Title
Recertification and Update of the Downtown Redevelopment Area Boundaries
Description
This report requests the Land Use and Livability Subcommittee recommend City Council approval of the recertification and update to the Downtown Redevelopment Area boundaries.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The City Council initially established the Downtown Redevelopment Area (RDA) in January 1979, by the City Council's designation of a slum area. To comply with Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) 42-6209(F), every 10 years, the City must review each RDA with portions that lie within the City’s Central Business District and either renew, modify or terminate each RDA designation. This law affects two existing City of Phoenix Redevelopment Areas: the Downtown RDA and Government Mall RDA. In order to meet the State’s deadline, the City must complete the recertification and update process by Oct. 1, 2020.
PLAN*et Communities LLC, the City’s consultant, completed a survey of the Downtown area, and based on the prevalence of slum and blighted conditions, has proposed an updated RDA boundary (Attachment A) that consolidates the following RDAs:
- Downtown
- Capital Mall
- Hope VI
- 7th St/Buckeye
- Booker T. Washington
- Edison Eastlake
- Special
- Western portion of the Sky Harbor RDA
The consolidated Downtown RDA creates one unified RDA to be used for redevelopment purposes. This action does not modify the Central Business District. Upon adoption of the boundary in compliance with A.R.S. 42-6209(F), City staff will bring forward a detailed planning document that will merge several of the existing plans and include significant input from community members. The timing of this activity will depend upon the ability to perform the significant community outreach necessary to update the redevelopment plan.
Public Outreach
Property owners within the proposed updated Downtown RDA boundary were mailed letters on May 1, 2020, to inform them of the proposed change. The letters included a link to the Community and Economic Development Department website where additional information is provided, including:
- Interactive map of the proposed boundary
- Alphabetized list of the parcels
- A history and context of the area
- Survey methodology
- Community meeting details
- Online comment/question form to provide questions
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the public outreach portion of the project has been significantly impacted and all meetings are being conducted virtually. Community meetings include the City's Encanto Village Planning Committee on May 4, 2020, the City's Central City Village Planning Committee on May 11, 2020, Planning Commission on May 7, 2020, and two City hosted virtual meetings on May 12, 2020 and May 18, 2020. Staff also provided the opportunity for a virtual presentation to the affected neighborhood associations.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
Staff presented an update on the City's Central Business District (CBD), downtown redevelopment areas within the CBD and required Redevelopment Area recertification to the City's Planning and Economic Development Subcommittee at its Jan. 8, 2019 meeting.
Location
Council Districts: 4, 7 and 8.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Deanna Jonovich, Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua, and the Planning and Development, Neighborhood Services and Community and Economic Development departments.