n moio Sonora uh and in 18 uh 1860 somewhere 18 late 1850s 1860s and what they did when she was born they he had property in California so he ran with a baby came to California and baptized her in the church in California so she would be an American citizen and and stated in the baptismal that she was born in California and until recently I I didn't challenge that as you know there are Mexicans in New Mexico and Mexicans in California it but they developed differently each each state developed completely differently in Arizona what's interesting is I would say in the earliest years there was no difference between a Mexican community in in Southern Arizona Phoenix Tucson and a community in Sonora Mexico the culture was identical the language and there is a difference just like in the United States if you go to the South New York they speak differently they have different cultures but in Sonora they had a distinct culture and that culture in Sonora was exactly the same and and we talk about the Border but in those early years there was no fence people crossed back and forth and if you were somewhere in edos or UI Sonora you'd cross the border and come to a Mario area in Phoenix or in Tucson and you were Mexico uh basically they all spoke Spanish they had the same Customs they had the same ideas in fact I remember one one person interviewed once told me he was from Yuma and that uh he said shame on us but when I was going to school I remember somebody from Mexico City and we actually discriminated against him because he wasn't from Sonora music was very important the Mexican community and if you look in my book there's a picture of Street dances in in Phoenix they would basically a band would come and people would dance in the streets and they would shut off the streets and and in the picture there's some elderly lady making sure that they're not too close to each other in the dance but but the band is off to the right and you can see it and uh I almost I I this is my opinion but the two things that were important to the Mexican Community is their religion and their music and it would be hard to separate either one from the Mexican Community uh in those early years music was very important it all through the history of the Mexican Community Music and religion are play a big part in who they are and not necessarily they practice being good Catholics but they were catholic and very proud of it yeah not good example of the Irish the Irish and the Mexican Community developed very similar they both were very Catholic uh uh very they were they had a certain culture that was unique to them and it tied to the cath Catholicism but the Mexicans had more of of music now what happened is as time went on uh the music developed you from the Mariachi style to then you had the uh Little Joe and and and La Familia and then the bands oh when after World War I you had Benny Goodwin in the Anglo Community but you had P bugarin chapito chavaria these were Mexican bands uh that were people who were born here in Phoenix uh again in Mexican communities and they grew up they were poor they had nothing but they love the Mexican music and when they grew up they started their own bands in fact uh the ray andr band which uh uh his Ray's sister married my cousin so I'm very familiar with the ray Andra band and he served in World War II came back married a a Mexican lady and and they started his own band and again uh uh it it's all tied to the love the Mexican Community has in the Bands uh again I'm an older guy so I'm not sure where we stand today but I can tell you historically uh music was an important part and it was different from the Anglo music um I'll give you one example and and the Mexican Community was very open in early Phoenix uh there was a lot of discrimination against black Mexicans all kind well some of the most famous black uh performers all over the United States Fat Domino uh Little Richard um uh all of these groups they couldn't perform in Phoenix because they wouldn't allow black performers and we found that the only place they come to Phoenix or perform was at Caron's ballroom and they they would come to Phoenix the black community come to listen them to them and it was at Caron's Ballroom because none of the ballrooms would allow them to perform and again Calderon was the place to be it was located in the early years that was called Henshaw later became Buckeye Road about 18th Street in Buckeye is nothing there now but that used to be Calderon and uh that was called the Golden Gate bario area again the food was primarily Sonoran food if you knew the food of Sonoran uh you knew uh Doras like you you go to Mexico City and you talk about the food that we eat and are used to here some of them will look at you and say what are you talking about even though you think well that's Mexico W how come you don't know no it was Sonoran food tamali um uh so much of the food that we eat and are used to eating came out of Sonora and that's the food that you found here and some of the early Mexican restaurants um uh Rositas is very much an original mexican restaurant is still alive today the daughter um her parents owned uh the original Ras was on Buck U believe it was Buckeye Road and about uh 20th uh approximately I I can't know exactly that but 20th Street in Buckeye was the original Rositas and it was lot of Mexicans would go this and and the other one um there was an article in the paper today on it but these were the original mexican restaurants that you could go to and uh I'll give you just an example of one of the most famous restaurants when I was just a little kid it was called laracha well I I often go to Anil ladas oh okay I I like that and and interesting enough uh uh the owners of anchel ladas are tied to the lemon hotel which my grandfather purchased uh back in the early 1900s and I talk to the one of the owners is she's about a hundred years old now and I every time I see her I like to talk to her about the the history uh but um but again um and oh I can't think of the the there was one that was um on um 16th Street originally and um south of Buckeye and um I can't think of the name of it right now but uh uh they have several restaurants and then the other one I like is Garcia's oh you like Garcia Garcia's goes way back too sure Garcia started in in um I think 30 somewhere in uh north of uh mcdal in that area and and then it became very famous was everywhere another interesting about good the food you have uh um maio and Jordans both Jordan and Mao I believe the owners were both Arabs who came uh out of Mexico or had they had Mexican wives for certain but they opened Mexican restaurants and they weren't Mexican they were Arabs and and Ma's and Jordans uh became very very famous let me let me start from World War I many Mexicans fought they're not noted but they did fight in World War I I I know several of them that volunteered and went and fought World War I they came back and there was no change basically the cuu clan in the 1920s and 30s and so on became very powerful discrimination everywhere and uh and basically this was the year of the B areas were hit their Summit people spoke only Spanish they did not relate to uh uh the community and and basically what you saw during this period there were a few power Brokers uh Mexican power Brokers like Cordova you know Val Cordova is very famous with Phoenix well his father was a Mexican power broker he used to say well if you want the Mexican vote uh you got to do things for South Phoenix but no Mexicans were running and the other one was um uh he was um owner of the Ramona drugstore uh and I can't think of his name right now but he uh uh he also was a Mexican power broker did the same thing they would go and they were leaders in the Mexican community and they say well you know you can get I'll make sure I I talk to the me Community about voting for you but Bo you got to do something we need new streets in South Phoenix we need this and that but that's the extent of the politics uh prior to World War II then World War II occurred and you had a large Mexican uh influence in World War II lot of Mex my father was joined became a member of World War II but when the soldiers came back from World War II they weren't going to put up with what had happened and and you saw major changes occurring uh everywhere all of a sudden the Mexicans coming back from World War II many of them now were bilingual where before many of them uh even though they were born in the United States spoke poor English or all Spanish but now you had a a growing political movement in the Phoenix area especially World War II was when the change occurred then after World War II you saw the beginning of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce which today is called the Hispanic chamber of commerce you saw the beginning of post 41 the soldiers came back uh they weren't going to put up with this and pipas Fuentes Rey Martinez started post 41 and they went out with a Vengeance to stop the Discrimination that was occurring and uh they used they knew about politics they used the influence of their organization uh to make changes that were out there and that's also uh when you saw Mexicans after World War II becoming politically uh uh Savvy the first elected um interesting enough uh there were Mexicans running in 1800 and something but in that interim period no Mexican ran for any political party because of what had occurred then after World War II uh you had Mexicans running for political positions Joe Edie Lopez started chicos for laaa and and U Ronnie Lopez also Joe Eddie and Ronnie Lopez start Chic foraa you also had um the the um uh they ran for not only uh alfredo with gas ran for the uh Congress as legate legislature the first Hispanic to win a congressional seat was head pastor but before him um you had uh relles Roberto relles ran lost Joe Eddie ran for congressional seat lost but when Ed Pastor ran he won he was the first Mexican and then of course Raul Castro who was born in Mexico cross the border in the United States and was elected by all the people of Arizona to become governor of Arizona and uh and it's interesting to note he got a strong support from uh the Native American Community who saw somebody of color running and they supported him very strongly but uh good afternoon and welcome to the formal Phoenix city council meeting for October 4th 2023 please rise for the invocation from