March 16, 2023

In this week's issue: 

• Message from Councilwoman Ann O'Brien
• DOJ Update
• State Legislative Watch List
• Mark Your Calendars: Community Meeting
• News From the City of Phoenix
• News From Deer Valley Unified School District
• News From Washington Elementary School District
• News From Glendale Union High School District
• Phoenix Boards and Commissions
• City Council Meetings
• Connect with us!

Message from Councilwoman Ann O'Brien

Over the past week, there have been a lot of discussions surrounding housing, affordable housing, and what the City – in partnership with our other local municipalities – can do to show the State we are serious about finding solutions to aid us in our housing crisis. Right now, the entire Valley Region is short over 200,000 housing units for the pace of growth we are experiencing. This leads to the outrageous housing cost increases we’ve been seeing across the Valley. Until we can work collaboratively to build more housing units, we will continue to be in this spiral of rising housing costs and limited housing options. But how do we work to fix this?

On Friday, my Chief of Staff and I attended a day long housing and planning conference put on by the Urban Land Institute of Arizona. There we heard from speakers across the spectrum, from housing developers to tech companies moving into the region to agriculture folks discussing the importance of conserving water for the future. One thing was clear in all the panel discussions: the current regulatory and permitting process across the State is impeding developers’ efforts to bring us more housing.

You all may remember hearing about Senate Bill 1117 which would have taken away the rights of cities and towns to regulate their own zoning and general plan – a general plan, by the way, which was voted on and approved by the citizens of each city and town. Last week, a bipartisan group of State Senators voted down the bill. However, the next day, the bill’s sponsor made a motion for reconsideration, which passed. What does that mean? It means, although SB1117 was voted down last week, it’s been brought back to life and there will be another vote to pass it. It’s imperative this bill does not pass and undo all the work you voted for and approved.

However, should SB1117 not pass, it doesn’t mean our work is done. This overstep of the state government should serve as a wakeup call to all cities and town: the status quo of our permitting and rezoning process isn’t working. My office is taking proactive steps to rethink how we manage our zoning and permitting offices and what we can do to maintain proper and necessary safety regulations but reduce the time it takes from start to finish. I’ve called a meeting of our Planning Department, the Deputy City Manager that oversees that department, and the City Manager to condense our process. This will include stakeholder meetings of Village Committee leaders, zoning attorneys, developers, and city staff and officials.

This is only one step though. To be clear, Phoenix is not the problem child in our housing crisis. We are approving housing development after housing development. We’re saying yes to smart development of multifamily housing and single-family communities. This doesn’t mean we don’t have our part to do, but it means to solve this housing crisis, it’s going to be a multi-municipality solution. Right now, I’ve already started conversations with colleagues in different cities and towns within Maricopa County to see how we can work towards standardizing our zoning process and language. Should we be successful, this would mean a developer who builds a single-family home community in Gilbert would be able to “plug and play” that same community in Buckeye, or Scottsdale, or Phoenix.

There’s no doubt – we’re in a crisis. We are lacking housing for all levels of affordability. This isn’t a Phoenix centric problem, but Phoenix will lead in providing the solution. This office will lead in working towards that solution.

On a completely different note, I hope you will join me and Terry on Sunday, March 19th at 2:45 pm for an Honor Walk to Commander Carnicle’s Memorial Marker. We will be meeting in the Safeway parking lot at Happy Valley and 39^th Dr (just west of the Safeway gas station). The round-trip walk is approximately two miles. We will start at 3 pm. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Have a safe and beautiful weekend!

All my best, 

Ann 

Councilwoman, District 1

Weekly DOJ Investigation Update

Week of March 6

• City staff met with the DOJ to plan for April site visit.

State Legislative Watch List

The City of Phoenix opposes the following bills:

Senate Bill 1117 – Restrictions to Zoning Local Authority and Public Input

SB1117 entirely removes residents' ability to have a say in how their neighborhoods look and feel. The bill preempts cities and towns in all housing matters and prohibits any “undue burden” on a developer. Under this law, developers would be able to ignore zoning districts, codes, design standards, parking requirements, walkability standards, and other conditions. The bill eliminates the citizen review process for residential and multifamily developments, which will prevent residents from learning about projects or providing input. It prohibits planning commissions from reviewing housing projects, getting community input and providing recommendation to our City Council. Contact your legislator and make your voice heard.

House Bill 2094 – Licensing and Fingerprinting of Mobile Food Vendors

HB 2094 prohibits local governments from requiring mobile food vendors operators to submit fingerprint clearance cards. This would upend the City of Phoenix’s current licensure program which has successfully been in place for decades after food and ice cream truck operators came together with residents to develop a system that worked for our community.

