language threats or personal attacks on members of the public council members or staff are not allowed a person who violates these rules will lose the opportunity to continue to speak thank you so much vice mayor do we have a motion on item one I've been taking that role right right all right motion to approve mayor and city council boards and commissions nominations second we have a motion a second Mike Norton is here to address the council Mike the floor is yours thank you very much for the opportunity to speak mayor Gallego I appreciate that you allow us to do that I speak today on behalf of the members of the Rogers Ranch Community of the village of Levine normally if we were seeking to introduce some type of activity that was necessary for the community we would try to get one of our members who could Advocate on behalf of the community appointed to one of the boards or committees but in this case the Parks and Recreation board is full there are eight members one of whom is the executive director all the positions are full this is the 20th year but the Rogers Ranch Park property has set dormant in the center of the Rogers Ranch Community and you really have to connect it to the motion city council advised the current board members to prioritize the development of the Rogers Ranch Park and the Levine area conveyance Channel which was sat dormant for 20 years and Mike we would love it if you would speak in the public comment which would be a perfect venue for this very important concern and we really thank you for your attendance councilwoman Pastor I do have a comment on regarding boards and commission and particularly Vision zero I am uh gladly glad to say that staff heard the community um I want to thank Alan Mario and keaney for listening to The Community of wanting to add students to Vision zero and there will be a process so I'm encouraging students to participate and sign up as there is a process the meeting will begin they will select the students and then after that they will have students will be coming or I guess they won't they won't be a voting body but they will be able then to start participating on the vision zero so thank you thank you yeah it's a very exciting boards and commissions vote today we are appointing several important positions ranging from judicial selection advisory position to block watch and then the entire Vision zero advisory Council who will help us make sure we have safer streets for all and we are so thankful to you who are helping us with this essential life-saving activity so thank you for serving our community any additional comments real uh no I'm sorry um all those in favor please say aye aye any opposed nay passes unanimously and now we will swear in our boards and commission members and thank you again for serving our community please raise your right hand and repeat after me I state your name do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution and laws of the State of Arizona and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and defend them against all enemies foreign and domestic and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of State your office according to the best of my ability so help me God congratulations on your appointments so pleased to have you [Applause] thank you thank you hey Michael oh congratulations again to our newest Commissioners thank you for your service we'll next turn to the liquor license portion of our agenda the city council provides an advisory role to the State of Arizona on liquor licenses councilman Pastor do you have a motion yes motion to approve items 2 through 30 except item 30. second we have a motion in a second noting that we have people available to speak in support if needed on 8 7 8 and 14 but not needing to speak if we're all in support any questions roll call to cicisio Garcia yes guardado yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark wearing yes I'm sorry Gallego yes passes eight zero we next move to item 30 which is an item in district one so I will turn to councilwoman O'Brien thank you mayor mayor I moved to disapprove item 30. second Motion in a second any comments mayor if I may this would be to recommend disapproval to the state is that correct councilwoman O'Brien yes thank you for correct thank you very much and do we need to note this is based on the finance department's recommendation for disapproval yes thank you second I don't see any comments we do not have any speakers registered roll call decisio yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark yes Waring yes I'm sorry Gallego yes passes eight zero city clerk are we ready for ordinances resolutions new business planning and zoning yes mayor Vice uh acting vice mayor do we have a motion I know many times today motion to approve items 31 through 100 accept the following items 31 40 48 55 98 99 and 100. noting that item 87 is being continued to March 22nd 2023 item 94 is being continued to May 3rd 2023 items 99 and 100 are as revised and excluding these items for virtual public comment items 57 and 100 and can the clerk confirm if there are any other items that should be excluded for in-person public comment many members of the council no other items need to be excluded thank you second we have a motion in a second any comments roll call decision Garcia yes yes O'Brien yes pastor Stark yes Waring yes I'm sorry I apologize vice mayor I couldn't hear that yes thank you Gallego yes passes 9-0 we next turn to the payment ordinance our first item is the American Association of airport Executives for a conference vice mayor 31. move to approve second we have a motion in a second any comments there's an exciting opportunity for a conference in Phoenix highlighting sustainability where our airport has been a leader and has an ambitious Net Zero goal of 2040. so I'll look forward to supporting this item roll call decisio Garcia yes yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark yes Waring no I'm sorry yes Gallego yes passes seven two item 40 is the National Association of city transportation officials do we have a motion move to approve item 40. second we have a motion in a second comments roll call to cicisio Garcia yes yes O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark yes wearing no I'm sorry yes there you go yes passes seven two we next turn to 48 which is related to federal legislative representation and consulting services do we have a motion move to approve second comments roll call decisio Garcia yes guardado yes O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark yes wearing no I'm sorry yes Gallego yes passes seven two item 55 is housing revenue bonds for affordable housing at the Foothills Village Apartments in District Seven I will turn to vice mayor Ansari thank you so much I'm very excited about this item at the beginning of this month we approved up to 30 million dollars in bond funding for the Pueblo Apartments which will bring 161 units of affordable housing to South Central and today we are approving another 5 million in bond funding for the Foothills Village which will bring an additional 200 units more affordable housing stock is critical for the entire city and especially South Phoenix where residents are understandably concerned about displacement due to light rail construction and new development we're adding 361 affordable units to the mix with more on the way soon I'm proud that we've been working with the south Phoenix Community to make sure it stays a place where residents can afford to live work and play and with that I motion to approve item 55. second we have a motion in a second any additional comments roll call decisio yes Garcia yes cuerdado yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark yes Waring yes I'm sorry yes Gallego yes passes 9-0 it's an exciting meeting for housing on multiple levels including we have 1977 entitlements of units of housing as well as several other related items item 57 is portable malfunction cardiac monitor defibrillators contract do we have a motion motion to approve second leave a motion in a second we do have one request to speak on this item Haley Mills the floor is yours say that I am full support of this motion to improve the cardiac monitors um I have personally used a portable cardiac Monitor and they are very helpful in um and life-saving to those in our community thank you thank you any additional comments roll call to cease you yes Garcia yes yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark yes Waring yes I'm sorry yes Gallego yes passes 9-0 we next move to the Planning and Zoning portion of our agenda we have two items 98 and 99 that are related items concerning the northeast corner of 63rd Avenue and Dobbins Road so we will hear them jointly but have two individual votes we will begin with a brief staff report thank you mayor the subject priority for growth request is a 66.10 Acre Site located at the northeast corner of 63rd and Dobbins in Council District 7. item 98 is GPA lv-3-21-7 a request to amend the general plan land use map from commercial and mixed use to mixed use the living VPC heard their request on January 9th and voted approval for the staff recommendation by a vote of seven to zero the Planning Commission heard the request on February 2nd 2020 23 and recommended approval for the Levine VPC by vote of nine to zero staff recommends approval of item 98 per the Planning Commission recommendation and Adoption of the related resolution Item 99 is z35-21-7 a request to rezone the site from various commercial zoning districts to a planned unit development to allow for single-family multi-family retail office and Commerce Park uses the living VPC heard the case on January 9th and recommended approval for the staff recommendation with modifications and additional stipulations by a seven to one vote the Planning Commission heard the case on February 2nd and recommended approval for the Levine VPC with modifications and a deleted stipulation by an eight to one vote staff recommends approval for the February 27 2023 Memo from the planning and development director and Adoption of the related ordinance mayor happy to answer any questions thank you any questions all right we will open the public hearing and this is for 98 and 99 we do not have any members of the public to testify so we will close the public hearing and I'll turn to councilwoman Ansari thank you so much mayor um I just uh very excited about this project as well I wanted to thank Josh the applicant the Levine Village planning committee members community members and my office have been working on this project for many many months now um and we are excited that this will bring a 66-acre mixed uses mixed use development that is fit for and strengthens the vision that residents have wanted for the Levine Village Corps and the 202 Tech Corridor we're bringing housing sit-down restaurants employment opportunities an Eevee demonstration project a 10 000 square foot open space area with a splash pad and more and I look forward to continuing to work with the applicant to deliver on those elements so with that motion to approve per the Planning Commission recommendation and adopt the related resolution or number 98. second we have a motion in a second councilmember Garcia thank you mayor I just want to give vice mayor Ansari credit for all the work I've been following the the project and thankful for the developers and the community who are able to get together and make this work and I'm looking forward to seeing this kind of collaboration as we continue to work through what's happening in Levine so I'm in support of the item thank you any additional comments roll call to see you Garcia yes guardado yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark Waring yes I'm sorry yes Gallego yes passes 9-0 Item 99 vice mayor and sorry thank you motion to approve per the February 27 2023 Memo from the planning and development director and adopt the related ordinance second second the motion a second any comments roll call decisio yes Garcia yes guardado yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Stark yes Waring yes I'm sorry yes there you go yes passes 9-0 we next go to item 100 the source of