Film in Downtown Mesa > The St. Michael Prayer

Oooops! Almost forgot having had the pleasure to meet and talk with Chad Turner way back in what seems an eternity ago until he sent an email on Sept 7th
Tim,
I am sorry we didn't get to connect at our filming in downtown Mesa on the weekend of June 18 & 19. We have finished our short film, so I would like to share it with you.  I welcome any comments or concerns.  Thank you for your passion for downtown Mesa.

Published on Sep 8, 2016
Views: 1,790

Do you know the St. Michael prayer? What are your battles? Who is amongst you to help fight those battles? Temptations? These are a few questions that Filming the Faith hopes to help you answer in this film.

CREDITS:
THANK YOU to all the Filming the Faith ministry volunteers involved in the making of this film.

A special THANK YOU:
City of Mesa
Nemesis Security Group
Subway (161 W Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201)
Queens Pizzeria (125 W Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201)
Smith-O-Lator Cookies (124 W. Main St. Mesa, AZ 85201)
Tempe Camera Rental Dept. (Camera)
St. Timothy Knights of Columbus
Carlos Weaver (Lens)
Anthony Garone (Microphone)

CAST:

Jason - Austin Morris
Table customer - Mary Lou Kaye
Table attendant -
Tablet Girl - Anika Salazar
Tablet Guy - Justin Patterson
Arguing Woman - Sharon LeBeau
Arguing Man - Peter LeBeau
Gawking Boy 1 - Dominic Pastore
Gawking Boy 2 - John Paul Pastore
Gawking Boy 3 - Kyle Spratt
Drug Dealer - Josh Patterson
Drug User - Maria Boas
Selfie Girl 1 - Hannah Collins
Selfie Girl 2 - Lawsen Stanley
Selfie Girl 3 -
Homeless Man - Br. Jim Scher
Priest 1 - Fr. Charlie Goraieb
Priest 2 - Fr. John Greb

CREW:

Written by Jillian Patterson & Chad Turner
Location Manager: Christine D'Ambrosio
Art Direction: DeAnn Welter
DP/SteadiCam Op/Camera: Thomas Duran
1st AC: John Fritts
2nd AC: Patrick Taylor
Location Audio: Kelly Hartley & Joe Blank
Boom Operator: Tim Mills
Make up: Debbi Fritts
Gaffer: Joe Reynolds
Best Boy: Matthew Reynolds
Key Grip: John Fraser
Location Photography: Kevin Theriault
Assistant to Actors: Peggy Collins
Location Security: Jonah Gerle (Nemesis)
Production Assistant: Cienna Molina
Directed by Chad Turner

Trying To Find The Core: Hard To Get A Beat On

Evolution of the suburban core: Proximity to the ‘good stuff’

By Peter Madrid | MadridMedia
Posted on September 23, 2016 by ULI Arizona
Blogger Note: There's a much better article about sprawls and suburbs later on in this post
Your MesaZona blogger was somewhat surprised to find Peter Madrid, who's a heavyweight in the commercial real estate market, now making a joint-career in journalism.
Instead of biting into the harvest from "The Tree of Knowledge" growing out of a wealth of brilliant thinking for new development models, whatever the author calls "the core" in either urban or suburban environments appears to be surrounded by a bunch of confusion:    

"It’s hard to get a beat on what’s happening in America’s suburbs as trends point to people moving back to the city, particularly the urban cores.
"However, according to panelists at ULI Arizona’s Main Program, “Evolution of the Suburban Core,” people aren’t ready to give up on the suburbs, a big house, and the yard.
( Peter Madrid, shown in the image to the right from Phoenix Business Journal, Aug 1, 2016 )

He goes on not saying that most people think of suburbs as sprawls - they have no core with human populations expanding away from central urban areas into low-density, monofunctional and usually car-dependent communities ...yet he goes onto to write:
"The suburbs are alive and well. At their core, they’re centers of change, cultural activity, and economic growth. The case studies presented prove that point right here in the Valley.

