In Mesa - City Endless? - More Cars + More $$$ For Parking Spaces ... What's Wrong With That?

. . . some thoughts from an architect buddy in Toronto  [images added  by MesaZona blogger]

Towards car-free living May 31, 2016 08:51 am Right now, there’s an apartment building in San Francisco that is trying to encourage car-free living by offering residents a $100 per month credit that can be used for Uber and/or for public transit. Prospective residents can even get a $20 credit to go check out the community. (The program is a partnership with Uber.) The reason this leasing strategy caught my attention is because we’re at a point where city builders are now trying to recalibrate themselves to this new emerging world. When I was at the Land & Development conference earlier this month, one developer brought up this exact point. He more or less asked: If you’re starting development on a new building today and you’re expecting approvals in 2 or so years and completion in another 3 or 4 years, what do you think the state of cars/driving will be at that point? Should you really be building all that underground parking? These are great question. And they highlight one of the challenges of development. It takes a long time to bring new supply to the market and a lot can change during that time period. My sense is that we are pretty clearly seeing downward pressure on driving and car ownership. That said, this isn’t the case in every city or in all parts of a particular city. I just got back from a trip to a Detroit where it’s pretty hard to imagine the city being oriented around anything but the car. But in cities like San Francisco and Toronto, car-free living is already a reality for many people and so we need to respond to that. How do you see yourself driving, or not driving, in the next 5 to 10 years? read more

Heads Up! City Council Study Session Tomorrow > Big Buck$ + A Tax increase

Public Safety and Higher Education Funding Recommendation
City Council Study Session May 19, 2016
City of Mesa
Meeting Agenda - Final





Mayor John Giles
Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh - District 3
Councilmember Dave Richins - District 1
Councilmember Alex Finter - District 2
Councilmember Chris Glover - District 4
Councilmember David Luna - District 5
Councilmember Kevin Thompson - District 6
7:30 AMCouncil Chambers - Lower Level
Roll Call (Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)

1 Presentations/Action Items:
16-0575 Hear a presentation, discuss and provide direction on funding options including sales taxes for the following:
1.  Public safety staffing and equipment needs, and the associated costs
2.  Higher education projects and the associated costs
1-a
16-0593 Information pertaining to the current Job Order Contracting projects.2
3 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended.
4 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

5 Convene an Executive Session.
 
ES-003-16 Discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A (3)) 
Discussion or consultation with designated representatives of the City in order to consider the City’s position and instruct the City’s representatives regarding negotiations for the purchase, sale, or lease of real property. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A (7)) 
Discussion or consultation with the City Attorney in order to consider the City’s position and instruct the City Attorney regarding the City’s position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(4))
  
1. Intergovernmental Agreement with Arizona State University for a Mesa campus on City-owned property.

Higher Education Projects
Phase 1
 •ASU Buildings $68.2 to 78.9 million
•Civic Plaza $20 to $25 million
•Parking $10 to $12 million
•Benedictine Buildout $6 to $7.5 million
•Off Site Improvements $4 million
Total $108.2 to $127.4 million
Phase 2
Building C Total Area:     60,000 square feet No. of Floors: 4 –New Construction
Building D Total Area:     18,800 square feet No. of Floors: 2 –Existing IT Bldg.
Total Estimated Cost $32 million

Next Steps
•May 26, 2016 -Council Action on Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
•June 8-10, 2016 –Arizona Board of Regents Action on IGA
•June 20, 2016 –Council Call for E

Maria Polletta: Spotlight on The Human Cost of Escalating Land Values

Residents Speak Up @ City Council Meeting

An updated Preface to this post:
Please watch the video that was included in Maria Polletta's reporting . . . According to Robert's Rules of Order, comments from the public are invited and they are heard for three minutes - however if there is to be further action by the City Council, a motion must be made to place that item on the next meeting's agenda. There was no such action, only that the item "would be looked into".
In the detailed and approved minutes for this session "Mayor Giles apologized to the residents and said that the Council was unable to discuss their concerns because the matter was not agendized."

See this link: http://apps.mesaaz.gov/meetingarchive/ArchiveDocuments/ClerkDetailedMinutes/June%201,%202015%20RGL.pdf

Mobile Home Park Mesa Royale is turning out to be "a not-so royal mess" for the City of Mesa, after ignoring a point in a decade-old 2004 Housing Master Plan.
What's the benefit of all these "Master Plans" when the city only takes action on "a case-by-case basis" and nobody speaks up to raise attention at public meetings directly with city officials?
In that so-called Housing Master Plan, Mesa officials were highlighting the city's larger-than-average amount of manufactured-housing stock — much of it concentrated along the Main Street corridor — and the problems it could create. At the time, the city had 63 mobile-home parks with nearly 14,000 manufactured units.

"The availability of these affordable properties is an asset to lower-income households," planning officials wrote in the city's 2004 Housing Master Plan . . . " 
Now the City of Mesa recommends the best option is clearing the property by bulldozing, after 100+ residents get evicted
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, now the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens board chair, cautions now that it was a warning that somebody needs to be paying attention to this. ... This property has been on the city's radar screen for decades, so for there to be such a delayed, reactive response on everybody's behalf doesn't behoove our community."

The City of Mesa has a double standard - one for investors/developers and a different one for residents who live on land for years paying rent for the only housing  they can afford. The City of Mesa provides direct financial incentives for investor-developers , discounts on utilities, tax relief, providing millions in infrastructure, but in this case . . .  Maria Polletta quotes this:
City Manager Chris Brady said Mesa is indeed trying to help, but it can act only as a facilitator, not as a direct provider of financial aid or other services.
 
Here's a link to the excellent reporting in yesterday's Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2015/06/15/mesa-royale-mobile-home-park-decision-human-cost/71235678/

Here's a link on the same subject written IN SPANISH by Maria Polletta and Laura Gomez on June 5th from La Voz: Translation = Hundred of Families in Mesa Face Imminent Eviction

Cientos de familias en Mesa enfrentan desalojo inminente