income ordinance we have a large number of members of the public to speak on this item I think it is the right step but I want to apologize for folks who just saw the language for the first time yesterday who've been coming here for several months in some cases and we just got the language available yesterday that would not have been my preference especially since many people have given us many hours of their time councilman decesa was the first to bring this forward so I'll turn to him thank you mayor I'm going to make a motion I moved to pre-ordinates G so I apologize the clerk remind me we need to read the title there you go mayor members of the council item 100 is for ordinance g7086 an ordinance amending chapter 18 of the Phoenix city code relating to fair housing councilman decisio your honorable was waiting for the lead um and thank you for that mayor and I'll make comments um after we've gone through some of the motions and stuff but uh I moved to approve ordinance g7086 to amend chapter 18 of the Phoenix city code to prohibit housing discrimination based on a renter's source of income and that the City of Phoenix delays enforcement until such time as the Attorney General completes its reconsideration of the 1487 report 22002 and all related matters questions or disputes come to a final resolution at which time the ordinance will come back to the city council if necessary that means if the attorney general has approved it and we're good the way we go we go forward that way if not that we have to come back and make the changes here additionally uh and that we remove or buyer of housing in the definition of source of income and it's critical on this part here the uh the Phoenix board of realtors which is the largest organization out there when it comes to the real estate industry will be supportive of this and I don't think this has happened anywhere in the state now where the real estate agents have come out in full support with this small modification thank you mayor second we have a motion and a second counts uh Council what was that councilman and sorry I'm sorry vice mayor I'm sorry thank you councilman pastor it's all right is councilmember Garcia I I heard you calling him first okay councilmember Garcia it's okay yeah so um I guess I'll go for it um I moved to approved ordinance g7086 also as a substitute motion uh mood to approve ordinance g7086 to amend chapter 18 of the Phoenix city code to prohibit housing discrimination based on renters or buyers source of income and that the City of Phoenix delays enforcement so such time as the AZ attorney general completes its recommendation of the 1487 report 22002 and all related matters questions or disputes come to a final resolution at which time the ordinance will come back to city council the shift here or the difference between the previous motion and this motion is that it would add buyers I think staff has worked hard on this and it had been available for the last week and so I hope we can take stats recommendation and uh push for the secondary motion thank you second we have a motion from council member Garcia and I think I heard councilwoman guardato first and so the difference between the two motions is whether or not applies to buyers all right anything from staff before we go to public comment all right well I'd recognize councilwoman pastor this is for our attorney regarding the second motion and uh placing the language you see or buyer's source of income what is your opinion on keeping buyers source of income mayor and council member Pastor so you can keep the buyers a source of income the ordinance itself will still apply to the sale and Rental but if you keep the buyer source of income my understanding was a concern on whether that would apply to like uh different kinds of federal housing loans so federal law would still supersede the city code and this would not affect those types of loans thank you councilman O'Brien along those that line of the different delineation between renter and buyer the the sources of incomes the way the ordinance was originally in our book is that it would apply to both and while I realize federal law would supersede would it prevent somebody from filing a lawsuit against a real estate agent realtor or a lender mayor and council member so no our city code would not prevent a lawsuit so obviously this city code applies to uh allegations of discrimination that would come through our EOD department and then be handled like this this is so this would not prevent anyone from filing any kind of lawsuit okay so even in the event that those um those types of income may not qualify for getting a mortgage or paying a mortgage it would not prevent somebody from filing a lawsuit against somebody that believes this law applies to them mayor and Council so certainly if somebody questions the intent of this code provision or or questions how this would apply then you know we would certainly have to deal with that question okay thank you all right thank you and I want to thank my colleagues a super majority of the council put forward a letter supporting source of income protections we will begin with in-person comments and we'll begin with Linda Simmons followed by magalie Martinez sayings my name is Linda Simmons and I live at Desert Meadows apartment that is owned by the City of Phoenix it's affordable housing been there like 25 years and we're now having a really big issue with the property management dunlapa McGee not keeping us safe we've had Three Fires there the affordability is no longer available they're renting it as Market rent if you can afford Market rent they're giving two bedrooms up to a single person which we had received letters from the city saying they wouldn't do you know they needed to keep it for families but it's no longer that way we're we have the police there every day for instance today's rent day there's absolutely no Management in their property to collect our rent today we never know if there's going to be a manager there or when they're going to be there you know it's become very unsafe the police are there regularly um we're they're the city is putting in people with disabilities of different types which is fine except they're case managed and they're not being represent you know when there's an issue management won't do anything about it could you connect us to our agenda item do you think we should vote Yes on source of income because of that I'm sorry I'm yes it did I'm sorry I'm nervous that the affordability has become an issue like we have people that including myself my husband's benro Leo and so now you know the income is Raising so much higher they don't take those things in consideration anymore I guess that's what I should say and we'd like to you know we have people that residents that could work but now become disabled and when we do our recertification they don't take that in consideration they say you will never go down but if it's affordable housing based on your income they should go by your income so please vote Yes I'm sorry thank you I really appreciate your testimony thank you we know it's very hard to testify before the council and these are very hard and personal issues that affect everyone's daily life we have an item for public comment on any topic and we would welcome testimony on that but for this particular item it's important to connect housing stories to why this particular tool is helpful and then we'd welcome broad discussion of Housing and on the call to the public which will follow this item after our current Speaker we will go to Michelle Ashton hello um good afternoon council members my name is magaly Martinez science everyone here agrees this ordinance is necessary to prevent housing discrimination that is what we all want out of today the Phoenix realtor is concerned and attempt to the latest important vote is based on an objection that is specific to home buyers this concern is a last minute technicality to delay the vote and we believe they're wrong we trust that this is an issue that County attorney can address after the ordinance has passed we look to City Council Members supporting this ordinance to do the right thing and vote on this issue today every day this vote is delayed is another day of Eligibility loss for voucher holders increasing the possibility of having to live unhoused our communities cannot wait [Applause] Michelle is next followed by Elizabeth Valenzuela my name is Michelle Ashton and I work with older adults who are looking for housing um we need you to vote Yes on this ordinance it's far long overdue there is no options left available for the clients that I work with and many many many other residents here in Phoenix area um how are you and you cannot the the raise of the rent is too high they can't afford it on lower income set incomes with Social Security how is somebody supposed to afford two and a half times the rent on a social security income it's impossible it's just frankly impossible there's many many instances of actions that are discrimination and disguise and many of these individuals are left losing their vouchers left homeless it is extremely difficult on those that are older adults to be homeless but it's extremely difficult for anyone to be homeless and I don't know if you guys can try and place yourselves in their shoes I try to all the time um and it's it's scary um you know it's not asking much and it shouldn't be an issue for this for any of these landlords for this to pass if they're operating well within moral values but even I won't say with the law but in just what is right for individuals just trying to find shelter [Applause] artist is next followed by Kevin good afternoon Marion Council my name is Elizabeth Peninsula I'm the Civic engagement organizer with me Familia here in Phoenix we're a non-partisan national Civic engagement organization that unites Latino immigrant and Allied communities to promote social and economic Justice we are here today to support ordinance G Dash 7086 as it stands this housing ordinance would effectively put in into income discrimination and would rightly stop landlords from turning away thousands of residents who receive housing assistance or other types of government Aid in 2022 mi familia in partnership with unidos U.S conducted a survey with latino voters within this study the top five issues that constituents believe that should be addressed by elected officials were inflation the rising cost of living alongside the lack of affordable housing and high rents which should be which are highly intersectional within themselves having our Computing members continuously vote Voice that Arizona is becoming largely inaccessible as the cost of living increases should be a key indicator of what needs to be prioritized by you all the City of Phoenix has the biggest Housing Voucher Program in Arizona yet over 16 000 residents are currently on a three to five year wait wait list to obtain a voucher and once they get the voucher they are presented with both time constraints and discrimination from landlords for thousands of arizonian Working Families the voucher program ends up being a long wait with long-term ramifications as many individuals who cannot obtain housing face housing and security as a result voucher programs are designed to eliminate concentrations of poverty to provide low-income households with greater access to Economic Security and Justice yet the intended purpose has been proven unsuccessful as landlords continues to burden those who just want accessible housing Phoenix City Council has the ability to make an impact in the community by streamlining an already difficult process by eliminating its biggest barrier income discrimination perpetuated by landlords voters have repeatedly decided that they want and need housing and tenant protections addressed that is why constituents elect officials who will support policies that will help them and their families and not create more obstacles this is why Mi Familia urges the city council support ordinance g-7086 thank you Kevin is next followed by Carmen hello uh my name is Kevin Kansas I work here in the valley as a therapist at a clinic that treats autism um and what I've learned