Read more of the article if you can believe what Peter Madrid or any of the panelists had to say
http://arizona.uli.org/uli-arizona-news/evolution-suburban-core/?




Why Sprawl Is Not the Only Choice

By Matthew Robare • September 22, 2016, 2:20 PM

Everyone who follows debates about urban planning already knows that sprawling cities build more housing and have lower housing costs. Yet last week Issi Romem, an economic analyst at BuildZoom, a company that helps people find and hire contractors, published an analysis of this phenomenon that sent urbanists reeling. It should not have done so. Romem’s data was not new and his analysis was flawed and misleading.

Here are some of the points

• While Romem’s data is indisputable, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
• Sprawl isn’t really as cheap as it seems. A network of tax breaks, financial guarantees, subsidies, and other chicanery keep parts of suburbia relatively inexpensive.
• Most notably, transportation costs are often excluded from the discussion of housing affordability, even though it’s hard to live anywhere without a way to get to work
• This leads to what Romem calls the “land-use trilemma,” which presents the perceived trade-offs between more sprawl, doing nothing while letting expensive cities get more expensive, or liberalizing land use laws to allow more density. Much like C.S. Lewis’s trilemma, which was useful for Christian apologetics (but is usually ignored by more serious theologians and Biblical scholars), Romem’s trilemma is useful for the apologists of sprawl but falls apart upon examining his assumptions.
• For instance, tucked away in a footnote, Romem writes that “Shifting from single family to multifamily housing involves a sacrifice in terms of living standards

• A similar view of development underlines and undermines the trilemma. For example, Romem implies that development is a major intervention that happens on a neighborhood scale. He told Bloomberg‘s Patrick Clark, “No one is really thinking about tearing down single-family neighborhoods and putting up apartment buildings.”But no urbanists really think that kind of demolition is necessary. There’s a wide spectrum between the Levittowns, archetypes of postwar sprawl, and Hong Kong’s former Kowloon Walled City, once the densest neighborhood on the planet. Density can be added, as in the albeit extreme Mission bunkhouse example, by turning a single family house into a multifamily
• New Urbanism also presents an alternative to the trilemma by supporting the regeneration of small towns affected by deindustrialization. Many cities have older, traditional small towns with existing but dilapidated multifamily housing stock or downtown commercial or industrial blocks capable of being attractively renovated
• New Urbanist designs can also be applied to new development in expansive cities. Some big cities, especially outside the northeast and west coast, are surrounded by unincorporated land not subject to municipal zoning laws. A developer could build a denser, more urban neighborhood in these areas—which is exactly what’s happening in Toronto’s suburbs, according to Stephen J. Smith. The financing might be difficult, thanks to federal rules that, according to the Regional Plan Association, discourage the construction of small mixed-use buildings by capping how much commercial space they can have and promoting larger buildings.

Just as importantly, the land-use trilemma falls apart because realistically there is no alternative to allowing greater density.
There are hard limits to the development pattern of American suburbia.
The most discussed is commute time across metropolitan areas. According to Slate, longer commutes are associated with divorce, isolation, obesity, stress, neck and back pain, sleeplessness, and unhappiness.

Metropolitan areas need not follow the standard pattern of a dense core—not that most American cities are dense by global standards—and dispersed suburbs, but could become more decentralized with pockets of higher density at certain points throughout a region, along the lines of Joel Garreau’s neglected “edge city” concept.

Rancho del Arte: Housing, Support Services/Education > Small Business Accelerator

Fuerza Local Business Accelerator Program Expands to Mesa

Receives $144,000 Grant to Develop Across the Valley

September 15, 2016 by Elizabeth Leon

The Fuerza Local Business Accelerator Program is skyrocketing to success, and small business owners, community members, and elected officials are taking notice. With the growing interest from business owners who were interested in applying for the program, Fuerza Local realized there was a need to expand to different parts of the Valley.

Rancho del Arte is the new home for Mesa classes, which host 12 small businesses at a weekly basis as part of the Fuerza Local Business Accelerator expansion. The small business owners meet once a week for rigorous courses with instructors who are experts in the subject.