fire captain paramedic Troy holtorf would you all pray with me Father how great is your faithfulness how good you are compassionate and gracious slow to anger and abounding in love you're a fortress for the weak Lord you are who you say you are and you keep coming at us in love thank you for this Lord we praise you and acknowledge you as the name above all names father you say we have not because we ask not so we ask we ask for the ancient paths where the the good way is so we can walk in it and find rest for our souls Lord show us the way we ask your will your good pleasing and perfect will be done in this city as today's meeting commences I ask that you bless it Lord let each person in this room fearlessly bring forth the message you have given them may today be a display of who you are and what you can do through your people bless this time bless these leaders and bring favor to this place we lift our hearts now to you father God forgive us where we have gone astray help us to forgive as we have been forgiven forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead and we ask for special special protection on these leaders on their organizations on their people please be with our First Responders we pray your full armor over them all guard our hearts and guard our minds lastly Lord as we decrease would you increase in each one of us as a phoenix firefighter of almost 17 years I am so thankful for all the people in this room and what they do each and every day for guys like me may they never grow weary in doing good their Harvest will come give them the strength to keep on going all glory to you father thank you for for your grace your mercy your love and for giving us hope thank you for the gift of prayer and for the simple ability to ask like a small child we know with you all things are possible so we ask again like a child God will you show us where the good way is so we can walk in it and find rest for our souls we pray this in Jesus name amen thank you Captain please remain standing we have a special treat Camp OK Conor is a very prestigious program by the from the OK Conor Institute and we are joined by uh a young man who was elected to lead his own political party at Camp ' Conor and is a great young leader in our community so uh our Pledge of Allegiance today will be led by Daniel Pon thank you I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stand one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you great job Daniel we will now call to order the formal meeting of the Phoenix City Council will the clerk please call the role councilwoman wado here councilwoman Hodge Washington here councilwoman O'Brien here councilwoman Pastor here councilman Robinson here councilwoman Stark councilman wearing vice mayor Ansari here mayor guo here Mario baras and Elsie dwarte are here with us to provide interpretation would you please introduce yourselves yes mayor thank you hello my name is is Mario baras and together with my colleague Elie DTE will be serving as Spanish interpreters for today's city council formal meeting I'll now take a moment to introduce ourselves to our Spanish speaking audience thank you mayor thank you so much Mario would the city clerk please 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 prior to this council meeting and therefore may be read by title or agenda item only ordinances number G 7098 and 7168 through 7176 s501 93 through 50233 and resolutions 22155 through 22156 thank you would our city attorney please explain the role of public comment yes mayor thank you members of the public May speak for up to 2 minutes to comment on agenda items to be discussed 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 investigation claims or litigation additionally any member of the public who appears before Council in their capacity as a lobbyist must as required by Phoenix city code disclose this fact before add addressing Council 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 agenda item number one is the formal meeting minutes from 122 councilwoman pestor do you have a motion I move uh formal minutes from 12 to 2020 I need a second second second we have a motion in a second any comments all those in favor please say I I I any oppose nay passes unanimously councilwoman Stark do you have a motion on item two meeting minutes yes mayor I move to approve uh the minutes of December 16th 2020 we have a motion in a second any comments all those in favor say I I any oppose nayay passes unanimously vice mayor do you have a motion on boards and commissions motion to approve mayor and city council boards and commissions nominations second we have a motion in a second any comments all those in favor say I I any oppos nay passes unanimously we have a swearing in ceremony now congratulations to our new commissioners please raise your right hand I state your name I Michael m i Jess Mor do solemnly swear that I will support the the Constitution of the United States support of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the State of Arizona that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same I will bear Fai and Al to the and defend them against all enemies foreign and domestic enemies and that I will faithfully and impartially faithfully and discharge the duties of the office of discharge the duties of the office of according to the best of my ability my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations and thank you for serving our city in these important roles thank congratulations to our commissioners and thank you for taking on these important roles the City of Phoenix serves in an advisory role on liquor license applications to the State of Arizona that is the next portion of today's agenda vice mayor do we have a motion motion to approve items 4 through 27 second we have a motion and a second any comments all those in favor please say I I I I any oppose nay passes unanimously city clerk are we ready for ordinances resolutions new business planning and zoning yes mayor vice mayor do we have a motion motion to approve items 28 through 90 except the following items 35 37 45 46 51 53 59 61 67 73 86 87 noting that items 82 and 89 are being being continued to November 1st 2023 and excluding these items for virtual public comment can the clerk confirm if there are any other items that should be excluded for inperson public comment yes mayor and vice mayor I just wanted to mention as well that we are excluding items 88 and 90 I believe and um also 38 38 38 80 and 90 88 and 90 88 thank you all right any comments roll call wado yes hudge Washington yes O'Brien yes Castor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing I'm sarry yes dieo yes as says 90 item 35 is authorization to license city-owned property near Cave Creek Road and Deer Valley Drive to Crown Communications do we have a motion move to approve item 35 second hey mayor I'm gonna recuse myself for purpose of potential conflict perfect so we have a motion in a second noting councilman wearing will not be participating any comments roll call wado yes H Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes Ansari yes Gayo yes passes 8 Z Item 37 is related to issuing Municipal debt do we have a motion move to approve item 37 second second we have a motion in a second I'll turn to councilman wearing for a question Jeff I just have one one question thank you mayor um is this a tax increase councilman wearing uh the answer to that question no it is not a tax increase this is simply using our existing excise tax which consist of local sales tax state shared Revenue State shared income taxes license fees to help pay back debt that we will be taking out to fund capital projects thank you thank you any additional comments roll call wado yes H Washington yes O'Brien yes Castor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing yes onari yeso yes T is8 Zer or sorry 90 item 38 is portable toilet rentals and services do we have a motion move to approve item 38 second Motion in a second Dian Barker is here to provide comment good afternoon mayor and city council Diane Barker here from district 7 I was neutral but I am now in support of this port funding additional for the Porta Poes I've spoken with the deputy manager and the director over parks and this would be something that and we have extensive Parks we're blessed with that in Phoenix and so these will be as an extra when they need them in the Parks facilities I've got Great Hopes for the world's largest Park which is south Phoenix thank you thank you any comments roll call wado yes hod Washington yes O'Brien yes pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing yes I'm sorry yes there you go yes test is 90 item 45 is amendment to offer Wi-Fi to affordable housing residents vice mayor move to approve item 45 second we have a motion in a second vice mayor for comments thank you um all positive this is um really really great um access to Reliable internet and technology is essential in the modern education system and Workforce and this item providing internet and digital training to nearly 5,000 more households um which will help provide access to Quality schooling and jobs so very excited kudos to staff working on this I know councilwoman Pastor has been working on this as well and um this is really going to lift many more Phoenix families um out of poverty and really help with um access to education so I'm really excited to support this thank you vice mayor it it is a very exciting one I've got to meet with some of our housing residents when they got their chance to be connected and one mom told me what a difference it would make to homework and job search among other important things it's wonderful that we are having this vote during digital inclusion week which is October 2nd through 6th and it's a just a great time to talk about about the importance of making sure everyone has access to the internet wanted to remind everybody about the affordable connectivity program which provides discounts of up to $30 a month off the cost of internet for qualifying households and households can also Pro um who qualify can get a one-time discount of up to a $100 to purchase a laptop desktop computer or other tablet for providers we want to make sure that people have a chance to be connective in today's world access to the internet is not a nice to have it's a necessity any other comments roll call wado yes HJ Washington on behalf of the