working in this field is that with the right resources and support any person can live a valuable life and can live a life that's enjoyable and be a productive member of society um and yet you know when a lot of these individuals grow up um they lose the support that they grew up with and a lot of them end up on the streets you know and they are dependent on these voucher programs and they are dependent on the city to make sure or to ensure that they have housing um and you know like thank you um you know the system fails a lot of people just down the street in the zone there's thousands of people who are living in tents and who don't have housing and fixing that problem you know is going to take a lot of work and it's going to be very hard but something that the city council can do today is pass this ordinance and make sure and prevent people from prevent more people from ending up in the zone and uh ensure that more people can secure housing for themselves so please pass this ordinance thank you Carmen is next followed by Audrey Carmen Terrell or Terrell okay okay so good afternoon to Mayor and city council members my name is Carmen Terrell and I had a speech prepared today but it was off-centered so I'm just going to do this on my own but this ordinance needs to be passed because like everyone else is agreeing with that um it would just help people that don't make so-called fair amount Market value uh incomes but also too I just see it as if you know everyone has life issues come up and no one knows ever um what may happen to him in the future because one day some can afford something then another day they can and I remember the last time was I was up here to speak I was talking about sad Shane and I put it on all different kind of angles on it because it can happen to anybody in the sound of my voice and also I just think too that um the dialogue also needs to be changed from affordable housing to low-income housing because what's affordable for someone else may not be affordable to me because if you can't make rent then how can you do anything else if you can't make rent if you're not on the street and too many people are criminalized for this stuff and that's very traumatizing and I just get so tired of these issues coming up so please just support this ordinance unless that the corporate crap and just do it thank you [Applause] Audrey is next followed by Jesse good afternoon everyone my name is Audrey Andrews and I love the country that my dad loved and the flag that he served in the military probably World War one and two I don't know he was so old and my three of my five Sons also served and uh three of them are on disability from the military but they also work and then uh one of my other sons has disability um and so he gets money but so far everyone's doing well but when they go to when my one son goes to look for housing again because they have their families that they support as well um and they rent still well three of them still rent and um it just takes everything that they have to be able to find a nice place somewhere and and they're veterans and they should be able to not have their money turned away or their income turned away which is from work and disability so so far so good but um Arizona is one of the youngest states in the nation uh but it also I understand has the highest rank of rents going up and I know my family coming here years ago we lived here for a year and it was just people moved here because of the affordability of the of this state and so but now it's like almost hired in California's rents as they go the increase and so I just ask that you are past the law so that people can be able to afford housing I have a friend that's a senior citizen place she has four homes she told me yesterday she said she has four homes when people rent there there it never goes up and when they leave there they paying the same rent as when they started and bless her heart so I'm just asking you to think of people that have served our country that are trying to make it and that want to buy homes although you know the kids didn't listen they should have bought homes years ago but uh oh well but so and they have mates and they're making it but um thank you [Applause] Jesse is next followed by Catherine do we have Jesse Aranda here we do not okay Catherine is next followed by yavanda foreign my name is Catherine Wilkins I come to you today because I am a disabled senior citizen still alive but I tell you this because I really want you to say yes to this because it means so much I was almost homeless and I mean homeless if it wasn't for my daughter that's her standing behind me right now if I didn't have her but many people don't have people that they can depend on they have no one and when they tell you about these assistant programs I don't know if any of you have ever been on the phone and called them if if it's terrible you do not get any help there's no money at the first the middle the end in between the month they never have any money to help out at all and when you go to these apartments like I was living in all of a sudden they're like well how are you going to make your rent how you know they look at my income and they're like well we want you to pay three times more be able to make three times more than what you're making now and I'd say to them if I was doing that I wouldn't be here with you you know but they don't realize that this is so important to people that they're not homeless because I took a ride down on Madison and I saw all the homeless people and I have friends down there now and that could be me that could be somebody in your family I mean I hope not but somebody that you know Mike could do that so I asked you please please pass this thank you [Applause] jovanda is next followed by Regina good afternoon Madam mayor Gallegos and council members thank you for hosting us today as you can tell we're just regular people Law buying citizens who want to be able to be independent want to be able to take care of ourselves and be able to do it pridefully as one of my sisters just mentioned every day this vote is delayed is another day of eligible lost voucher holders one day closer to the possibility of having um unhoused people our community cannot wait we voted for our elected officials to lead you all not to wait for leadership of others okay we voted for you all to make these decisions on our behalf okay we trust you even those who didn't and weren't vocal in support in this ordinance we believe that you are here for us and you're here for the people okay we can take action we can take action today without Tucson and we should okay the overwhelming majority of the council members including Madame mayor Gallegos have signed the letter supporting the fair housing ordinance now it's time for you all to codify them into the law for our city and I'm relying on you all to do that not for just me but for my mother because my mother was in law enforcement she was a case manager for value options she worked as a correctional officer at Adobe Mountain she's put in her time and for my mom to have to come to me and tell me that she can no longer afford to live on her own and she reaches out to me to help her it becomes a pride issue I'm privileged and it's an honor for me to be able to help my mother but not at the risk of her Pride being tugged because she was a single parent and she worked two or three jobs and now she's having to rely on me so I ask you as being a part of the Wilkins family please pass this ordinance thank you Regina is next followed by Shayla good afternoon Madam mayor city councilman and women uh I'm a 71 year old woman I'm a beautiful 71 year old woman I'm blessed I have been I've seen and experienced housing difficulties even when I was on the housing voucher in the city of Phoenix I had to fight to find a house for myself and my granddaughter in 2021 October of 2021 I felt that I was going to be in a position where I needed somewhere to live and in order to find somewhere to live I was told that I would have to go to 12th Avenue and Madison just to get in emergency housing voucher I can't do that older people like me can not cannot do that you all have to help us do what is right to help us we need you we voted for you please help us don't put us in a position you would not want your parents or grandparents to be in please help us thank you Shayla is next followed by Martha um hi everyone my name is Shayla I'm a healthcare worker I work at a level one trauma center and so I see the most critical patients and I see also regular patients that come in and as as well and I can say that a lot of homeless people come in just for shelter and that's a big problem and I don't mind but I'm here to save lives and it just breaks my heart when homeless people come in and they should be able to have a safe place where they feel comfortable where there's heat because it's cold outside I'm sure you wouldn't want to be outside right now sleeping it's it's miserable and so oftentimes they check themselves in night after night day after day because they don't have anywhere to go and that's heartbreaking like plenty of other people said this can be you one day and I'm just asking that you just passed the bill so that when I go to work I don't have to see that I'm there to save lives you know what I mean and so that being said I just ask that you just say yes because one day this could be you I know that you guys are in positions like this but one day this could be you checking into the hospital because you have nowhere else to go it's you should check into the hospital because you're you're ill and you need medical assistance and that's just all I have to say thank you [Applause] Martha is next followed by Sharon [Applause] Buenas good afternoon my name is port forward gracias yeah we we can start over oh okay gracias perdon Tardes good afternoon mayor and members of the council my name is in Phoenix my name is I've been living in Phoenix for 24 years is still live with me and I'm independent I work pandemia oh the things were Calm before the pandemic we were going along but things changed after the pandemic um [Music] rent has been extremely high it keeps going high and we've noticed how in our neighborhood a lot of people have been asked to vacate their Apartments control this place because the rent is out of control muchos foreign many had to move far away far away from their families some of them had to move to another state because they could not heat up keep up with these Rising rents is this has happened because the property owners of apartments and homes are telling them we're just going to remodel but they end up raising the rents or selling the homes biendas it's a form of discrimination a covered up discrimination because they say they're just going to remodel the homes and then they're going to come back but in turn they end up selling the homes for a higher price mismo foreign so the apartments where we live my neighbors and I take care of the maintenance are of the apartments ourselves because we're afraid let me give you an example our my water heater broke I told the owner to come and check it and he got angry he checked it and he said well as of now I'm going to raise your rent a hundred dollars [Music] I was trying to make it clear to me that rents were a lot higher everywhere else than where I'm living now and what he's charging me in Phoenix this type of abuse happens frequently Allah in Phoenix because there is not laws to protect the renters and even if there are we're unaware of them uh have don't have access to it Sega gracias gracias good Sharon is next followed by militia hello everyone my name is Elizabeth Yazzie and I'm a native Navajo from Navajo tribe and I'm very happy that I'm here that I came to a place where I had hope I'm alone because my husband passed in 2019. and he's the only one that took care of me but I'm alone now and I'm just so sad and suffer a lot and thinking sometimes I don't know what I'm doing or what to do where to go because he's the one that took care of me I have children but they're all grown up and they're all on their own in different state and I'm here alone in Phoenix and and