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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOR CITY COUNCIL PACKET

October 20, 2009

 

The October 20, 2009 Executive Session has been Cancelled

 

The October 20, 2009 Policy Session has been Cancelled

 

 

BACK-UP INFORMATION FOR THE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2009 FORMAL AGENDA

 

Boards Citywide	Page 1	Boards and Commissions
Item 91 District 4	Page 118	Request for Proposals for the Sale of City-Owned Properties in the Pierson Place Historic District

 

 

Packet Date:  March 27, 2009

 

CITY COUNCIL REPORT
FORMAL AGENDA
TO:	Council Members	AGENDA DATE:	October 21, 2009
FROM:	Phil Gordon Mayor			PAGE:	1
SUBJECT:	BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

 

 

ALHAMBRA VILLAGE PLANNING COMMITTEE

I nominate the following new appointee:

 

Alexander J. Malkoon

Mr. Malkoon serves as President of Cedar Square Holdings, LLC, resides in District 6 and is recommended by Councilman Sal DiCiccio.  He replaces Timothy Becker, who resigned, and will serve his first term to expire November 19, 2011.

 

 

CITY TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY ADVISORY BOARD

I nominate the following reappointments:

 

Deb Gullett

Ms. Gullett completed her first term and will serve her second term to expire September 30, 2011.

 

Don Maxwell

Mr. Maxwell serves as Director of the Community and Economic Development Department and serves as a non-voting representative of the City of Phoenix.  He completed his first term and will serve a second term to expire September 30, 2011.

 

Steve Moore

Mr. Moore serves as President/CEO of the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau and serves as a non-voting representative.  He completed his third term and will serve a fourth term to expire September 30, 2010.

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMISSION

I nominate Jeremy Stapleton to serve as Vice Chair for a term to expire June 30, 2010.

 

I nominate the following new appointee:

 

Jessica Garcia

Ms. Garcia serves as Managing Member and Principal with the architectural firm JLGWorks.  She replaces Mark Manoil, whose term expired, and will serve her first term to expire August 31, 2012.

 

 

HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION

I nominate the following new appointee:

 

Jeff Gross

Mr. Gross is an attorney with the law firm of Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A. and is recommended by Councilwoman Peggy Neely.  He replaces Kathleen Donaldson, who resigned, and will serve his first term to expire December 31, 2013.

 

 

MAYOR’S COMMISSION ON DISABILITY ISSUES

I nominate the following new appointee:

 

Ginnie Schmitt

Ms. Schmitt is a freelance writer and co-owner of Schmitt Jewelers, Inc.  She replaces Aaron Blocher-Rubin, who resigned, and will serve a partial term to expire June 2, 2011.

 

 

PHOENIX 2010 CENSUS COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE

I nominate the following to serve as a member of the Business subcommittee:

 

Deanna Jordan

Ms. Jordan serves as Director of IT for Stinger Welding, Inc.

 

 

PHOENIX WOMEN’S COMMISSION

I nominate the following new appointee:

 

Deanna Jordan

Ms. Jordan serves as Director of IT for Stinger Welding, Inc. and resides in District 6.  She replaces Balbir Grewall, who resigned, and will serve a partial term to expire June 30, 2010.

 

 

PHOENIX YOUTH AND EDUCATION COMMISSION

I nominate the following new appointee:

 

Kathleen Bartolomei

Ms. Bartolomei is an independent contractor who resides in District 4.  She replaces Tamara Woodbury, who resigned, and will serve a partial term to expire June 30, 2011.

 

I nominate the following reappointments:

 

Mike Dalton

Mr. Dalton is a retired educator and consultant.  He completed a partial term and will serve his first term to expire June 30, 2012.

 

Dave Howell

Mr. Howell serves as Arizona Vice President of Community & Government Relations with Wells Fargo.  He completed his first term and will serve a second term to expire June 30, 2012.

 

Nedda Shafir

Ms. Shafir serves as Public Information Officer for the Cave Creek Unified School District and resides in District 3.  She completed a partial term and will serve her first term to expire June 30, 2012.

 

 

CITY COUNCIL REPORT
FORMAL AGENDA
TO:	Ed Zuercher Deputy City Manager	AGENDA DATE:		October 21, 2009
FROM:	Maria Hyatt Assistant To The City Manager	ITEM:	91	PAGE:	118
SUBJECT:	BACKUP TO THE OCTOBER 21, 2009 FORMAL AGENDA ITEM #91, REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE SALE OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES IN THE PIERSON PLACE HISTORIC DISTRICT

 

This report provides backup information to Formal Agenda Item #91, which requests City Council approval to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to rehabilitate single-family historic structures and redevelop vacant property for single-family residential use in Central Phoenix. 