over 1,000 units or household represented in District 8 I am happy to say yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes very proud that uh we're able to do this and we will finish up our uh connectivity of the digital divide so yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing I'm sorry yes GGO yes passes 90 item 46 is authorization to accept apply accept and disperse funds and enter into agreements for Pathways to removing obstacles to housing Grant do we have a motion move to approve item 46 second so not long ago councilwoman Stark challenged our staff who said there's got to be ways to find a funding source so that we can get these permits paid for and expedited so I'll turn to councilwoman Stark for comments yes and I wanted to take a minute to give my appreciation to staff for pursuing this grant not only does the affordable housing plan that we adopted in 2020 call for finding grant opportunities to help fund future affordable housing projects but as you recall during the budget discussion various council members asked at staff find funding to implement a program like the one in Glendale Arizona where in permit fees are W for affordable housing projects the problem is our city maybe it's not a problem but our city has uh a Planning and Development Department that is user user generated um revenue and it's not General funded like Glendale and therefore we needed to find funding to pay for the permit so I'm very excited about this GR but mayor can I just take a moment to let everyone know that it doesn't stop here that we really are doing a lot to address the issue of affordable housing for example we just passed an amendment to allow greater use of accessory dwelling units and require a permit process for short-term rentals we're currently working on amendments for parking requirements to provide greater flexibility to multif family development further we are amending our sub sub division regulations to allow staff to administratively approve subdivision plants which will create a timelier process as you know the legislature granted that ability to us this past session mainly because years ago there was Arizona case law that determined councils have to approve plats if they comply with all city regulations and I also understand my colleague councilwoman O'Brien would like to pursue some changes in state law next to address construction defect effects requirements as they apply to town home ownership and I think that's right because Town Homes make for a great starter home and lastly I appreciate that staff is reviewing process improvements to move permits in a more timely fashion as well councilwoman hot Washington and I had met with the Housing Industry or actually members of the Housing Industry who had some great suggestions to improve our permitting process and staff is setting up meeting to discuss that with the industry so I really do appreciate everything we're doing and I again am very excited um to support this item thank you mayor thank you councilwoman thank you for your leadership on these issues so this is a partnership with the federal government with HUD that would and I do have a question for staff if you don't mind but would allow us remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation and this does meet a challenge that the city council issued to our staff will you we've had some uh conversations about this that I think are worth sharing will you talk a little bit about some of the criteria we are considering including getting these projects built throughout our city and not just in one area yes uh mayor members of council uh the council item here is to just request staff uh authorization to submit for the grant and as part of submitting for that Grant uh process it doesn't preclude us from uh using that uh process for any type of mixed uh income or mixed use project we would just have to uh arrange the submitt if we're awarded funds to just be for the portions of the project that are affordable um so we'll be paying for Those portions of the the construction project and we would set that up as part of the evaluation criteria if awarded and the other part that we will set up as part part of the evaluation criteria would be a mechanism to space them out throughout the city so that we are as we are getting applications in depending on the amount we of the award and that criteria we'll make sure to to spread that out so that the uh the funds are available throughout the city to encourage production of affordable housing throughout the city and and use of these funds wonderful thank you so much any other questions roll call War yes Hodge Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing yes Ansari yeso yes passes 90 item 51 is Walmart local community Grant do we have a motion move to approve item 51 second we have a motion in a second councilwoman O'Brien thank you mayor I just wanted to to give a special thanks to Walmart for the $5,000 Grant to help support uh the city's 20th annual Boo Fest in at the Poo Highlands Park from 6:00 to 900m on October 28th this event brings together um approximately 10,000 community members it is an amazing event with um local businesses City departments uh including the Phoenix fire department Phoenix Police Department and of course the park Department um is all over uh with at this event lots of kids and familyfriendly activities um in addition I'd like to give a quick shout out to the Friends of Dear Valley who will be sponsoring the first ever fireworks at this event in um celebration of its 20th anniversary so if you don't have anything to do on October 28th please come out and visit thank you mayor thank you roll call wado yes hjge Washington yes O Brien yes Castor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing anari yes goo yes pass is 90 item 53 is an authorization to enter into a contract with visit Phoenix for familiarization tours and economic development Consulting Services vice mayor um thank you mayor a few comments before I make the motion um very excited about this two years ago the City of Phoenix passed um our climate action plan and our transportation electrification plan we are investing in public charging stations across the city have ordered our first electric buses and it's really exciting to be attracting even more attention to the electric Valley this contract specifically um is to help attract the Formula E race to Phoenix and bring even more excitement for vehicle electrification and provide yet another sporting event that will undoubtedly boost our economy in the only other American city to host this race the event sold out very quickly and attracted over 20,000 attendees becoming the second US city to host Formula E would not only attract more businesses from the Eevee sector and solidify Phoenix's plan on the Eevee road map but just bring so many um other attractive uh benefits to our city so I look forward to working with CED and visit Phoenix to bring Formula E to the valley and with that I move uh item 53 second we have a motion and a second we are doing this vote on the same day that the Super Bowl host committee released their economic impact update they found that our most recent Super Bowl had a $1.3 billion gr gross output and brought in a h 100,000 outof State visitors who made a SE 7 and the event made a 726 million contribution to GDP as well as giving us a chance to showcase the valley any additional comments roll call W yes HJ Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing thank you I'm sari yes okay you go yes passes 90 item 59 is a request to enter into an agreement with the American Association of airport Executives to sponsor the 2027 annual conference and Exposition do we have a motion move to approve item 59 second we have a motion in a second roll call War yes Haj Washington yes O'Brien yes pestor yes Robinson yes dark yes wearing I'm sarry yes GGO yes pass is 81 item 61 is the contract award for to planning for the capital I 10 west Light Rail Corridor study area do we have a motion move to approve item 61 second we have a motion and a second it's exciting that we're moving forward with light rail going to the West we've had some bumps with the legislature but we are going to find a way to deliver Light Rail to this very important area of our city and we appreciate our partners who will help us make sure we maximize the benefits of the development near the light rail comments roll call La yes Hodge Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing I'm sari yes GGO yes passes 81 item 67 is one where the district six team and councilman Robinson have been putting in a lot of effort including a very robust door-to-door neighborhood engagement uh process and just really talking with the neighbors about finding Solutions I'll turn to councilman Robinson as soon as the city clerk reads the title item 67 is for ordinance G 7173 in ordinance amending Phoenix city code chter 36 article 11 section 36157 do3 to add area 30 to the residential parking permit ordinance and declaring an emergency thank you councilman Robinson thank you mayor you know I I I need to recognize members of my staff who truly worked as you mentioned going door Todo trying to find solutions to this particular issue and this is something that have been going on for some time in this particular neighborhood is truly impacted by some development in the area the development is a good thing but the neighborhoods um a lot of times are um if due diligence isn't done at the very beginning or impact it in this case that was this is something that had had happened but um in my staff there's um Jenifer ringan Roth our chief of staff who really stayed on top of these things and made sure everyone fully understood what was going on and who we needed to contact and then both Kelly Cody Kellogg and Jack Keeny on staff went door too when it was awfully hot outside and I had promised to join them and something came up but um I they did go door too um checking with the residents trying to ensure that um they understood the efforts we were trying to make to you know make make it a more enjoyable neighborhood for them and they did a wonderful job so mayor with that I I I thank you very much and if I could I I move to approve item number 67 second we have a motion in a second any comments roll call W yes hodj Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing onari yeso yes passes 90 item 73 is a