it's very very hard very hard and I just came to a place where the rent is a lot cheaper than wherever I went I look for a one bedroom even an apartment but they're way over and I even went to access to get help they only let me get what twenty dollars a month what's twenty dollars a month I laugh about it and the guy that was helping me says what's so funny I said twenty dollars a month maybe you picked up two or three or four items in the store that's twenty dollars right there everything is expensive how do you expect me to to go uh live on this I tell them and I I I on Social Security and on disability and everything is just so hard and I'm I'm listening to the people and I didn't know who to turn to I don't know what to do and everything but I have a friend that said that we should come here I didn't even notice what's going on until I walked in and I I'm glad I did because I wanted to let it you know that there are people out there that really need help I feel for all the homeless and and I'm one of them and that's I just hope that there's Abel that you could help me somehow someway because as low income and no place to go or anything like that it it's really hard if you've never been there you have to just think there are people that aren't ever hurt and fly but I'm glad I'm alive I'm here and there's your people and this building and all that that you could help us think about it I appreciate your time thank you [Applause] thank you Sharon and we're sorry for your loss and we do have non-profit Partners who can help with housing and counseling resources Melissa is next followed by Xenia hi actually I'm Sharon I think there was a little interest sorry um that's okay Sharon is next followed by Melissa thank you for your time for us to be able to come here and speak I am here to represent many others that are in my situation I am disabled from a stroke from Two Strokes I have been on the waiting list for since 20 for 20 years there are many of us who fall through the system and we don't get housing assistance we become homeless I was a single mom for 20 years but now they're raised so now I don't have the kind of housing assistance that I had when I had children so now I find myself on SSI limited income that is not enough to even survive so you have to to either team up with somebody else or a group of other people you have to be creative or you're going to be on the streets there's a lot who can't be creative and they are on the streets I have found myself in the position now at 60 as being a gypsy I volunteer my services as a caregiver I can't receive income because I'm not allowed to make anything more than eighty dollars a month or I get deducted a dollar for dollar my total SSI income is only 890 dollars there's nowhere I can go no place when I had children I had opportunities but now I'm on my own the caregiving that I do now I with couch surfing one of the places that I work at volunteer Act is a care facility they just raised the rent there 350 dollars a lot of the elderly people there are on limited income and they're having to move out the person that I help volunteer for in order to be I can only be there as a caregiver for three days a week so there's me a guaranteed Place three nights a week and and days but in order to help him keep his place I'm contributing in order to contribute I'm door dashing and I work at the farmer's market I do things whatever I can wherever I can passing this ordinance will help us to be able those of us who can't come up with two times the rent or even the amount of rent that's being offered this ordinance will bring the housing down to those of us who have a set income and we can pay what percentage towards our housing and still be able to pay towards our cost of living thank you so much for that important testimony Melissa is next followed by Xenia good afternoon everyone my name is Melissa Herrera and I am the community engagement coordinator for the Forte Arts Movement and the first generation generation arizonan we are here today with the rent is to high campaign to stand in solidarity with unemployed Workers United Arizona and its communities have been facing a housing crisis for many years and it is time to find real solutions my family came here to give me and my sister a more sustainable life however as a child I experienced countless times the struggles of being in a low-income household and the limitations and obstacles that this added to my daily life witnessing my father working more than 50 hours a week to barely cover rent and other basic expenses the struggles that plagued my family then are my struggles now we live in a society where it is hard to afford rent even when you are already working a full-time job I am able to get by paying for my one bedroom apartment here in Phoenix and have just enough left over for groceries and other basic needs we know there is a problem when I'm considered one of the lucky ones when was living paycheck to paycheck ever considered being lucky this another adequate living situations continue to be the reality for many families in Arizona the rent is too high we have heard our community's stories and we all need Solutions rent control measures the end of source of income discrimination rental assistance and other tenant protections at the local state and federal levels today we urge our city council members to be with the people of Phoenix vote Yes to be able to provide immediate relief to hundreds of families that are struggling but yes to be able to provide these families with a better future vote Yes so that this can pave the wave for housing Justice vote Yes because rent is too high thank you Xenia is next followed by Carla okay uh Carla is next followed by Matthew hello and good afternoon mayor and Council my name is Carla naranjo and I'm the Phoenix campaign coordinator for unemployed Workers United we are here today in community to urge you to please vote Yes on item 100 to stop and prohibit income Source housing discrimination thank you to councilwoman Garcia councilwoman guardado and councilman Pastor for putting this memo on the agenda and putting this policy to a vote we've also publicly released a letter of support to show the Coalition of community-based organizations supporting this ordinance and we thank the over the nine organizations who have signed on with us I will be reading testimony on behalf of one of our worker committee members Linda Coleman who's unable to join us in person because she is an elder and facing health issues right now however she allowed me to share her story on your on her behalf today hi my name is Linda Coleman and I'm a resident of Phoenix I currently live at Matthew Hampton senior apartments which is owned by the City of Phoenix I've worked hard to retire and currently live off my social security benefits so it's crucial I can find adequate housing I was told my rent would decrease but the opposite has come true right now I get about 1300 in Social Security benefits but my rent is already 900. on top of paying rent I still have to pay for car insurance food and other basic necessities since the pandemic I've been on the brink of homelessness I used to rely on some covet Assistance programs to help with rental and utility assistance but those programs has now disappeared I am now receiving pressure from Property Management to either vacate or face a lawsuit for overdue fees I cannot afford if I cannot stay in my home I have nowhere else to go there are currently over 6 000 pending applications for senior housing in the city of Phoenix where would a 67 year old homeless woman go shelters are full and only provide temporary housing my only option would be public parks and benches I have a few friends of mine already on the street and I'm fighting to make sure this doesn't continue happening in our community we need to provide more tenant protections for our most vulnerable to increase our access to housing and we need to vote Yes to stop source of income discrimination thank you Matthew is next followed by Dominic all right Dominic is next followed by Bailey hello mayor hello Council my name is Dominic Medina I am a community organizer and artist living in Phoenix Arizona my family has been in Phoenix for at least four generations and in St John's for four generations before that so you know we have a huge family here in Arizona over my life I have seen different family members take advantage of Section 8 to make ends meet and the one thing that they always said when they were on the program is they couldn't wait to get out of the program they were working really hard to get out of the program I couldn't imagine them living here now on those programs when people are simply making it impossible for the program to be successful these programs are really hard to qualify for and it doesn't make any sense for us to allow people to intentionally discriminate against folks who are in these programs I would like to see the council vote Yes on this privilege thank you thank you Bailey is next followed by Zakia foreign and council members my name is Bailey Maddox and I'm here along with everyone else to tell you you must vote Yes on this ordinance I'm fortunate enough to have yet to experience the kind of discrimination we're fighting against swipe will share the experience of a friend who could not be here today she's an indigenous single mother of two kids and when I met her she was working three jobs at first she thought it was funny that I was so shocked to hear that like it should be obvious by the time she finished telling me everything that put her in that situation she was crying monthly rent for the last place she was living in was at over two thousand dollars she was splitting the cost with a roommate but then he lost his job with what little money they made the two of them had just enough to pay rent and put gas in her car leaving her with next to nothing to feed and clothe herself and her kids with and certainly nothing to pay for the rest of life's demands rental assistance was out of the question because the place she was living in would turn her away if she was on it she worked as much as she could to keep up with rent when she applied for any support like access and food stamps she was told she made too much she made too much money to eat too much to see a doctor but only just barely enough to pay rent all because her landlord could throw her out for relying on rental assistance at this point she was crying she worked so much she rarely saw her kids her roommate left she lost her apartment and she started Living out of her car she lost her higher paying job and the job we worked together cut her hours the last time we talked she was still back and forth between an apartment she couldn't afford in her car and she was seeing her kids the two people in the world keeping her going once or twice a month unfortunately her story is not unique it's a story of how the powers that be allowed landlords and developers to make their citizens homeless but everyone here is telling you you can impact How The Story Goes by voting yes on this ordinance [Applause] thank you Zakia is next followed by Sebastian [Applause] good afternoon my name is Zakia Johnson and it is so nice to meet you all um and see all the people who care about our city um y'all play a key role in this to enact the change we all desperately and obviously want to see happen I'm a movement artist activist and Baha'i I've been involved with organizing middle schoolers for eight years now I started when I was 17. I'm here to share the impact that this housing ordinance has on sustainable Community Building efforts that the World At Large is participating in but also Phoenix Phoenix has many groups of middle schoolers in neighborhoods across Phoenix Consulting on a regular basis reading the reality of their community and contributing to its betterment these groups are special because these young people are capable of understanding the nature of a process and systematic action in the context of their communities it takes time to develop bonds with the people you are working alongside how are we supposed to teach the younger generation process when they are constantly having