While the Phoenix and Mesa groups are held at different times in separate locations, both groups will graduate together for the program’s largest graduating class in January 2017. The graduation will celebrate a total of 36 businesses, which complete the program’s seventh cohort.
The Fuerza Local Business Accelerator Program has been a huge success since its launch in the Fall of 2013. Since then, the program has graduated a total of 80 small businesses, and has had an economic impact of more than $876,000.

The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) recently approved a $144,000 grant to help expand the program, allowing it to develop in more communities throughout the Valley. 2017 will be the program’s biggest year yet, offering classes is Phoenix, Mesa, Avondale, and Maryvale. A total of 60 small businesses will be able to learn from industry professionals about the proper techniques to opening and operating a successful business.

Applications for the 8th class will be accepted in October. For more information on the Fuerza Local Business Accelerator Program, visit: www.fuerzalocal.org.

Read more >> here

 

 

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FOLLOW UP > P&Z Meeting Minutes for Sept 21 2016 // Video in Earlier Post on This Site]

Follow-up on earlier post here
Meeting Minutes
Planning and Zoning Board - Public Hearing
 4:00 PM Council Chambers - Upper Level Wednesday,
September 21, 2016

Most were approved with a committee vote 6-0, including approvals with conditions, staff recommendations, and information about what the items are.
Readers might note 4 approvals in District 6, 4 approvals in District 5, 2 in District 3, and one each in Districts 1 and District 2

Chair Michael Clement
Vice Chair Michelle Dahlke
Board members
Dane Astle
Steve Ikeda
Jessica Sarkissian
Jennifer Duff
Tim Boyle

Items on this agenda that must be adopted by ordinance and/or resolution will be on a future City Council agenda. 
Anyone interested in attending the City Council public hearing should call the Planning Division at (480) 644-2385 or review the City Council agendas on the City's website at www.mesaaz.gov to find the agenda on which the item(s) will be placed.

Call meeting to order.
Chair Clement called the meeting to order.

1 Take action on all consent agenda items.

Items on the Consent Agenda
2Approval of minutes from previous meetings.
*2-a PZ 16217 Minutes from the August 16, 2016 and August 17, 2016 Study Sessions and Regular Hearing Approved (Vote: 6-0)

3Take action on the following zoning cases:
City of MesaPage 1
September 21, 2016Planning and Zoning Board - Public Hearing Meeting Minutes