partnership with the nature conservancy this is um well I guess I'll turn to the vice mayor for a motion move to approve item 73 second we have a motion in a second this is a long-standing partnership between the City of Phoenix and The Nature Conservancy to protect our Water Resources 60% of our water comes from the salt and Verde watersheds wildfires threaten these rivers with pollution and sedimentation the nature conservancy and their volunteers clear brush and remove invasive species to promote Forest Health and reduced Wildfire risk this investment is part of our resiliency efforts and one where we are using nature-based infrastructure to help protect our water supply so look forward to supporting it any comments roll call water yes H Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearing I'm sorry yes g go yes passes 90 we next go to the Planning and Zoning portion of our agenda and we will welcome one of our newest Deputy directors to help us with the presentation uh but first we'll let's see we'll begin with not 86 northeast corner of 50th Street in Chandler Boulevard and we'll turn to deputy director goas for a brief introduction thank you mayor members of the council so items 86 and 87 are companion cases um they can be heard together but will require separate motions the subject property is a 29.74 AC site located approximately 1300 ft north of the northeast corner of 50th Street in Chandler Boulevard item 86 is GPA af-2 d226 it's a request to amend the general plan land use map to mixed use IND dustrial and commerce Business Park item 8 87 is z- 6922 a request to rezone the site from Commerce Park John Commerce Park to PUD plan unit devel to allow Commerce Park uses and select light industrial uses the auki Foothills Village planning committee heard these cases on August 28th 2023 and recommended approval of item 86 per the staff recommendation by a vote of 5 to3 and approval of item 87 per the staff recommendation with a modification by a vote of six to2 the Planning Commission heard these cases on September 7th 2023 and recommended approval per the auki Foothills Village planning committee recom recommendation by a vote of six to zero staff recommends approval of item 86 per of the Planning Commission recommendation and Adoption of related resolution and staff recommends approval of item 87 per the Planning Commission recommendation and Adoption of a related ordinance thank you we'll open the public hearing Carolyn Ober over Holzer is here on behalf of the applicant if anyone has any questions close the public hearing and I'll turn to councilman Robinson mayor thank you very much a motion to approve approve per the Planning Commission recommendation and adopt the related resolution second a motion in a second any comments roll call wado yes Hajj Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor um yes Robinson yes dark yes wearing I'm sarry yes goo yes passes 90 item 87 councilman Robinson thank you mayor um motion to approve per the Planning Commission recommendation and adopt the related ordinance second any comments roll callado yes Hodge Washington yes O'Brien yes pastor what do you think yes yeah okay yeah Robinson yes Stark yes wearing I'm sorry yes goo yes passes 90 we next move to item 88 which is a text Amendment application and all turning to our planning team thank you mayor members of the council item 88 is z is z-1 d234 it is a request to amend the Phoenix zoning ordinance chapter 13 Waba urbic code section 1307 to add self-service storage facility and section 1307b to allow self-service storage in the Midtown character area of the waca urban code the Encanto Village planning committee heard this case on August 7th 2023 and recommended approval per the staff recommendation by a vote of 17 to Z the Planning Commission heard this case on September 7th 2023 and recommended approv per the Encanto Village planning committee uh recommendation by a vote of six to zero staff recommends approval per the Planning Commission and adopt related ordinance thank you we will open the public hearing we do not have any individuals to testify in 88 we will close the public hearing do we have a motion so moved want me to read it all all right I'll you're asking asking for a lot motion to approve the item per the Planning Commission recommendation and adopt the related ordinance second second Motion in a second any comments roll call W yes hjge Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes Stark yes wearen Ansari yes goo yes passes 90 all right we next move to item 90 northeast corner of 42nd Street in Edgemont we'll begin with the staff report thank you mayor members of the council item 90 is z- 62-22 d8 it is a requ it is a request to reone 86 Acres located approximately 200 feet east of the northeast corner of 42nd Street in Edgemont Avenue from R16 single family residence to R3 multif Family Residence to allow multif family residential the subject site is designated as miuse on the general plan land use map and is with within the village core the site currently contains a single family residence to the north of the site is an automobile parts retail store and to the West are Condominiums and to the east and south are single family residents the conceptual site plan attached as an exhibit depicts eight two bedroom units with private yards with an open space area located towards the rear of the site and here are the renderings of the buildings the front and the rear the kelbach East Village planning committee heard this uh on February 7th 2020 2023 and recommended approval per the staff recommendation of by a vote of 13-2 Planning Commission heard this on March 2nd 2023 and recommended approval per the Camelback East Village planning committee by a vote of to one staff recommends approval per the October 4th 2023 Memo from the planning and development director and Adoption of the related ordinance this memo uh modifies stipulation 3 to limit the building height to 15 feet within 50 feet of the property line line along edma Avenue happy to answer any questions if be might have thank you any questions before we open the public hearing all right we will open the public hearing we will have presentations of up to 10 minutes from each side um if you uh speak during the public hearing you have spoken and that would count towards public comment time as well and councilwoman will'll begin with the applicant all right we'll have Bill LLY on behalf of the applicant thank you mayor and uh Council for the record Bill LA with tiin Bosco 2525 East CB Back Road here today representing the land owner we do have a a presentation with a few slides just to give you a little bit more color obviously this one is here with uh a little bit of attention so we wanted to make sure that we gave you a little bit of the background so as soon as we uh update the slides here I'll walk you through uh Trish did a great job of explaining sort of the staff's position um thank you Trish um and again I think this area gives you a little bit of a context of what Trish mentioned which was the the uses that are to our West to the East and to the north um we have uh single story Town Homes to the uh East two and three story uh Town Town Homes condos to the west and and C2 commercial uh to the north there is single family R16 to the South the current property is zoned R16 this gives you another feel for exactly the location of the property the surrounding property what the built environment looks like today so when our client purchased the property and emry Lane homes is the property owner today uh they purchased it with the understanding of trying to fit in with the existing environment of of single family to the South uh multif family on the two sides and Commercial to the north uh came up with a plan that was a mixture of densities between the the East and the West as indicated in the staff report this property does fall within the secondary core of the general plan so height density and intensity is promoted in the core uh you can see that it's just barely in the pink uh the property that you might hear about later on today to our West is actually in yellow it is single family on the general plan this is mixed use and mixed use in the general plan allows for 15 dwelling units or more our density today is right at nine dwelling breaker the staff report again talks to the general plan all of the applicabl area plans that are that apply to this property and when we sought the Zoning for this property we looked at all of those plans to see do we fit within those plans this project is mixed use with an identification of pink which is not what was next door to us uh it is the last property on that block of pink in the general plan and in the village core that has a high density allocation this property as proposed is consistent with the general plan again we looked at other plans the 44 Street U corridor plan same type of thing promotes mixed use General plan type of projects now as you can see the star is right next to the boundary the boundary immediately to our West is not mixed juice and does not promote high density residential as Tris showed this is the plan which would have four separate buildings uh limited to two stories as I indicated the property to the West is two and three stories the property to the east of us is one stories this is the elevations that were shown which will have some articulation and uh differing in Co in colors and materials there's a stipulation on the case that requires this type of art elevations uh often also to know is that the stipulations were added along the way in the village to um have a robust Landscaping along the front edge have a detached sidewalk along the front edge there's no other property along Edgemont that has a detached 5 foot wide sidewalk so the elevations uh from Edgemont will look much much different than anything that's been built along there again I think because there's some attention to this case I want to re re regurgitate some of what was happened this case has been around for about a year U the end of last year we went through a couple neighborhoods meetings we heard some concerns about density Heights Landscaping this doesn't fit within the the the neighborhood to the South a single family and so at the Village hearing at the beginning of the year we offered up a couple of stipulations to try to um try to address some of those concerns we dropped the density