to start over profound change happens over a span of three to five years that these youngsters are in the program as you can imagine we develop capacity to read our reality at greater and greater Heights projects complexify and real change occurs as these middle schoolers so 12 to 15 year olds become catalysts of the neighborhoods that they reside in in Phoenix Broadway and 48th there's one of these processes underway that I'm a part of and the negative social forces are becoming more and more obvious the most dedicated community members dramatically decreased in size due to a fictions evictions displacing community and when people are displaced and can't find housing as someone with government assistance if they can't find housing around the neighborhood they reside in that eviction tears communities apart and so everyone has a part to play including all of all of you guys um these pockets of intense community building activity radiate positive sustainable change we're United in our aspirations and unified in our methods this ordinance will give us a chance to not continually traumatize this community building process over and over again okay so please pass this ordinance no one should be denied a home for receiving government assistance we are trying to build up a new future not tear it apart Sebastian is next followed by Brianna [Applause] hi good afternoon um mayor Gallego and City Council Members um thank you for addressing this agenda item today I'm here in favor to support Banning source of income discrimination in the city of Phoenix I just want to address uh Linda came up first um and she was speaking on the conditions that she faces in her apartment complex managed by Dunlap and McGee who is a terrible company right um and she was talking about that because she is right now and many of our seniors forced to stay in apartments that don't recognize maintenance issues don't recognize their personal financial situations and very commonly throw them out demand more fees demand this and that and they are stuck in these apartments they can't go and just easily find a place like many of us can because they are on a fixed income and that's how Linda's story ties into the source of income discrimination that we're facing so I just wanted to clear that [Applause] um and also I want to address the point that the Realtors are really um you know coincidentally this very day today um asking you all to address but even the Realtors agree this ordinance is needed to prevent discriminations against renters that's in their letter um the only reason they give this letter is to delay this important vote to a technical problem um how the ordinance can you know apply to a loan or blah blah when all of your lawyers reviewed this language so did they in Tucson so did they in over 20 other states and many more cities that have passed this ordinance so I just want to call BS on that like point you know and let's get back to the real issue people can't find housing and we need to pass this I am really happy to be working with you today to pass protections for renters and yeah I hope you vote Yes on this thank you so much Rihanna is next followed by Dana Burns first of all I would like to acknowledge how expedited the city has been on this ordinance we came to you a month ago and we're here today hopefully with a vote to make this pass [Applause] what we heard today was many stories from community members and the reality is Banning income discrimination and housing is not just about protecting those that rely on our voucher programs it's about upholding the fundamental rights and allowing everybody to succeed this legislation helps those living with disabilities veterans young adults children aging out of the Foster system and many people in my community living with HIV and AIDS it gives them an opportunity to succeed stable housing is important for the success and mental well-being of all of our community members [Applause] additionally this this ordinance has long-term benefits for children living in poverty and expands their range of neighborhoods so they can increase and have stability and most importantly this legislation also plays a huge part in desegregating our neighborhoods but making quality housing stock accessible to those who need it I urge you today to vote Yes on this ordinance this is a human rights issue you each were elected to serve the people this isn't a democratic thing this isn't a republican thing this isn't an independent green party or somebody that doesn't even participate in the electoral process this is a human rights issue let us act with the urgency that this moment demands and place this ordinance on the board today in our law let's protect our people and take additional measures above this next and Beyond thank you [Applause] Dana the floor is yours hi can you hear me we can oh big mouth okay good afternoon everybody it's a wonderful Wednesday and of course you all know I am in support of this fair housing ordinance especially for my grand gyms that I serve and I'm speaking to you today on behalf a few of them um basically some are telling me that they had to renew their lease just yesterday and their rent went up by a hundred and forty dollars while some of them for twelve hundred dollar SSI amount that they received and the rent is one thousand eighty one dollars and this is in a senior citizen apartment community one stated they only have three dollars left that prepared their rent many have stated that their apartment community have gone from it face and now use the word affordable so they can do these increases whereas their incomes remain the same and they feel it's not fair talk to seniors after being on Section 8 for 10 plus years have lost their vouchers because they couldn't find the place to place today that is waiting for sale we took that away from them and these are you who are now suffering because they don't have the money or enough money to pay their rents one of them right now it's in the hospital right will be worried about work he's going to get money from my already about this lady she needs about ASAP I believe all of us have someone in our family but we know someone that's been negatively affected or distributed to the gifts when it comes to their source of being communicated to say I'm in support of but their housing company and I pray that you all vote Yes today thank you Dana is our final public speaker we'll go to a big supporter of this vice mayor thank you mayor um thank you so much to everyone who came in to comment today um I very much want to thank the unemployed Workers United and the many many groups who are here today organizing around this important issue and advocating directly to council to have this policy prioritize your advocacy has made all of the difference we need to be doing everything in our power to ensure that our residents have access to adequate housing and that they are actually able to utilize the programs that are intended to help them like Section 8 disability and others low-income Phoenicians should not have to wait three to five years on a Section 8 voucher wait list only to be turned away from using that very voucher the City of Phoenix which is in the middle of a housing affordability crisis currently has over 15 000 residents on that wait list it's a shame that members of our state legislature not only try to tie cities hands when it comes to protecting these civil rights but actively seek out ways to protect the most predatory of landlords blocking important policy like the source of income ordinance is what they waste their time on instead of actively working to increase our affordable housing stock past inclusionary zoning or allow cities to implement any form of rent control it's time for the legislature to do its job so that Phoenix can do our job to guarantee housing affordability I'm very glad that we are considering this ordinance today it's taken longer than it should have I will be supporting the secondary motion I think our city staff has worked long and hard on this we've been looking at this for many months we've had our city attorneys look at it and as it's worded um it is you know there there's already going to be a delay in implementation until we wait for the Attorney General so I feel very strongly that we should pass the ordinance as it was recommended to us today thank you we'll go to another big supporter councilwoman guardado thank you mayor well first just want to say thank you to all of our speakers today thank you for having the courage and get up on on that mic and speak and tell your vulnerable stories thank you for letting us all know everything that you guys go through every single day I can totally understand what you guys are talking about Miss Wilkins I can I see you I see you I see my mom in you and I and I definitely understand um so with that you know I just would like to say as councilwoman Pastor council member Garcia and I said in our letter to add this item to today's agenda discrimination has no place in the city of Phoenix with with today's policy against source of income discrimination in housing we are taking another important step to make this belief a reality last year's asu's Morrison Institute for Public Policy did a study on housing in Security in Maricopa County they found that the practice of informally disqualifying residents based on their source of income has been recognized as a barrier to housing security for those who need it the most and a sorting mechanism that keeps lower income households from higher opportunity neighborhoods perpetuating the cycle of insecurity the civil rights movement of the 1960s brought us the Fair Housing Act preventing discrimination in housing at the federal level I have been fighting against discrimination since my first job in a hotel where I applied to be a front desk agent and I was told that I belonged in housekeeping and I decided to take that as a challenge and work my way up and put myself in positions and in places where it makes other people uncomfortable such as I am today what we are doing today is not new we know that dozens of states and over 100 municipalities now prohibit housing discrimination on legal sources of income and that these policies have been shown to increase a household's ability to find housing in Arizona thanks to the courageous leadership of Mayor Regina Romero the City of Tucson has already passed similar protections that is exactly what we are doing today passing a concrete policy that protects the ability of residents to find and maintain housing these residents may be veterans using Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing or Vash vouchers they may be foster parents using foster care subsidies they may be seniors using Social Security or disability insurance they may be working families that have waited years to finally receive a housing Choice voucher these Phoenix residents are friends our neighbors our heroes our elders will now be protected from discrimination so they can find and maintain housing this is a victory for them and it is a victory for our city and now I would like to personally thank council member Garcia and his team for their work leading this important effort I have known council member Garcia for a very long time and I know that his work to get this historic policy past is part of his Decades of fighting against those that profit or accumulate Power by dividing and discriminating against Working Families and that's what we got elected to do we got elected to fight for all of you we got elected to bring everyone together to build a city that works for everyone not just one part of our city um thank you all once again for being here today and telling us our story your stories and today is a great day for Phoenix and I am proud to be supporting this item thank you mayor [Applause] we'll go to councilman Stark and then councilman decisio and then thank you mayor um I I will tell you um I received my first social security check I cannot imagine if that was your only source of income this ordinance is necessary we have to help people but I must also say thank you to councilman decisio I can't believe I'm complimenting you um this is this remember