*3-a PZ 16204 Z16-037 District 5. 
2810 North Val Vista Drive and 3558 East McDowell Road. Located at the northwest corner of McDowell Road and Val Vista Drive.  (1.69± acres).  Site Plan Review.  This request will allow development of an assisted living facility. (PLN2016-00379). Jennifer Tonna, applicant; Jennifer Tonna, owner. (Continued from August 17, 2016) Staff Planner:  Jennifer Gniffke Staff Recommendation:  Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*3-b PZ 16205 Z16-047 District 6.  The 4200 through 4400 blocks of South Signal Butte Road (west side) and the 10300 through 10800 blocks of East Point Twenty-Two Boulevard (north side).  Located north of Point Twenty-Two Boulevard and west of Signal Butte Road (116± acres). Development Unit Plan.  This request amends the Development Unit Plan for Development Unit 6-South of the Eastmark Community Plan. Jill Hegardt, DMB Mesa Proving Grounds, LLC, applicant; DMB Mesa Proving Grounds, LLC, owner.  (PLN2016-00602)
Staff Planner:  Tom Ellsworth Staff Recommendation:  Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*3-c PZ 16206 Z16-048 District 6.  4425 South Mountain Road. District 6. Located at the southeast corner of Warner Road and Mountain Road. (3.9± acres). Site Plan Review. This request will allow for the development of a shell commercial building. Lesley L. Partch, Functional Formation Architecture, applicant; Mountain Warner, LLC, owner. (PLN2016-00581) 
Staff Planner:  Mia Lozano Staff Recommendation:  Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
Discuss and make a recommendation to the City Council on the following zoning cases:
4
City of MesaPage 2
September 21, 2016Planning and Zoning Board - Public Hearing Meeting Minutes
*4-a PZ 16207 Z16-040 District 6.  The 600 block of South Signal Butte Road (west side).  Located south of Broadway Road on the west side of Signal Butte Road.  (3.1± acres). Rezoning from RS-43 to RSL-3.0 PAD; and Site Plan Review. This request will allow for the development of a single-residential subdivision. Sean Lake, Pew & Lake, PLC, applicant; Leon Ricks, Ricks Investments, owner. (PLN2016-00377).  (Continued from August 17, 2016) Staff Planner:   Tom Ellsworth Staff Recommendation:   Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*4-b PZ 16208 Z16-043 District 2.  4500 block of East Southern Avenue (north side) and 4500 Block East Flower Circle (west of the termination of the cul-de-sac).  Located east of Greenfield Road on the north side of Southern Avenue.  (7.33± acres). Rezone from RS-6-PAD to LC, (2.78± acres); and Site Plan Modification (7.33± acres). This request will allow expansion of a mini-storage facility and reconfiguration of existing RV and boat storage.  Jeff D Welker, Welker Development Resources, LLC, applicant; Beth Coons, RFN Investment, owner. (PLN2016-00489)  
Staff Planner:   Wahid Alam Staff Recommendation:   Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*4-c PZ 16209 Z16-044 District 5.  Located east of the 200 to 400 blocks of North Power Road and south of the 6800 to 7000 blocks of East University Drive. Located east of Power Road and south of University Drive. (15.8± acres).  Rezoning from LC to RSL-2.5-PAD; and Site Plan Review.  This request will allow for development of a single-residence subdivision.  Mark Pugmire, Highland Communities, LLC applicant; Highland Communities, LLC, owner. (PLN2016-00427) 
Staff Planner:   Lesley Davis Staff Recommendation:   Continue to October 19, 2016 Approved (Vote: 6-0)
City of MesaPage 3
September 21, 2016Planning and Zoning Board - Public Hearing Meeting Minutes
*4-d PZ 16216 Z16-045 District 1.  3400 to 3500 block of East Thomas Road (south side). Located west of Val Vista Drive on the south side of Thomas Road. (10.6± acres). Rezoning from LC-PAD to RM-2-PAD; and Site Plan Review. This request will allow a multiple-residence development. Brennan Ray, Bruch & Cracchiolo, P.A., applicant; Engel Investments, L.P., owner. (PLN2016-00327). 
Staff Planner:   Kim Steadman Staff Recommendation:   Continue to October 19, 2016 Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*4-e PZ 16210 Z16-046 District 3.  1800 block of West Main Street (north side), 100 Block of North Dobson Road (east side) and 100 block of North Sycamore (west side). Located east of Dobson Road, north of Main Street and west of Sycamore. (20.59± acres). Approval of rezoning from ID-2, GC-BIZ, LC-BIZ and LC to T4N, T4NF, T5N, T5MSF, and T5MS and the adoption of the Preliminary Development Plan of the Smart Growth Community Plan.  This request will allow development of a Transit Oriented neighborhood to including but not limited to uses such as multi-residences, townhomes, parking garages, commercial retail and services, senior living facilities, extended care facilities, and education facilities. (PLN2016-00372) 
Staff Planner:  Andrew Spurgin  Staff Recommendation:   Continue to October 19, 2016 Approved (Vote: 6-0)
City of MesaPage 4
September 21, 2016Planning and Zoning Board - Public Hearing Meeting Minutes
5Discuss and take action on the following preliminary plats:
*5-a PZ 16211 "Eastmark DU 3/4 East Parcels 3/4-6 through 3/4-8”. District 6. The 9600 through 9700 blocks of East Point Twenty-Two Boulevard (south side) and the 4900 blocks of South Inspirian Parkway. Located east of Ellsworth Road and north of Ray Road. (32.9± acres). Preliminary Plat. Jill Hegardt, DMB Mesa Proving Grounds, LLC, applicant; DMB Mesa Proving Grounds, LLC, owner. (PLN2016-00585).  
Staff Planner:  Lesley Davis Staff Recommendation: Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*5-b PZ 16212 "Diamond Court”.  District 6. The 600 block of South Signal Butte Road (west side).  Located south of Broadway Road on the west side of Signal Butte Road. (3.1± acres). Preliminary Plat. Sean Lake, Pew & Lake, PLC, applicant; Leon Ricks, Ricks Investments, owner. Continued from the August 17th Meeting. (PLN2016-00377).  Companion Case to Z16-040.  Staff Planner:  Tom Ellsworth Staff Recommendation: Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
*5-c PZ 16214 "Skyview”. District 5. Located east of the 200 to 400 blocks of North Power Road and south of the 6800 to 7000 blocks of East University Drive. (15.8± acres). Preliminary Plat.  Located east of Power Road and south of University Drive. Mark Pugmire, Highland Communities, LLC applicant; Highland Communities, LLC, owner.  (PLN2016-00427). Companion case to Z16-044. Staff Planner:  Lesley Davis Staff Recommendation: Continue to October 19, 2016 Approved (Vote: 6-0)
City of MesaPage 5
September 21, 2016Planning and Zoning Board - Public Hearing Meeting Minutes
*5-d PZ 16215 "Tri-City Pavillions II”. District 3. 1870, 1932, 1960 and 1984 West Main Street and 67 North Dobson Road. Located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Dobson Road.  (12.63± acres). Preliminary Plat. Gary B. Fox, Superior Surveying Services, Inc., applicant; Tri-City Retail, LLC, owner. (PLN2016-00471).
Staff Planner:  Lesley Davis Staff Recommendation: Approval with Conditions Approved (Vote: 6-0)
6Other Business.
7Adjournment. Approved (Vote: 6-0)