we added Landscaping uh we capped the building height to 30 feet those were the conditions that we added early on in response to the duom neighborhood meetings um over the last 60 90 days we've done door to-door work because we believe there was more work to be done uh we went to over 100 homes uh found a number of people who were in support that you'll hear today of those who aren't in support but we did find in Walking the neighborhoods that there is support Andor uh folks who said hey I'm supportive but I'm not going to sign a petition today I think that would be fine so unfortunately that's hard to quantify when people don't want to necessarily sign one way the other but we do have 44 uh signatures of support from businesses and surrounding property owners in the file today so I think it's noteworthy to understand that there is support in the community this is a map that shows the Little Red Dot is the location of the property the yellow are the folks that we talked to who uh said hey I don't want us sign the letter of support but I'm fine with what you're doing the green are the supporters same here uh this is just North of the site and again this is if you see the red pen these are the businesses along Thomas who are supportive as well as well um again I think there's a lot to be said about all of this applicable reports that are in the staff report uh the housing plan um the tree and shade plan the complete streets plan the zero waste plan all of those plans were mentioned in the staff report and we are either in conformance with those plans or stipulations were added to the case uh to ensure conformance with that plan now there was a stipulation that was referenced today that was added and I think it's a good compromise that will limit the two-story element along Edgemont to a one-story element for the first 50 fet that's pretty significant given that most of the properties along Edgemont are about 20 feet from the property line so this will uh absolutely impact uh and push back and Stage some of that height along Edgemont and will soften that approach and it also probably allow for more Landscaping along Edgemont so we believe that that is a very good compromise and and supportive of that stipulation in summary I think if you look at all of the applicable plans this is where density and intensity needs to go this is where the city said bring housing beinging bring Urban style housing to our cores this is a very small 3/4 a property it's very hard to fit a number of units in there the development next door is at 12 dwelling units we started at eight dwelling or 10 dwelling units dropped it to eight dwelling units at some point the project won't pencil if it's if it's less than that and so we've we've done I think what we can to make measurable changes uh with applicable stipulations that have been added to the case that I think is a compromise for the community again the village Corp uh promotes this type of density uh and we've made a number of concessions over the about the last year so with that be happy to answer any questions any questions not at this sign all right thank you I we believe we have Sharon on behalf of the appellant thank you mayor um I have a presentation if you can bring it up and before I start I'd also like to be clear that the 15 foot height on the first two this is the first that we've been notified of this um so I'm not really sure how to respond that yet but we'll go ahead and go through this I wanted to go ahead and start with giving a little bit of background on our neighborhood and Ranch of Ventura neighborhood was established in 1946 and just to give you an idea of how established the neighborhood is more than 75% of the homeowners have lived in the neighborhood for more than 10 years with the average time of ownership being 14 years it's not uncommon in our neighborhood to see multi-generations people who' have lived there for four decades and it is predominantly single family homes on quarter acre or Halfacre Lots the background in the history just to give you an idea I know Mr L has has hit on some of this the uh EDG mon Estates the patio homes to the east they were established in roughly 1979 and they are 100% owner occupied they are single level and um they're wonderful neighbors to have uh kasas de Rancho Ventura that is a single family Custom Homes and they all have basements and they're immediately to the South of the the the proposed project and then there's Edgemont 12 which is the de development to the west and it's um probably the only non-conforming property we have in the neighborhood it was 12 Town Homes there was a lot of dispute in the neighborhood at the time and many variances were made to make that work um none of them sold for the asking price the average time on Market is excessive uh when they were brand new the average time was 609 days on the market one of them never sold we've had a 4 2% turnover in them in the last six months and um the reason I bring that up is because the development is being proposed is in essence very much mimicking that property and then the majority of the remaining neighborhood is single family homes that were built predominantly in the 1950s and these are just some pictures of the homes in the neighborhood to get a better idea that's the patio homes those are the homes to the South with the basement and then of course there's Edgemont 12 which as you can see does not conform to the rest of the neighborhood um Emory Lane holm's proposed development is only using the non-conforming property to support their design the only difference is with theirs there's no amenities they have a dumpster it'll be the only dumpster in our entire neighborhood they are aesthetically displeasing um while they have switched this we will still be looking at two walls from the streetcape the mature Tree on the lot they have made no effort to maintain that tree or keep that tree and then the five- foot setbacks on both the East and the West sides of the property will look directly into on the west into the primary bedrooms of Edgemont 12 homeowners and to the east you will look directly into both bedrooms there's usually two bedrooms in those and you'll look directly into those into into their living rooms so with those short setbacks and those changes it really is a taking from Neighbors on on every side um I know em lanee has made the comment that it backs to Commercial and they never build single family homes here however when they first purchased the property they actually advertised on their website that they would be building luxury single family homes when the market shifted their plans seemed to shift as well we do agree with them that it does provide much needed housing um they did tell us the dumpster was at a benefit for the neighborhood which we do not want that benefit and um they have stated that they've reduced 20% sent from the original plan and I will get to that in a minute and then when we did meet with them the developer actually said to us that they can do whatever they want because it's their property which did not make for a very agreeable uh communication with the neighbors and I wanted to show this because Emory Lane homes has developed single family homes against commercial that lot in the Square there was built and it was sold for quite a profit and it backs to the North Restaurant and to the uul and the restaurant is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10: p.m. every day and 11: extended to 11:00 p.m. on the weekends so they have done commercial and they've made quite a bit of money doing it now this is the commercial that lines the entire back lot that's the back barrier of the lot in question and it is currently it appears to be used as office and storage space and there is rarely a single car there and it actually makes for an ideal uh barrier if you have to be backing to Commercial and as you can see Mr L already showed you this but you can see where the the larger building near Thomas that's the auto parts store and then the building in question right there the backs to the lot and lines the entire lot line there is the office storage building and those are both owned by Emy Lane homes also as far as the dumpster goes when this um plan was originally submitted to the City of Phoenix it included trash and recycling receptacles however in a memo dated from the public works department that was quickly Swit and they did not authorize trash recepticles because it was too D dense according to city code the site plan was then Rec figured to allow for a dumpster and the turnaround that's necessary the only problem with that is when they did that they submitted that to the neighborhood on our neighborhood meeting on 1018 however when the turnaround was added to the site plan I think there was it was overlooked because the 10 units don't fit on the plan if you got the plan out and you actually measured all the dimensions that plan required 220 linear feet but the lot is only 196 linear feet so while they have made the statement that they've gone ahead and reduced it for the neighborhood to eight units it really was a correction to a plan that where the plan that they were proposing did not fit and it really should have never been presented also emry Lane homes when we had our inperson meeting it took us two months to get that from them and when we did have it the Developers told us that it was his property and he could do with it what he wanted to and it really um was hostile at best however I at some point found this in the planning department documents it actually says in their comments when this case is approved which implies that this was already a foregone conclusion which I think is just one of the things that citizens have a real problem with is that they don't feel like their voice is being heard and perhaps that's why the developer felt comfortable making that statement um the streetcape has changed as we just learned but it would still be two walls and that is not a streetcape that is conforms with the general plan or the Camel Back East character plan the balcony is looking directly into people's homes I don't know anyone who would appreciate that in any way shape or form especially for many of our neighbors who actually did the research on the lot and made sure that it was R16 before purchasing the neighborhood position is overwhelmingly opposed to this development however they also have