Title
Central Business District Boundary Update (Resolution 22229)
Description
Request to amend Resolution 17093 to modify the boundaries of the Phoenix Central Business District (CBD).
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix original CBD was established on Dec. 28, 1961. This original area was approximately 30 blocks in the City Center and was subsequently expanded in 1987 through Resolution 17093 to include just over two square miles of downtown (Attachment A). The original CBD was created in response to a request from the Federal Government for cities to designate a Central Business District as the location where federal services should be located. In 1993, a second CBD was established for part of the Sky Harbor Center Redevelopment Area to assist with the redevelopment of the areas south and west of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Sky Harbor CBD was expanded in 1993, 1996 and then 2003. The second CBD was created to encourage private investment in the Sky Harbor area.
In 2018, the Arizona Legislature modified the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) requirements for a CBD, making several changes that impacted how Arizona cities could establish the boundaries for a CBD. The modifications included a restriction on the size of a CBD, limiting areas to not more than two-and-one-half percent of that total land area of the municipality. In Phoenix this is just over 12 square miles. Additionally, the CBD must be contiguous and geographically compact with a form that has a length that is generally not more than twice its width. Despite legislative changes, the existing 1987 CBD boundary of Phoenix is grandfathered in and remains in its approved form, with the exception of the second CBD near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport which has remained inactive since 2018. Modification of the 1987 CBD is possible; however, the new boundary for the CBD would need to comply with the modified requirements regarding the size and shape of the district boundary.
The proposed modifications to the 1987 CBD would be to leave the northern boundary as it exists today with a boundary of McDowell Road on the north, and expand the boundary to one half block south of Broadway Road on the south and the 23rd Avenue alignment on the west to 20th Street on the east. The boundaries are more specifically shown in Attachment B. The proposed updated boundary complies with the modified requirements in state law and will provide new opportunities for revitalization in the updated Downtown Redevelopment Area, the Rio Salado Redevelopment Area and the Target Area B Redevelopment Area.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
Updates on the Phoenix Central Business District were presented to the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee on Feb. 22, 2023 and June 14, 2023. On June 28, 2023, staff presented a modified proposal for recommendation to Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee and the item was approved by a vote of 4-0.
Public Outreach
Staff presented to the Phoenix Community Alliance Public Affairs Committee on Jan. 9, 2024, the Phoenix Community Alliance Social & Housing Advancement Committee on Jan. 11, 2024, the Downtown Voices Coalition on Jan. 13, 2024, the Encanto Village Planning Committee on Feb. 5, 2024, Central City Village Planning Committee on Feb. 12, 2024 and the South Mountain Village on February 13, 2024. District 4 held three community meetings with the historic preservation community on May 13, 2024, June 10, 2024 and June 17, 2024.
Location
Boundaries of the updated Central Business District are generally McDowell Road on the north and Broadway Road on the south, 23rd Avenue on the west and 20th Street on the east.
Council Districts: 4, 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager John Chan and the Community and Economic Development Department.