Due to public safety concerns, mobile food vendors are required to be fingerprinted prior to being issued a license to operate. It is important for us to go through the extra step of fingerprinting in order to assure our residents’ safety due to their proximity to residentially zoned property and interaction with children. Contact your legislator and make your voice heard.

Senate Bill 1162 – Limiting Local Authority of Home-Based Businesses

SB 1162 would limit local authority over businesses operating out of a residential home and make it much more difficult to manage the needs of neighboring property owners. The City of Phoenix currently works in collaboration with home-based business owners and their communities to strike a balance that works for everyone, SB 1162 upends this balance.

The City of Phoenix currently allows residential home-based businesses that do not detract from the residential feel and characteristics of the neighborhood by requiring standards to operate a home-based business. Allowing a home-based business by-right and not allowing the City to require the standard already in place could be detrimental to Phoenix neighborhoods. Contact your legislator and make your voice heard.

The City of Phoenix supports the following bills:

Senate Bill 1585 – Funding for Homelessness 

SB 1585 appropriates $155 million for various measures to mitigate and prevent homelessness. If passed, the City of Phoenix could apply for grants to provide sanctioned housing for unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness. This would go a long way in our efforts to address the homelessness crisis. Contact your legislator and express your support.

Senate Bill 1541 – Permanent Funding for Affordable Housing 

SB 1541 provides a permanent funding stream for the Housing Trust Fund. This Fund provides grants to develop affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income households as well as funding for homeless shelters, transitional housing, eviction prevention and rapid rehousing. With a secure funding source, the Housing Trust Fund will be able to make a positive impact on the current housing crisis. Contact your legislator and express your support.

House Bill 2381 – Increase in Relocation Funding for Displaced Residents Due to Mobile Home Park Redevelopments

HB 2381 would increase the amount the Arizona Department of Housing will issue a tenant who is required to relocate due to redevelopment of a mobile home park from $7,500 to $12,500 for a single section mobile home or $12,500 to $20,000 for a multi-section mobile home. Although this is not enough to cover the cost of forced relocation, this is a step in the right direction and will provide much needed relief to displaced residents. Contact your legislator and express your support. 

Mark Your Calendars: Community Meeting

Our next meeting will be March 20th and will be located back at the DoubleTree (10220 N Metro Pkwy E, Phoenix, AZ 85051). We will be meeting at our regular scheduled time for our breakfast meetings. Plan for check in to begin at 7:30am and the meeting to start at 8am.

You can register below for the upcoming meeting! As a reminder, please fill out the form SEPARATELY for EACH member of your family planning to attend. Thank you!

News From the City of Phoenix

Upcoming Weatherization Program

The summer heat is just around the corner! Is your home ready? The Phoenix Weatherization Assistance Program can help you lower your power bills by increasing the energy efficiency of your home at no cost to you. Repairing or replacing an old AC, sealing air ducts, or adding window screens can help you beat the heat! Find out if you qualify for a grant to make improvements to your home at phoenix.gov/energysavings or call 602-534-4444 ext.3.

2nd Annual Nowruz at Civic Space Park Honoring the Global Movement for Women's Rights

Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari is excited to invite you to the City's second annual Nowruz at Civic Space Park on March 18^th from 3:00 to 7:00 PM! In recognition of Women’s History Month, this year’s Nowruz will honor the global movement for women’s rights.  

Over the last year, women – particularly in Iran and Afghanistan, have unified to advance the rights, freedoms, and equality of women, children, LGBTQ, and other oppressed peoples. This Nowruz, we’ll stand in solidarity with those women for an evening of community connection, culminating in a candlelight vigil.  

Nowruz at Civic Space Park will feature food from local vendors Madd Pita, Hummus Xpress, Tzikii Food Truck, and Ava Bakery as well as resources from the International Rescue Committee, Persian Cultural Center, Operation Eagle, and more! This event is family-friendly and free.  

Please RSVP using the EventBrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nowruz-at-civic-space-park-tickets-560761491717 

Grant Funding Available for Small, Food-Related Businesses in Phoenix

The City of Phoenix is offering grants to small, food-related businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts. Applications are now open for the Food Systems Transformation Grant, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-funded Phoenix Resilient Food System Initiative.

The Office of Environmental Programs has $800,000 available in grant funding to distribute to small businesses located within Phoenix city limits. Eligible small businesses include those who are a part of the City’s food system and play a role in the consumption, distribution, growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing or the disposal of food and food-related items.

Grants must be used to create a more resilient, sustainable, equitable, healthy, and thriving system. Examples of projects that help transform the local food system include but are not limited to:

• Advancing justice, equity, and fairness within the local food system.
• Promoting efforts to reduce the impact of the local food system on our changing climate (mitigation).
• Strengthening the resiliency of the local food system in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, various shocks, and disruptions (adaptation).
• Enhancing food security, accessibility, affordability, and healthy eating.
• Adopting new and/or expanding existing sustainable and innovative urban food production, distribution, aggregation, processing, and recycling practices.
• Developing product prototypes.
• Creating new, high-quality jobs to implement grant-funded projects.
• Improving local market options.