overwhelming support to develop the lot responsibly comments from opposition at the Planning Commission include things like if I would have known how much um how much the opposition would have been ignored I would have never bought here and I checked on that lot when I purchased to be sure that that would be residential here is from our when we did the seven uh the three qu petition for the vote this is the yellow is everyone in the immediate buffered area and it probably is a little bit more because we wanted to make sure we got everybody but as you can see we well exceeded the 20% and the white ones we just didn't get in touch with the one in green did not want to sign either way land use and the proposed project you've heard Mr L say that this is in alignment with things and I would make the argument that it is not in alignment with these things the general plan is very clear C and I think this is a theme that is in almost every plan that I have read now that I have had the energy and time to to read all of these things but um it says that every neighborhood and Community should have a level of certainty and I know we struggle what with what does that mean but I know many of you may live in homeowners associations but our neighborhood was established in 1946 we didn't have homeowners ass associations then we relied on zoning we relied on our government we relied on our our elected officials to support that and somewhere in that that is also part of the reason the 44 Street specific plan was developed and I would just ask you to think about your HOA because you probably have the highest level of certainty there can be and if somebody were to say oh that nice open space or we're going to stick this right between your two homes and by the way they're going to be looking into your bedroom I don't think there's many people who would agree that that is a good use and that that provides any level of certainty to neighbors I would also question what this would mean for the Phoenix of City the the City of Phoenix in a greater way because if you can't give someone certainty if I'm I happen to be in real estate and if I were showing somebody property and there was a vacant lot I would now be compelled by my fiduciary duty to say there's no certainty I have no idea what could happen to that lot here's what the zoning is but it should be this but we just don't know and I want you to keep that in mind because that has long-term implications that could impact the city City in negative ways and really impact Neighbors in a neighborhood like this that is so well established I am not going to go through all of these but I went through the general plan and I did pick out several not only land use items but also design features that support the fact that this is not in alignment with the general plan and at the end of the day the certainty is a core value and we only have five of them we only have five core values and I would ask are we uphold them is that my time is that what that is that's the 10-minute buzzer okay let me quickly go through this the Camel Back East character plan is very similar it talks about certainty in neighborhoods it also talks about having one final thought buffers okay all of these are in here at the end of the day I'd also like to say that during the process there was much information that was not accurate on this slide you'll see okay I'm sorry we we got a okay try to be consistent with everyone the one thing I would like to say is that the allowed zoning only allows for four units not for five not for six not for seven thank you appreciate it you did an excellent job with research I just I have to be consistent with everyone no problem may I completely understand that was a lot of information to cover but can tell you did your homework uh next we have Jennifer Swanton good afternoon mayor and city council uh my name is Jennifer Swanton I live approximately a block west of the proposed development on Edgemont Avenue and I moved in there approximately three years ago after living in Condos for a while um I just wanted to let you know that um there are our neighbors who uh are in agreement with this proposal um the land has just been sitting there dilapidated uh building on it U for a while and I think overall the um proposed will improve uh that land in and of itself and the property values of of our homes around it um I think that the developers have have you know addressed a lot of the issues and um in addressing the fact that uh these would Overlook those patio homes to the east uh no matter what um we already have Edgemont 12 built and that's not going to go away so having another multif family next to it those will at least be aligned in the sense of in Heights um so someone is you know overlooking someone at some point uh there's plenty of homes in the uh surrounding area and I'm sure throughout our entire uh County where people have torn down homes and put twostory you know homes up so I do understand that concern I just think that at uh some point Edgemont would either be looking down on single family or this one will be looking down on single family so it's kind of inevitable in a way um so I just wanted to share you know from my perspective as a neighbor I think that uh these will in in uh increase the property value of our home and definitely of uh that piece of land thank you for your time thank you that is our final comment on this so we close the public hearing and to turn to councilwoman HUD Washington thank you mayor I just had a few questions I'm gonna start with you U Josh um some of the questions or some of the comments that were raised in the opposition from the ranch of Ventura neighborhood specifically identifying some perceived discrepancies in the general plan on the proposed development can you respond to that please mayor councilwoman Hodge Washington I certainly want to commend the residents for diving into the general plan the way that they did you know part of what the general plan is intended to do is to raise the level of conversation about projects just like this and to talk more about Concepts and goals and Visions than perhaps other topics with that said there certainly are some elements within the general plan that they're right to point out when I'll I'll Focus specifically on this concept of certainty and character and there are a variety of levels associated with that one being the zoning in place it's absolutely right but the other is the maps and the other corresponding plans that were highlighted in the staff presentation as as Miss Gomes pointed out this is in the Encanto Village or excuse me the Camel Back East Village core and again in dating back to 1991 this was identified as mixed use in the 44 Street Corridor specific plan so there's always going to be a variety of different perspectives or policies that either align or don't align with the general plan in this case as part of our analysis we would point to those two documents as sort of overriding and providing the the certainty that is supposed to be intended for that site where it was supposed to be mixed use and multif family and has been since 1991 thank you I just also wanted to follow up um you were starting to talk about the Camelback East character plan can you also explain if there's any discrepancy between the proposed development and the current and that character plan mayor councilwoman Hajj Washington again that the Camel Back East uh character plan is intended to serve a similar purpose as the general plan and provide a basis for evaluation for not only the Camelbak East Village planning committee but residents to use as well and again I commend the residents for doing that part of what the Camelback East Village planning committee evaluated certain design principles certain policies within the general plan and they determined as part of their recommendation that they felt it was compliant so again you could make an argument either the way we would point to the Village planning committee's recommendation as to the Project's compliance with the Camel Back East Village character plan thank you can I ask uh Mr LLY to come to the mic please thank you you I wanted you to address the dumpster concern for for me to make sure I understand that where where does it currently stand I'm I'm sorry mayor U sorry councilwoman can you say that one more time I wanted you to address the dumpster concern that was identified in the neighborhood opposition absolutely mayor councilman HJ Washington it's a it's a tricky issue a lot of multif family projects um because of their size will either utilize um a dumpster situation or have a number of cans in front of their their units um when there is a lot of Frontage along a uh collection site a public RightWay the cans probably make sense um when you have a limited window on a public roadway um and the cans don't have that ability to be separated then there's a logistic policy problem with the city in terms of where can that those cans go do we now then put those in in front of the driveways uh or do we just have a turnaround in the back near the commercial where a dumpster can go that dumpster can include two different dumpsters a trash and recycling our documents include a recycling I think the city is promoting a recycling as well and so in this case because of the size of it we believed that um a dumpster made sense and the location of the dumpster made sense to put it on the north side of the project almost buffered by the building to the residents and in adjacent to a commercial building so to clarify the dumpster would not be on the primary artillery off of Edgemont it would be uh to the north of the development correct mayor councilwoman it would be in hidden in the back thank you I don't have any further questions thank you um I want to also I want to start off by thanking staff for their assessment of this I also want to thank the community for their ongoing involvement in this matter this matter predates my time on the council um and it comes to the council with Community concern it also comes with the support of our Camel Back East Village planning committee the Planning Commission and the plan and development um Department um the subject property it falls within the Camelback East Village cores and has been designated as noted for multif family development dating back to the 44 Street specific plan in 1991 to the west of the the property and to