this moment folks but uh it's very rare yeah when I was planning director we used to talk about these kinds of issues this has been a passion of the councilman as a matter of fact I know when the legislator who decided that he didn't like what Tucson was doing this man went and said please please don't do that let's give it a try let's help out two sons so I really I thank you for that because that took courage because that was your party and I really appreciate what you went through for that and I think it's the right thing to do I made the second for your motion um so but I think I'm going to go with the second motion as well I think again our staff has worked long and hard on this I know there are federal regulations that oversee mortgages and so I think we can work through those with the federal government and with the Realtors I know it's remarkable that you got the Realtors to agree to what you wanted to do and that's another thing I am just I applaud you on that but I think I am going to say stick with the second motion mayor thank you thank you thank you councilman and thank you for all your work to improve our housing Supply councilman decisio and then we'll go to council member so I gave the Realtors my word that with the word buyer in there that I would not support it so I can't you know I gave my word I was going to keep it that way but this came up oh gosh over two years ago I started seeing what was happening nationally there were things happening in Indiana and other places and I saw it happen and I'll explain what occurred there too and what brought me to help push this thing through was that I started reading about this and I started bringing it up to the staff and Council and others I said hey look this is kind of what's happening out there it's a type of institutionalized racism which people know I don't use the race card I just do not use it unless I believe it's true uh it and I looked at it more with it came to dealing with homeowners associations where they create these deed restrictions deed restrictions are created to keep people out not to keep people in it just is what it is Carlos taught me that many about over a year ago I didn't believe it at first but then I started seeing it then I do believe it from what I saw personally myself so I live in a community that is probably more liberal and with some conservatives in there too and it's all white and they still want to keep it that way so it's not a party line thing for sure it really crosses all parties whether you're Republican or Democrat conservative or liberal people want to keep it that way and I saw this in my own community and I was shocked by it I mean just I'm extremely bothered by it I mean I live in a mixed household myself and I feel very strong about it that it's you know diversity does improve your community it just does it's you know it's an important factor in our lives you want to have as many people around you that have differing viewpoints different ideas different looks you want people to have different looks so you know I saw this I witnessed it for myself I would not have believed it had I not seen it for my own work myself okay I just wouldn't have believed it but so it's a type of institutionalized racism that I have strong concerns over the other is for the multi-housing association this city has done more for multi-housing than I think any City in the state of Arizona I don't think that there's a single case that we've turned down they receive giblets they receive variances I mean we have been very good to them and them for them to come out and say over something like this that they're willing to sue the City of Phoenix is a disgrace after all the things that were provided to them and all the help that they've received throughout the many years I I would be embarrassed if I were them to threaten to sue the City of Phoenix after what we've done for them over the years and taken the lead on and there's some stuff happening at the state legislature because what other cities have done not because of us but but what other cities have done so I would ask them to reconsider what they're looking to do to sue the city there's really no need for it it's unnecessary and it just creates a lot more animosity that's not even necessary a lot of these Class A buildings that they're building right now are so far to reach out of the common person anyways that they're likely likely not going to have a Section 8 voucher go in there it just won't happen so my my plea to the and I know you're watching to you don't embarrass yourself create you have a great partnership here there's no reason for you to do that for those of you there's just really no reason it's just completely unnecessary so I won't be supporting the actual motion because I gave my word on the word buyer and let me explain why that that's critical and don't want to take up a lot of time but the the buyers in particular have to re they're The Lending institutions and I know the the federal government trumps maybe that's not a good word but it does Trump the uh the city but it by taking the word buyer out of it reduces the confusion that you would get when you have to go get a loan lenders require seasoning that means they want to see it consistent and they require stability that means they want to make sure you're going to get that forever right for a long period at least two to three years is what they want to see and if you're just getting a Section 8 voucher or you're just originally on Social Security they cannot show that you're going to get that for that period of time Social Security they can but other types of government income they can't show you're going to get it for two to three years in a row can't do it and so that's why lenders won't use that and that's where the confusion lays and but I do believe that the federal government that lenders do you know outweigh what the city would do but it just creates confusion for a buyer to be able to go in and say wait a second the City of Phoenix has this ordinance says that you can't discriminate against it when in fact lenders can because they don't have the right type of timing in there and that they're required to get it for that period of time so congratulations for those that are passing it through it needs to happen no one should ever be dictated by where they live people should have a right to be able to have Mobility the issues that we've seen deals with housing rental housing people being able to get in and if you're not able to get into a community you're locked out and individuals should never be locked out I grew up really poor my family did everything they could to keep moving us and God bless them I cannot believe how hard they work just to make a better life for me but they were constantly figuring out where's the best place what kind of schools could my kids get into and a lot of individuals that are poor and people of color in particular are locked out of certain areas they just are because they're you know either it's an affordability issue or you've got this institutionalized type of programming in place that does not allow them in there and I think that's just sick personally I think people should have the ability freedom to be able to go into those communities that they want to move into and that's how God made us they gave us those the free will to be able to move so mayor congratulations and others to Carlos and Laura and Betty and and whoever else is here you know congratulations on getting this thing too it's time to get through thank you thank you it's certainly a credit to you for being the first to put this on the agenda it's been a neat experience with housing policy at the City of Phoenix part of the reason we spent so much of our federal dollars on housing was every single member of the council said this is a priority this is where we need to be putting resource and dollars and I hope people feel good about the ability to work together on something so essential as housing we'll go next to councilman Pastor then councilman O'Brien then council member Garcia and if councilmember Warren wants to say anything we'll go out to him after that well this has been a long journey to get here and what I want to do is appreciate those that have shown up to make this move to where it is today so great gratitude to you um I have plenty to say but before I say my words I have questions first because I want them on the record and so that the audience and the constituency knows today if once we pass this ordinance my understanding is that it goes into a 30-day wait period mayor and Council that is correct so all of our ordinance have a 30-day waiting after signature okay and then I'm hoping within those 30 days that the AG's opinion comes out because then it's it it then we can activate the ordinance am I correct so mayor and Council the way the uh the motion was made we would have to get a letter back from the attorney general and then obviously any other disputes as to that letter would have to be resolved before we would be able to move forward if the letter does not clearly address this issue then we might need to come back if there were any revisions that needed to be made to the ordinance or if we had any questions about the ordinance okay but as we go through that process we have the ordinance it's not delayed we we do what we need to do and it and we can move on the ordinance is what my understanding is with these piece of pieces of obstacles or challenges but we can still there's an ordinance on the book that then can get activated mayor members of the council not to play attorney but just to clarify that I understand and I want to make sure that everybody also under record understands what I think Julie was saying barring no additional challenges from anyone to whatever attorney general Chris Mays does we have an active ordinance on the books if she changes nothing and says our ordinance is okay then it could be enforceable after that 30-day period however we also believe that speaker Tomah it plans to possibly challenge whatever she does if that were to happen this ordinance would still sit kind of in limbo until all of those illegal issues work themselves out right so once the legal issues are worked out we have an active ordinance and then we can go unless we have to make changes to that ordinance desk okay thank you what I don't want to happen is that uh after we go through all these obstacles is that we don't have the capacity to do it or enforce it so I would like to know because I have been briefed that there's the possibility that we don't have the capacity and to enforce it and so my question to I don't know if it we have to you know it's a passage of an ordinance or we need to come back to then say we would I like to add funding for Staffing in order for this to be active and enforced mayor members of the council to that point I don't think we really know whether or not we truly have enough staff I think that's based on anecdotal information we think we probably would need staff but I would say we probably need to reserve judgment on that decision until we get into it and see what the volume of the complaints and the investigations would be that is something that if if we do need staff what I would do at the time that this ordinance comes into effect I would add temporary staff I can create temporary positions and as we evaluate the volume of need I could bring that back to council to turn those positions in any additional positions that would be needed into regular positions okay what I have to say is in order to get here it's taken two e-sessions one letter a three-person memo and then we got here it's taken a two-year conversation as uh councilman decisio and councilman Garcia uh had the conversation and brought the conversation brought the issue to us and it has taken this long as you can see how we move um but I also want to thank uh vice mayor Ansari and Aaron from her office because they were also speaking about uh Source income and uh and in the in in our e-sessions you you saw the end result that eight people signed a letter on uh what we need to do and how we need to do it in a letter very like pushing the AG to to act