WATCH OUT for Wishful [+ Misleading] Public Statements By City of Mesa Officials

Evolution of the suburban core: Proximity to the ‘good stuff’
By Peter Madrid | MadridMedia

Posted on September 23, 2016 by ULI Arizona

Source >> Urban Land Institute

 

Peter Madrid starts off like this: " It’s hard to get a beat on what’s happening in America’s suburbs as trends point to people moving back to the city, particularly the urban cores. . . . "

Say What ?? It's hard to get a beat on. ... Huh? Let's not go there for what all that statement might refer to but consider what drum this dude is pounding,

My observation is that "trends" are accelerating in both directions - urban and suburban at the same time. Living in both and the option "rural" would be the best of both worlds.

What's not clear is why development outside of cities is called sub-urban - it's a misnomer to say the least implying that the different palaces where we chose to live are either inferior or superior to one another.

People move yes they do with the split-decision between the quality of life and the location of jobs. Where to live and where to work that's the turning point.

Peter Madrid cites four examples introduced by The suburbs are alive and well. At their core, they’re centers of change, cultural activity, and economic growth. The case studies presented prove that point right here in the Valley.

He mentions only two suburban examples and two downtown examples when in fact that there are many others.

• Verrado: Not sprawl, but a neighboring town 25 miles from Phoenix bordering the White Tank Mountains. A center of gravity all its own. A town center. A mix of uses. Balance. Proximity to the “good stuff.”
• Chandler Viridian: Suburban infill. A great site because of its proximity to the freeway system. The Price Road employment corridor. Plans for more than 170 businesses, including 40 restaurants. Class A office building. A hotel. A 335-unit Alliance Residential project.
• Gilbert Heritage District: A 30-year vision of creating a destination in the downtown core. More than $24 million in private capital invested. More than 300,000 square feet of residential and retail under construction. Popular restaurant concepts already in place. More growth on the way.
• Downtown Mesa: When it comes to its urban core, the City of Mesa has a lot to crow about. Light rail. Mesa Amphitheater. Higher education,  including ???  Arizona State opening a campus.

 

STOP RIGHT THERE. HOLD ON JUST ONE MINUTE!