the east of the property Are multif Family Housing Development the property to the West has has buildings as we heard up to three stories in height um why I understand that we need to grow and provide more housing opportunities and appropriate locations like this I want to ensure that new development in our community is compatible with the existing neighborhoods so with that in mind I directed staff to update the zone and stipulations for this request to restrict the development to a maximum of 15 feet in a building height for the first 50 ft of the property from the Edgemont Avenue this new height restriction height step back provision will provide for a better transition in scale for the single family homes across the street with that I move to approve item number 90 per the October 4th 2023 Memo from the planning and development director and adopt the related ordinance second Motion in the second comments roll call wado yes hjj Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson yes yes Stark yes wearing I'm sorry yes I'm sorry I said yes thank you thank you there you go I was the councilwoman when Edgmont 12 was developed and had made a commitment to these Neighbors about height on this lot so I appreciate the huge amount of work that CAD Washington has done his has been excellent and she really tried to meet the the neighbors it's not a reflection on her but I am a no to keep my commitment to the neighbors passes 81 that concludes our agendized business we next move to the final portion of our meeting which is public comment and I'll turn to the City attorney to introduce this portion 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 the citizen comment session is limited to 30 minutes the Arizona open meeting law permits the city council to listen to comments but prohibits council members from discussing or acting on the matters presented thank you we'll begin with Candace Washington followed by Diane Barker hello Council um I will I came to address a concern with HUD housing when contacting them regarding Section 8 properties with Hab habitable living um with landlord intendent services um the things that you guys have in play for us to seek help even with being a Section 8 tenant voucher holder um there is there is no help like you hit brick walls you ask for inspectors and there's no help um with um Arizona AR ARS uh 33- um 33-13 41 is habitable living I when you ask for an inspector to come out it's like three weeks gives the the landlords um ample amount of ample amount of of opportunity to cover up what's going on I live in um councilwoman uh District 3 I contacted her office I've also contacted the department of um housing and herbal development I actually went down there called the phones there's no help I've been trying to get help with my situation for a while now and there's no help thank you is there anyone here who might be able to connect her with the right phone number or resources okay uh Diane Barker is next followed by John Chadwick hello again mayor gyo and city council Dian Barker and district 7 uh couple items one previously I spoke about the porta potties and the City of Phoenix I just wanted to clarify when I mentioned South Phoenix uh it's the world's largest city public park so I wanted to put that and by the way you might check your calendar because this Saturday there's a meeting from 8: to 10: to find the location down in South Phoenix you know for repairing and Wildlife with keep Phenix beautiful and I'm going to try to make that even though I have a buckeye uh game uh early in the morning uh but the other thing mayor this is down your alley punpun actually it's state owned uh it's called deck Park tunnel and uh you were at a meeting where on September 21st as you head up the mag and I'm looking for your collaborative efforts for the Maricopa region for better transportation and this is right in the center it's called the update on the Interstate 10 deck Park tunnel and why it's so important this was part of the federal interstate highway program 30 years ago and today is one of the most congested heavily and accident prone highways in our region so anyway mag has in their unified budget the study plan they will be getting more testimony I understand they have a 100 entries now for this winter and then going forward with the recomend recommendations with hopefully the proposition 400 I'm bringing the attention to this I'd like to see a real collaborative effort having lived downtown and knowing the congestion leads to terrible pollution and then the accient it's really something that we need to do and the other thing in all of these groups that are together from the feds the state the city they never mentioned rpta or valy Metro so it's not mully modal in my mind and they need to because I talked to Mr Crawley today and I said you know you and Bill Hayden got rpta to make a $50,000 study of exactly that Corridor and deck Park and what it is it uses bus Rapid Transit coming in there they have the timings for it everything ADOT has a lot of ownership of land around there there could be platforms you know made and also there is a tunnel that no longer serves buses because it's wrong side but that could be used for smaller demand Transit thank you John is next followed by Anita Cordova okay Anita is next followed by Ann Ender oh an good good afternoon oh thank you I was wondering on the support that we get over there we try to get family members in and they refuse us to have them in there or her spouses they don't allow them in they say they wait a month or two months and each time you ask them they say no how we supposed to get this support when they don't allow our family members in in with us or are significant other that's it that's all I have thank you thank you and is next followed by Katherine Garcia oh my gosh hi sorry about that I'm back I um thank you very much uh mayor guo uh and council members I'm an Ender I'm the president of operation blue ribbon And since 2020 our Grassroots organizations's been advocating in support of Public Safety to boost officer morale and engage neighborhoods and communities to partner with the Phoenix Police Department I'm deeply concerned and I know I also speak for many community members about the possibility of the Department of Justice imposing a consent decree on the Phoenix Police Department so over the last two years we know we've spent $2 million on this investigation and it with no fault to the council me to the council and the mayor we've the the um public has received no updates of any kind from the doj and early in the investigation I was advised I was advised that Phoenix PD had supplied the doj with names of community groups and members of the public public for their public Outreach Of course I we were on that list and we have received no um there's been nothing the doj has not met has not reached out to my organization nor many of the other community members so in conducting my own research I've yet to find a city that the investigations end with a positive outcome in most cities th the cities that have been through a consent degree the crime calls for service and attrition of officers continues to rise and I can't imagine that we can afford to lose one more officer in fact a recent survey that was conducted showed that over half of our sworn officers would resign if a consent decree is imposed so there's a couple of things um I I'd like to know what the value is in hiring Mike bramwit to represent the city in this investigation do you think his qualifications will serve us well when his prior position was negotiating the consent decree in Baltimore do you think a price tag of 1.9 billion and a RIS in crime calls for service and attrition are of value to the taxpayers do you think that um the discussion regarding the cost being around 300 million and we seeing a rise in crime and lose more officers do you once again do you think there's value to the Phoenix taxpayer so in closing can we expect to be just like the Maricopa County Sheriff's office now if that happens so I'm just here to plead with you to please please consider fighting any kind of consent decree thank you Katherine is next followed by Donna hi yes my name is Katherine Garcia um I'm in a shelter right now and the only thing I have a problem with is my family when they come pick me up um I would have to leave with them they I they're not allowed on property to come visit with me outside or on property I always have to go with them to their house and it's like there it's far and I don't know what the reason is why it is gated and that's the only problem I have with it then I can't work so I don't know able to get a job or something where I can provide for myself all I got right now is my boyfriend and he's looking for work so other than that the place I'm at I I like it a lot but it's just when my family comes I can't have visits on property thank you that's about it thank you Donna is next followed by Tanisha uh hello um I am also at one of the shelters um I've been there since November and um about a couple months ago is when I was told who my case manager was so I feel like I feel like they are not providing Services correctly and I think that if we had more effective Services we would have more of a success rate um because I'm grateful for for the place that I'm in right now and um I just I want it to work um but it's kind of hard when uncertainty causes uncertainty so um so yeah that's all thank you thank you appreciate your testimony Tanisha is next followed by Rory hello Tanisha so um I'm homeless right now and uh I feel that there should be um more homeless resources um with the 20e break that the government the state took it backed everything up so funding went to the services that were in place some new places however being a middle-aged woman and my kids are adults and live in other states I find it hard to find somewhere far as getting the re the proper resources that I need so I end up going to places like um uh halfway houses uh Christian centers and stuff like that when I'm a work I'm A working woman so um based off I was put in this position because I had an injury at work so not being able to have the resources or or waiting and being subject to the atrocities of the street life after dark um getting phones taken getting your uh your items stolen from you not being able to use restrooms that have public restrooms like restaurants