upon this but what really struck me the most to get to where we are today and I'm going to read the last line that was in the eight person memo so you have eight people up here saying yes this is what we want to do the last line says allowing the denial of tenants based on their source of income goes against the fundamental civil rights to fair housing what I want to change to is the human right because I heard you Brianna and it is a human right [Applause] so it will be very telling so watch the vote and see how it plays out because it's going to be very telling because at the end of the day Tucson wrote an ordinance we followed that ordinance all of a sudden today there's an issue with the ordinance and what I want to tell you at the end of the day this is the people's ordinance and not the Realtors ordinance and it is basic fundamental rights that this Council represents and should vote on so the vote will be very telling councilman O'Brien followed by councilmember Garcia thank you mayor could we have um Titus join us at the table I have a few questions for him perfect and Titus Matthews is our housing director thank you thank you Titus under the source of income definition in this ordinance there it lists a variety of things for renters and buyers um but I'd like some clarification on the City of Phoenix rental assistance can it be applied to purchase a home mayor members of the council just to make sure I understand your question are you talking specifically about the Section 8 vouchers yes the Section 8 vouchers cannot be used to purchase a home are there any City of Phoenix rental assistance dollars that can be used to help buy a home or pay a mortgage not specific to section 8. okay but do we have other rental assistance programs there's down payment assistant programs we have a down payment assistance program that is specifically for that is their clarification yes uh mayor members of the council just to clarify I believe that the emergency rental assistance program funds as well as some other Home marble funds might be able to be used to cover mortgage for individuals that fell behind as a result of covid the rental assist a rental assistance program is there some I believe that we do have stimulus funds that can be used to cover mortgage for individuals that are falling behind but Gina can clarify I may be speaking out a term but I know when we administered covid we did have some funds that were allowed to be used to cover rent payments as well or mortgage as well come our Deputy city manager mayor um councilwoman O'Brien members of the council specifically with respect to emergency rental assistance that is that's for for for rentals we do have arpa funds that we also designated for rental assistance um we do have very limited funds and we're very close to um depleting the funds that are available however there is a fund we did not put um funds specifically into mortgage assistance because the state has a very robust program that allows for assistance with people who are behind in their mortgage specifically for as far as funds that can go towards the purchase of a home we did that was mentioned that we have have a down payment assistance program that will assist people who are ready to buy a home okay but the assistance you the assistance we did have for we did have assistance for mortgages or we did not because of the state I believe under CRF we did but I I can confirm that yes CRF has expended fully I signed the letter that um vice mayor and sorry wrote along with Mike and along with my other colleagues I would respectfully request that council member Garcia accept a friendly amendment to have a source of income definition for buyer and a source of income definition for a renter so that there is clarity in assuring we know what we are expecting for home buyers and for landlords and that could be easily done by removing just a couple of words in the paragraph As it sits for a buyer and then leaving it all in for a renter sorry I think as is attorneys have checked it both Tucson and our attorneys and so I think the ordinance as is does what it's meant to do and I don't I don't think that confusion exists I understand the issues that were brought up today in the letter that's been mentioned by folks but I I think the ordinance stands as is so while six so while I do think that the current language does allow for some gray area and lack of clarity and potential lawsuits and and understand their concerns I do support this and I will vote Yes but I do want it on the record that I do think that this city council still has some work to do with the language so that because words matter and if we open up a group of people or two two types of different agencies are people who do loans and Realtors to potential lawsuits that they will have to fight because we have written vague language that concerns me however I will be supporting today's source of income ordinance thank you councilmember Garcia thank you mayor and thank you all so much for being here uh Miss Linda Miss Kimberly I know it's a long meeting it's been long for us but appreciate you all being here and sharing your stories um I won't repeat a lot of what my colleagues said I think I'm very proud to support this ordinance um to make sure that residents will not be discriminated based on the income Source it would impact about 800 voucher holders that we have as a city you know and some of the stories as as we've done this work and others have mentioned that we've been able to use some some relief funds to support folks who are unsheltered We've ran into this organically and Gina's team and Scott's team and others as they've tried to support folks whether it's at the new 28th Street and Washington shelter we're running into this issue and so it's it's prohibiting even the city from supporting folks and I'm glad Saul you brought up that conversation and and I also appreciate the fact that that it didn't fund that fear sometimes it feels like that when we're having those types of conversations but just as I remember that conversation it was speaking to institutionalizing systemic racism and it was I was trying to talk to how you know at one point we had overt segregation then we had redlining and then we had situations where HOAs essentially found loopholes um and you know associations or or you know there's a loophole like the one we're closing today that still allowed discrimination and so I'm really proud to support this today I'm thankful to my colleagues and extremely thankful for everyone who shared their story and worked so hard to get us here um the one other request I would have for staff and I understand we're going to be waiting and hopefully uh new attorney general Chris May Zack soon would be to make sure that our our staff or Communications Department will be able to relate to community and anyone that needs to hear this that the City of Phoenix will no longer tolerate discrimination when it comes to income source so thank you all so much I'll be supporting this measure councilman O'Brien I have a clarifying question your substitute motion included a delay of implementation until we heard from the attorney general and all legal action was resolved correct that's correct my substance emotion was the staff recommendation okay and then and I apologize um that I also forgot to thank councilman decisio who brought this to me shortly after I was sworn in back in April of 21 so this conversation has been going on for some time so um you know I am glad we are here today and thank you for your hard work on it just to um Carlos were you going to put the words if necessary at the end of that so that they may not be necessary for this to come back if everything passes and I thought the the question from councilwoman O'Brien directly to Jeff answered that so I didn't feel like there was a need there's a need to do you feel that there's a need um for it to be brought back here if necessary or the way you explain it to councilman O'Brien made sense to me where it just got enacted but yeah I think from my perspective mayor members of council if if all goes let's just say um the Attorney General reverses the decision and blesses our ordinance as you guys adopted today I don't think we need to come back I think if she does something in in her decision or in her recommendation that prompts us to require changes to the ordinance that you guys are considering today we would have to come back so I don't know that I necessarily need the language if necessary thank you thank you thank you to everyone who's worked on this including people who shared difficult personal stories about the complexities and the need to find great affordable housing we really appreciate your work on this several people brought up questions related to the supply of Housing and I think it's important for people to know there's several complementary things the city is doing that will help address that area several people talked about landlords not wanting vouchers a unique thing that director Matthew has been doing is something called project basing vouchers where we take particularly Section 8 vouchers and provide them to someone who wants Section 8 tenants who can then go out and build new Supply we're seeing it being difficult to finance affordable housing and that support from the city gives them an additional tool to make those projects work so that we can expand the supply those are people who are often very much driven by a social impact Mission they want to address the housing Supply challenges and so that's a financing tool that says we're working with people who want to take Section 8 vouchers and we've had Partners who've done really wonderful things including providing Head Start Right on site so parents can basically roll out of bed and get their kids to a great program that will invest in their future we have Partners who put counseling substance abuse support right on site so they're really trying to create communities that help people thrive in Phoenix and that has been wonderful now the city has several programs to help people with both rent and mortgage I want to recognize the Industrial Development Authority for Phoenix that has down payment assistance we're also working with our legislators on several tools at the state level my office is working with representative Quinones on a bill to provide homeowners who are buying their first home with down payment assistance and we really appreciate the state working with us the Arizona League of cities is supporting 10 different policies to try to address these housing issues so this is one step that we're going to take today but it comes with a big picture where we are looking at Workforce Supply demand and services and really trying to make a comprehensive plan in this area the city has taken great partnership with the federal government they have provided us with American Rescue plan dollars and we've used those in a variety of ways to increase Supply I want to recognize my colleagues we've had several unanimous votes on new tools that many cities don't offer at all so we are really looking at everything from Housing Trust to project-based vouchers to the vote we will take today on source of income discrimination it's an all hands on deck approach we were recently recognized nationally for some of the work we're doing on container housing we know that it's taken too long to get housing built and now we have robots in Phoenix that are turning shipping containers into gorgeous projects that some NFL commentators said they would want to live in if they could while they were traveling for NFL events so really high quality projects and again getting national attention for just trying a wide variety of important tools to get people that all-important rule roof over their heads so with that I think we are ready for a roll call on council member Garcia's motion Garcia yes yes O'Brien yes pastor see yes Stark yes wearing yes I'm sorry yes there you go yes passes eight one [Applause] [Applause] thank you that concludes the formal agendized portion of our meeting and now we go to resident and citizen comments we'll do a moment for people who are here for item 100 who would like to