Small businesses are eligible to receive between $5,000 and $99,000 in grants and must use funds to complete all proposed projects within 12 months. Grant applications are due no later than March 31. Apply here to view the full details and eligibility requirements.

State Bar Legal Clinic - Landlord and Tenant Help

The State Bar of Arizona is offering a free legal clinic to help with residents who may be confused with or unsure how to navigate the Landlord and Tenant Act. Maybe you're a tenant who needs help dealing with a difficult landlord. Perhaps you're a landlord and are unsure of what the process would be to evict somebody the proper way. The State Bar will be holding appointments on March 21st from 4:00pm to 7:00pm over Zoom to help guide you through the process. Sign up for an appointment by emailing FindALawyer@staff.azbar.org or by calling 602-340-7293

Phoenix Seeks Input on Bus Rapid Transit Program Design

The City of Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit program is beginning its second phase of community outreach related to the design of the City’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor – 35th Avenue and Van Buren Street.

To continue engaging the community in the development of this corridor, the Phoenix BRT Program will host five events in March and April 2023.

The Phoenix BRT Program will host two in-person public meetings, one virtual public meeting and two outreach events within the 35th Avenue and Van Buren Street corridor, and everyone is welcome! Additionally, there will be an online survey for the public to provide feedback.

The in-person public meetings will be open-house style with various project team members available to provide information and answer questions.  The public will have an opportunity to learn more about BRT and the next steps - including potential design options.

The public’s input is highly requested as community feedback will help guide the development of BRT along this corridor. To learn more, visit MeetPhoenixBRT.com.

In-Person Public Meetings | 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 21

• Carl Hayden Community High School – 3333 W Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ 85009

Tuesday, March 28

• Trinity United Methodist Church – 3104 W Glendale Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85051

Upcoming Community Events

With the beautiful weather, so many communities are getting up and getting active within their neighborhoods! If you're looking to help beautify your neighborhoods, there are a number of community cleanups Thrive Phoenix is putting on along the Bell Rd Corridor and one that Lake Biltmore Block Watch is putting on. They will also be hosting a blood drive this month!

Community Cleanups:

• 3/18: Thrive Phoenix (1512 W Bell Rd)
• 3/25: Thrive Phoenix (1512 W Bell Rd)

Blood Drives:

• 3/18: Lake Biltmore Block Watch (3039 W Cactus Rd)

I Recycle PHX Event

I Recycle PHX is a drive-through event where folks can drop off items for recycling, repurposing, donating.  They accept electronics, do paper shredding, take clothing, canned food. bicycles, and teacher supplies like old binders and things they use for art projects.  They’ve actually been doing this event 12 years now!  They hit various locations around the City.  It’s open to everyone, folks don’t have to be City of Phoenix Public Works customers.  Although Public Works supports this event for us and is a partner.  Other partners include: Westech Recyclers, Treasure 4 Teachers, Security Data Destruction, Nourish PHX, and Bike Saviours.

Here’s the website link

City Launches Community Survey

The City of Phoenix is ready to launch the community survey. This survey asks questions on a wide range of topics around life in our community—from what residents think is working, to where they see a need for improvement—providing feedback that is used to calculate ongoing satisfaction scores. The survey is one more way to gather information from residents in our effort to more holistically understand neighborhood issues and enhance our responsiveness to community priorities.

The survey takes less than five minutes to complete and is available in both English and Spanish. The survey system sets response targets based on Census data to ensure community representation. Survey responses will be anonymous.   

The survey is served up to residents on various websites and social media platforms. Residents can also respond to the survey directly with this link.

We’ve also created a survey landing page on Phoenix.gov to answer questions, including the security and privacy of the survey.

Temporary Road Closures

Southbound I-17 closed between Pinnacle Peak Road and Union Hills Drive over the next two weekends (March 17-20 and 24-27)

The Arizona Department of Transportation advises drivers to plan for southbound I-17 to be closed between Pinnacle Peak Road and Union Hills Drive from 9 p.m. Friday, March 17, to 5 a.m. Monday, March 20, and again from 9 p.m. Friday, March 24, to 5 a.m. Monday, March 27. The following ramps will also be closed:

• Both Loop 101 ramps to southbound I-17
• The southbound I-17 on-ramps at Happy Valley and Jomax roads

The southbound I-17 frontage road between Pinnacle Peak and Deer Valley roads will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, March 17, to 5 a.m. Monday, March 20.

DETOUR: Motorists may consider exiting ahead of the closures and using southbound 19th or 35th avenues to reach I-17 beyond the closure.