that have public restrooms will not allow us to use their facilities if we don't make a purchase or whatever the situation being so I find myself stuck when I have to wait two weeks for an answer from one of the resource Paces if there's a bed available or or anything or even another resource you know so it just makes everything even harder so I believe that there should be more emergency resources uh for housing like um something cuz I could have been back to work back to paying taxes back to uh a normal life had that been resources for me where I don't have to wait two weeks three weeks just to and and constantly keep calling and you know to um to see if I can get in a place so I think there like I said there's a huge lack in housing they don't have enough space to accommodate all of us so we're thrown right back out in the street and with that closeing thank you thank you Rory is next followed by James hello um I just wanted to say uh I think think that uh CBI has is doing what they can they got a big job on their hands and uh I wouldn't say not enough resources but it's like throwing a kid in the water teaching them how to swim it's a lot of things that need to be fixed and a lot of things that need to be organized and without any of that it's going to look and seem like it's chaos but then at the same time the the good things that CBI has done are being overlooked because of the lack of training the lack of communication and the lack of I don't I can't think of any other way to put it but reach one teach one when I say reach one teach one I mean by if I know how to cook I should be teaching somebody else you know what I'm saying if I know how to iron I should be showing somebody else or even as a navigator with CBI I should be asking questions like do you know how to do this do you know how to do that a lot of people coming to these hotels um mentally Disturbed from just staying on the street different trauma things happen in their throughout life and some of that is being recognized and some of it is being swept under the roof and a lot of people people are being given opportunities to collect themselves but then it's like a rushed process and like I don't know I know everybody has a time frame and a time limit but then at the same time it's a lot of issues severe issues that are not being intended to which is you know again everyone has life everyone has time you know it's all on us what we do with it but then at the same time if we not afford it opportunities in certain things and just life is hard you know everybody that's out here is really you know even you guys you guys have lives you guys have homes you guys got bills and people coming from the street not doing that for a while and then just you know when you ask for help it's being deflected back upon you I I just I don't know I applaud CBI for what they are doing what they have done um they've helped me in Ms out greatly and um I just want to continue to do better and in doing better I feel like CBI just they need some training they really need some training have a good day y'all thank you James is next followed by Leslie thank you honor my name is name is James and I think the the shelter Zone they need more time to get their stuff together I think they need more help by by a CBI or more case manager will come help them make sure they get the stuff together make sure they get the resources make sure they get help and I wish more people understand how homeless is because it's hard out there I was homeless for for a long time and if I didn't get help from resources I got I want to be here talking to you guys that's all I have thank you thank you Leslie is next followed by Elizabeth a real quick thank you that you allow us to bring in water here across the street they prevent you from doing that a real quick thank you I want to thank you guys that uh first of all that we can bring in our first our water all right I got here too late to talk about agenda item number uh 37 so I'm going to mention a couple things right now the reason I'm mentioning it because it ties into what I just sat here listening to of these people talking about this hardship so we have an agenda item that's 130 180 million tax on top of a$6 billion budget with a surplus of 135 million left over slush fund quite a quite quite a good chunk of change you got there you know what Mary you were not here last time because you were at the world economic Forum the United Nations meaning you were there for a for a week these people could live for a year on what it cost you for your hotel that I'm sure we paid for why do I have a problem with this because of this we have people that literally have no home they have many ways no hope I appreciate that you went into the details asking questions even about where the garbage cam was going to be because that's important because you're acknowledging at least the people that are going to be living there but I tell you what the problem I have with you mayor is that people want to sit up here and thank you thank you mayor for presenting this and thank you mayor for presenting that you know when I see people not coming in here in a homeless situation then I'll thank you but until then every single meeting I've come down here this is the only place they can come to talk but for what I don't know is it going to do any any is it going to make a difference when I look at how much money you guys have in slush fund you have like 38% increase in unemployment that has happened yet you're away for a week on our tax dollar with the United Nations who's helping to support this little 15minute city issue and you sit there as the only American that is on that committee and people don't realize how how what a big deal that is all this money that comes through here and it looks like it's going toward projects that are helping the real projects that should be helping are the people that came in this room that picked up the dignity they have and came and asked you for help I'm telling you the fact that you weren't here last week and you were part of that group for a full week I know we paid your dime on that and we got people in here literally and I'm going to repeat it that could live probably on the entire year of what it cost you maybe for one night of your luxury on our tax dollar as you sell out our country you're part of this world economic Forum you're part of these United Nations and this is again against We the People this does not help us this is to line your pocket for your little special interest groups and if some of you up there get a little irritated hearing this kind of stuff well you know what it's irritating the God Almighty Yahweh you're the leaders you're the people the Shepherds that are going to be held accountable for the way these people have to come in here asking for basic help as your pockets are lying and you make money off of us and sell us out in our country shame on you mayor and get guess what your office has never called me or sent me back an email cuz I'm trying to get time with you Elizabeth is next followed by Mark n Mike Norton hello I wanted to mention uh something I mentioned in my citizen petition um regarding the uh PE the length of time that people say in facilities after they moved out of the zone and the reasons for their exits and it's not necessarily actually I think it's important to have be data driven I think it's important to be transparent accountable that's sort of the reasons why I um wrote it however one of the things I wanted to bring up was just a personal note which is that um I grew up in 8507 and so essentially The Zone was um 8 minutes by car away from from my house and so I think that gives me a different perspective on I think when you interact with diverse people when you're younger it gives an impact on your life in terms of being able to relate to um others who are in those situations and so I I I don't think I see um people on the streets in the same light as do uh many other people that maybe don't see this as human however they are one thing I wanted to say is that I heard today of my third account of someone's ashes being thrown away by pbd and uh two times it was parents ashes and this time it was a baby's ashes so um I think it's important to realize um that even though there's been some abatement to the personal property destruction in the zone um and uh some respect for um the injunction in fun for empowerment be City of Phoenix um I think it's important to realize that many of those practices are not being uh taking place in the rest of the city and um that's very important to me that it be equally applied accountable and transparent um finally I wanted to say that I it really disturbs me sometimes when people get blamed for being on the streets like number one there is an incredible um shortage of housing for people who are coming off the streets um let alone shelter and so it puts people into a structural relationship in which they have no housing offered to them and yet they get blamed um this often happens with people who have behavioral health problems I've said a couple of times um but I don't know if people realize the import of it um I have schizophrenia and bipolar and so I have a deep connection to people who get shamed for having disabilities um often they're excluded from Services they're excluded from shelter deliberately and their exits are based on their disabilities whether they be physical mental um or uh psychi psychiatrics so I would really when you look at the possibility I'll finish real quick when you look at the possibility of uh um potentially Gathering data if you look at the nuances of it as to the reasons for the the exits I think you'll find um that there are problematic elements in shelters uh in terms of how they're managed and in terms of why people are able to stay in there or not and it's often how they're whether or not they're being accommodated or treated under the Ada or what what have you so that's um that's my public comment for today and um I hope that you guys can be brown so that's about it thank you Mike is not online so we are adjourned mayor just real fast I know we're adjourn can I have City staff or can I don't know if I do the assistant me city manager to meet with the uh those testimonies and see where we can provide Services thank you our government leaders uh our Business Leaders our tourism leaders uh but the weather The Stadium Phoenix