depart to have the opportunity to do so and then I'll turn to our City attorney to explain the Granite Grand Finale portion of the meeting mayor can I just say one thing to the the woman that's 70 I'm two years behind you I hope I look as good as you do when I'm 70. you're only 68. chip him for me but as much money so the question is all right I'll turn to our City attorney to explain citizen comment thank you mayor during citizen comment members of the public May address the city council for up to three minutes on issues of Interest or concern to them Arizona open meeting law permits the city council to listen to the comments but prohibits council members from discussing or acting on the matters presented the citizen comment session is limited to 30 minutes thank you we'll begin with Beatrice followed by Sheila um foreign good afternoon my name is Beatrice Johnson I am the sister of Dorothy Dale Chambers who was killed April 22nd near Perry Park I'm just going to read this April 26 22. at 804 PM Dorothy Dale Chambers and her companion Joseph Gutierrez were struck and killed by Nebraska Pekovic in Phoenix Arizona the initial responding officer to the scene gave Pekovic a sobriety test at 8 30 pm Pekovic fell several steps in the sobriety test peck of it claimed he did not drink any alcohol that night but he blew a alcohol of 0.031 when asked why he had alcohol in his system Pekovic said he had taken two doses of DayQuil earlier that day the responding police officer wrote that Pekovic showed signs of impairment twice in the police report despite these alarming facts Pekovic was not given a blood test or arrested he was allowed to go home and the body of my sister Dorothy Dale Chambers lay in the morgue for eight days our family was never notified it is unknown if the family of Joseph Gutierrez has ever been notified Phoenix police detective Taryn Campbell never contacted the family of Dorothy Dale Chambers to inform them that their loved one was dead the Phoenix Police Department has multiple databases for finding family members many of Dorothy family are local to Phoenix her Arizona ID listed the address of her niece orber who checked on her weekly but no effort was made for Dorothy her family learned of her death during one of their weekly Wellness checks at Perry Park when her niece could not find her a member of the park unsheltered community informed aura that her Aunt Dorothy had been killed a week before how is it that Phoenix Police Department failed to contact the victim's family how was it that Pekovic was not arrested for killing two individuals unsheltered homeless human beings the Black Box database Pekovic said that Pekovic was going 658 to 60 miles five seconds before impact a witness stated Pekovic was zigzagging in and out of traffic and several other Witnesses said Pekovic was speeding we can only assume that the Phoenix Police Department was negligence in this case why weren't there sufficient signs and lights to protect Crossing pedestrians like Dorothy and Joseph could this case signify the neglect of black and brown and unsheltered people in Phoenix and throughout the country these questions and many more are part of a growing cry for justice for Dorothy Dale Chambers and Joseph Gutierrez as Dorothy Dale me her sister and family continue to demand Dorothy and Joseph were not throwaways they deserve humanitarian Aid in life and dignity and death after significant pressure from the family Nebraska Pekovic was scheduled to appear here in court on for arraignment on 2 7 2023 he was a no-show and the Phoenix Police Department has been saying that they were going to arrest him and they have not arrested him yet we will keep coming back today I just got several friends but I'll be bringing more we want him arrested and we want him held accountable for killing two individuals which he should have been charged on April 22nd 26 for thank you thank you we appreciate your testimony and I will follow up with our police department and see if we can't do better councilmember Garcia um so thank you Beatrice sir once again bringing the issue in our last Public Safety and Justice subcommittee we had a conversation about potentially having the conversation around victims rights and and some of the issues in the case but agree Echo the mayor's concerns and hope that the separate part about the police that they continue to communicate with I know you spoke to the chief before but I hope you know we we can continue that communication and make sure that Justice is served for your sister and her partner so thank you again for coming thank you Sheila is next followed by I'm sorry for my pronunciation here but refill we first I want to talk about the violence that is this building space and meeting I had my bag physically searched by a cop taking items out and then had it go through a machine to scan the contents they do not even do that at the airport send it through the machine and then have it searched if necessary then my name address phone number and email address were all collected under a literal sign that says register to request to speak register is an interesting choice of words but was truly appropriate here as you are quite literally creating a registry of all sorts of personal information and a list of what their concerns are the question is what else are you planning to do with that information I've gone to MIDI many sitting Council meetings across the country and I will say this is one of the most Draconian practices that I have seen and trust that is not saying nothing to be proud of this is violent and anti-democratic request to speak request this is the People's Building this is the people's meeting but you clearly do not want the public to speak and only and engage not only for the reasons I uplifted but also for the fact that you're having this meeting at 2 30 p.m on a Wednesday when most people are at work you had a police chaplain give what was clearly a white Christian prayer during a public meeting and had people stands when he and the police here and across the country go up against the very things that he uplifted then you go into the Pledge of Allegiance how did you all not choke on the words justice for all practically when we particularly when we think about the press conference that just occurred outside regarding the police lawsuit against the police foundation and considering the covering and blundering of the investigation of Dorothy Dale Chambers and her companion Joseph Gutierrez on April 26th of 2022 they were struck and killed by an aggressive drunk driver who is speeding excessively going 58 to 60 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour Zone while zigzagging in and out of traffic he was not given a blood test or arrested despite failing a field sobriety test and having a blood alcohol content according to a breathalyzer a .031 he was allowed to go home but you know who wasn't Dale Dorothy Dale Chambers she laid in a morgue for eight days her sister who I am honored to affectionately call Auntie B is the Auntie of Oscar Grant I say that to drive home the violence that black folks consistently endure through the violent systems that never protect us but always harm us how is it that the Phoenix Police Department failed to contact the victim's family how was it that this man was not arrested for killing two people I don't care what their status was they are people Phoenix PD was negligent Point Blank period Dorothy and Joseph were not throwaways and they deserved dignity and they deserved Services after the significant pressure from the family he was scheduled to appear and a warrant was issued and yet he has still not been arrested if he were to be a black man he absolutely would have already been thrown under the jail we demand that you execute award greetings my name is refill away I'm from Oakland California and I'm with the anti-police terror project I have been outraged to learn of the multiple systemic failings here in Phoenix that led to Dorothy Dale Chambers sitting in a morgue for eight days without notice to her family about being tragically killed along with her partner Joseph Gutierrez I stand with her sister today who has yet to seek Justice for her family nearly a year later Dorothy and her partner Joseph were beloved members of community they were not disposable they are not disposable yet they have been removed from the park along with their houseless community members at Perry Park removed in a process we see all too often in California in which the city that fails to house and adequately care for its community members instead sweeps them across encampments further impacting our most vulnerable community members having removed the community at Perry Park applied some fresh paint at the crosswalk and even recently installed the long needed traffic lights at the corner where Dorothy and Joseph were killed has done more to actually erase the tragedy than truly give Justice orange or tragedy doesn't happen again housing is a human right we demand an end to the sweeps and an implementation of a radar speed sign to curb the ongoing and unregulated speeding that happens too often near Perry Park that someone could kill two people and walk away without so much as a blood test for alcohol is dangerous precedent for drunk drivers we demand a warrant for Nebraska to be executed we demand the detective Taryn Campbell that failed to do due diligence and investigation and ensure Dorothy who had ID with her would be returned to her family with big dignity be held accountable we'll be back to demand this dignity after death and justice for her family Stephen will be our final speaker beloved mayor and Phoenix City Council I'm lay brother Stephen Gerard saidlovsky a very heartfelt and vibrant crowd today I've listened this is my first time speaking at your wonderful city council I have Bible bookmarks and told somebody would bring them to you thank you I'm delighted to let all the council members and the citizens of Phoenix to know that this past week we had a wonderful March for Life at the state capitol it was very well attended it was actually my first time enjoying and visiting the March for Life in Arizona I happened to be a pro-life speaker on the new possibility of personhood I have a flyer for all of you if you want to look at it later I was able to visit your league of cities while in town and they informed me that you have 19 Charter cities in the state of Arizona so I'm delighted to be speaking to all of you because you probably all know that Phoenix itself has a city Charter with the United States Supreme Court making the decision last year to move in the new Dobbs era of law we now have new possibilities for our city charters in the United States if you care to look at another article that I have after the city council meeting Lorraine Ohio actually developed the first language for personhood in the United States that you yourselves may eventually adopt down the road if you happen to have a clinic that's uh for instance does not preserve life here I would encourage the mayor and the city council to consider to move in the New Direction a personhood and help that particular Clinic to become for instance an orphanage or an adoption agency I believe that if you want to get me involved in that negotiation process my MBA from Xavier University will also be very advantageous I'm delighted to let you know that there are a lot of organizations here that are already helping women in crisis situations to say yes to their children you should know that that's happening right here in your beautiful city of Phoenix you have many balls to juggle but I hope you will soon juggle the ball of becoming a future personhood City and I would just like to sing the song on the Bible bookmark let the beating heart let the beating heart show you there is life in the womb thank you and God bless you all we are adjourned [Music] concentration of universities creates a pipeline for talent and access to Innovative entrepreneurs through universities and spin outs of existing campus tenants you also have access to researchers and physician scientists at the surrounding Health Systems and Institutes of research excellence to inspire this