Nightly I-17 lane restrictions March 14-17

North- and southbound I-17 will be narrowed to two lanes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights this week for pavement work. The work will take place in the following locations: 

Nightly, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Tuesday, March 14, to the morning of Friday, March 17

• Northbound I-17 between Loop 101 and Pinnacle Peak Drive
• Southbound I-17 between Thunderbird Road and Peoria Avenue

ADOT advises drivers to slow down and use caution around construction personnel and equipment while work is underway.

Cactus Park Coffee With a Cop

Please join your Cactus Park Precinct Community Action Officers for Coffee with a Cop at Ronnie's Cafe at 4323 W Cactus on April 26th at 8:00am.

Black Mountain Dinner With a Cop

Please join your Black Mountain Precinct Community Action Officers for Dinner with a Cop at Schlotzsky's Deli at 1520 W Bell Rd on March 23rd at 6:00pm.

News From Deer Valley Unified School District

DVUSD Fleet Maintenance Staff Named Arizona Department of the Year

Join the Deer Valley Unified School District team!

DVUSD is hosting a Job Fair Saturday, April 1 from 9 a.m.- 11 a.m. at the DVUSD District Office - 20405 N. 15th Ave. Phoenix, 85027

We are seeking enthusiastic team members for teaching and non-teaching positions who are pursuing greatness and who can help provide our students with diverse opportunities. We know that our employees are the key to maintaining our standards of excellence. From staff members to teachers, we empower our employees to meet the needs of our students and engage in their learning community.

Forbes Magazine named DVUSD America’s Best Midsize Employer in 2022 and 2023.

News From Washington Elementary School District

WESD Governing Board Approves New Increased Salaries for 2023-2024 School Year

During the March 9, 2023, Governing Board meeting, new salary increases were approved for the 2023-2024 school year! Teacher salaries will start at $51,610, including performance pay and a mentorship program*. Occupational/physical therapists will also see a pay increase starting at $71,000. Speech pathologists can earn a starting salary of $71,000. Additionally, the starting salary for psychologists will be $75,000. The Board also approved a three percent salary increase for all employees, as well as one-time stipends. *Denotes completion of the BEGIN program and earning performance pay. To apply today and join our WESD Family, please visit https://jobs.wesdschools.org/.

WESD to Host Teacher Interview Fair

The WESD is offering teacher contracts for the 2023-2024 school year! Please join us for our Teacher Interview Fair on Saturday, March 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the WESD Administrative Center. In-person and virtual interviews will be available. The WESD offers many great benefits, such as a new starting teacher salary of $51,610, including performance pay and a mentorship program*, teacher support, leadership opportunities, paid time off, loan forgiveness and employer-matched contributions to Arizona State Retirement. *Denotes completion of the BEGIN program and earning performance pay.

To learn more and preschedule an interview, please call 602-347-2622. Apply online today at https://jobs.wesdschools.org/. We hope to see you there!

News From Glendale Union High School District

Cortez Boys' Soccer Receives AIA Division 4A Black Canyon Section Champtionship

Athletic excellence continues at Cortez High School as the Boys' Soccer team received the AIA Division 4A Black Canyon Section Championship. The team also had the following honors for their section, Jose Corona received Coach of the Year, Emmanuel Bazira received Player of the Year, and Jose Diaz Vallejo received Offensive Player of the Year.

To learn more about Cortez High School news, visit @CortezHighSchoolAZ on Facebook.

Greenway High School Puts Skills to Use for Local Horse Sanctuary

Excellence continues at Greenway High School as Ms. Dodge's class created name tags using tools and supplies for Tierra Madre Horse & Human Sanctuary. The students learned valuable skills in woodworking and the steps to create name tags for the horse stalls.

To learn more about Greenway High School news, visit @GreenwayHighSchoolAZ on Facebook.

Moon Valley High School's Pomline Places 2nd in the Nation

Athletic excellence continues at Moon Valley High School as the Pomline took home 2nd place at Nationals. This was the first time, in Moon Valley history, that the pomline had made it to the final round at the National Competition.

To learn more about Moon Valley High School news, visit @MoonValleyHighSchoolAZ on Facebook.

Interested in serving on Phoenix's Boards and Commissions? 

District 1 is seeking community leaders interested in serving as the District's representative for various boards and commissions, such as the Village Planning Committee. 

To start the application process, please visit the Boards and Commissions webpage. 

Upcoming City Council Meetings

• Next City Council Policy Meeting: March 21st
• Next City Council Formal Meeting: March 22nd

Councilwoman O'Brien has been appointed chairperson of the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee, and is also a member of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee and the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee. Visit the Council Subcommittee webpage for the schedule of public meetings.  

Learn more about Councilwoman O'Brien, her priorities and focus for District 1 on the district's webpage.

Connect with us!

phoenix.gov/district1