 

Your MesaZona blogger's "beat" is the smart re-generation for The New Urban Downtown Mesa where everyone is invited to the table

Yours truly "has a bone" to pick with oftentimes misleading and unsubstantiated public statements made by Mesa City officials to promote their own agendas for economic development.

 

Furthermore, I would tend to argue the point that downtown Mesa is an urban core. Less than 6,000 people live downtown in a population of over 460,000.

 

"Vision, city council alignment, and being deliberate in what they wanted were crucial to Mesa’s successful suburban core, according to Economic Development Assistant Director Jaye O’Donnell. “ASU is coming,” she said. “This is a catalyst for developing the light rail.”

 

- Don't know about that "vision thing". It's murky at best and maybe somewhat fuzzy

- Yes indeed the city has been deliberate trying to sell this to taxpayers, throwing $14,000 raised from a political action committee at a Public Relations company to create a slick and tricky campaign bundling Education together with Police/Fire for a 23% increase in TPT/sales taxes that must be approved before any of that IS

 

Another statement by Jaye O’Donnell, Mesa’s Economic Development Assistant Director, deserves some more serious attention - it is misleading and is more wishful thinking than an actual fact: “ASU is coming .. .”

 

• It is not a done deal nor is it inevitable.
• Many people question the “Pie-In-The-Sky” half-backed proposal that would plop down a satellite ASU campus for 2500 transient ASU students right in the heart of The New Urban Downtown Mesa.
• It is a $100++ Million Dollar massive mis-allocation of resources using a 23% increase in TPT/sales taxes that must be approved by voters BEFORE this might happen ….
• If ASU wants to get a small campus here in Mesa LET ASU PAY FOR IT, not taxpayers
• Smaller incremental growth is a better way to go.
• There are already two smaller universities that have been lured to locate in downtown by favorable leasing terms extended by the city to fill-up vacant city-owned properties- after five years they are still struggling to enroll students.

The question needs to get asked: How good is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who's Ready To Rumble ???

The week in review: September 17 - September 23
What's on tap next week: September 24 - September 30

What's on tap? The first presidential debate of the 2016 general election season will take place on Monday night. Here is everything you need to know:

• Ballotpedia’s coverage of the debate will include an Insider’s Survey, statistical analysis, and commentary by guest writers. Be sure to follow Ballotpedia on Twitter and read up on Clinton’s and Trump’s policy positions before, during, and after the debate. And if you are feeling nostalgic for the primary debates, Ballotpedia’s in-depth coverage of all of them can be found here.  
• Some observers in the media anticipate viewership for the debate could be around 100 million people. Dentsu Inc., an international advertising firm, is anticipating more than 80 million viewers. In 2012, the first debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney set a new record for presidential debate viewership at 67 million people.  
• The debate will start at 9 p.m. EST and will last 90 minutes. You can watch it on any major television network or online on C-SPAN or the websites of the major cable news channels.   
• It will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (The debate was originally scheduled to take place at Wright State University in Ohio but was moved after the university withdrew, citing concerns over costs and increased security.)
• The participants will be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein did not meet the 15 percent polling average required for participation by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Stein is planning a protest outside of Hofstra during the debate. Ballotpedia is unaware of Johnson’s plans.
• Lester Holt of NBC News will moderate the debate. Trump recently stated, “Lester is a professional, but we'll see what happens ... By the way, Lester is a Democrat. It's a phony system. They are all Democrats. It's a very unfair system. I've worked pretty well within the system.” Holt, a registered Republican in the state of New York, moderated the fourth Democratic debate on January 17, 2016.
• Topics at the debate will include "America's Direction," "Achieve Prosperity," and "Securing America," according to a press release from the Commission on Presidential Debates.
• Its format will be composed of six 15-minute segments, each covering a major topic selected by the moderator. Each segment will open with a question, and each candidate will have two minutes to respond, followed by responses. The remaining time will be used for "deeper discussion."

See also: Presidential debate at Hofstra University (September 26, 2016) and Presidential debates (2015-2016)