 

THE ISSUE

 

The Request for Proposals (RFP) consists of five (5) historic, single-family residential structures located at 40, 42, 50, 54, and 96 West Mariposa Street, and two vacant lots located at 44 and 514 West Mariposa Street.  These properties are located on the north side of Mariposa Street between Central and 7^th Avenues and are associated with the federally assisted light rail and park-and-ride construction at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Camelback Road.  These seven (7) properties are located within the boundaries of the Pierson Place Historic District.

 

The RFP complies with the City’s commitment to mitigate light rail’s impacts on the Pierson Place Historic District.  Through a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding and a 2006 Historic Properties Treatment Plan, the City committed to issue an RFP for the homes and land for single-family residences by July 2009.  The deadline was later extended to October 2009.  Adjacent property owners of Central and Camelback have proposed a larger scale development potentially going down Camelback Road towards 7^th Avenue.  Pursuit of a larger scale development use for City-owned property would require the City to stop the current, federally approved plan to issue the RFP and reopen the federal environmental documents.  Completing the steps necessary to reopen the Environmental Impact Statement could take up to two (2) years at an estimated cost between $200,000 and $500,000.

 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

Federal Rules:

Federally assisted transportation improvement projects are required to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended) and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966.  The Section 106 process requires projects that use federal funds (or that require federal permits or licenses) to identify potential project impacts on historic properties, and avoid, minimize and mitigate adverse impacts to historic properties to the extent feasible.  The Section 4(f) process requires that all federally funded transportation programs only use land involving historic properties if “there is not prudent or feasible alternative to using that land and if the program or project includes all possible planning to minimize harm…” to those historic properties.  In order to receive $587 million in federal funds to build light rail, the City of Phoenix committed to comply with Section 106 and 4(f) and committed to a specific mitigation plan for these properties in Pierson Place.

 

FTA and SHPO:

In the case of the construction of the existing 20-mile light rail line, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is responsible for ensuring this project complies with both the Section 106 and the Section 4(f) processes as part of the project’s overall environmental process delineated in its approved Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  The Section 106 and 4(f) processes required that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) be executed among FTA, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and the City of Phoenix to clarify the obligations of FTA and the City regarding impacts to cultural resources (includes both archaeological resources and above-ground historic properties).  The City Council authorized the City of Phoenix to enter into the required MOA in 2002.  The executed MOA required METRO and the City of Phoenix to develop a Historic Properties Treatment Plan to minimize impacts of the light rail project on historic properties in accordance with federal regulations and with oversight by FTA.  Since the Historic Properties Treatment Plan can affect project design, the completion and execution of the treatment plan was critical to finishing the design phase of the light rail project and keeping light rail construction on schedule.

 

Approved Mitigation Measures:

The SHPO-approved Historic Properties Treatment Plan for cultural resources included 15 measures to “minimize and mitigate” potential adverse effects caused by the light rail project on the Pierson Place Historic District.  These measures, which were developed with substantial input from both the Pierson Place Neighborhood and the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission, included an eight-foot noise wall to separate the light rail and park-and-ride lots from the neighborhood; a reduced circumference cul-de-sac on Mariposa Street near Central Avenue with rolled curb to be consistent with the residential scale and character of the neighborhood; the location of a new signal and communication building outside of the historic district to minimize visual impacts to the neighborhood; redesign of the initial design of the park-and-ride lot to eliminate encroachment on Mariposa Street and inside the boundaries of the historic district; archaeological monitoring during construction; and the sale of properties within the boundaries of the historic district to private property owners for single-family use. 

 

To conform to the SHPO-approved Historic Preservation Treatment Plan, the City is required to sell seven (7) properties in the Pierson Place Historic District for residential purposes subject to historic preservation restrictions.  This includes five (5) parcels with existing historic residences:  40, 42, 50, 54 and 96 W. Mariposa Street, and two vacant lots located at 44 and 514 W. Mariposa Street.  The conveyance of these properties was subject to the stipulation that the five historic residential structures remain intact and in residential use, and that any new construction be consistent with the historic character of the neighborhood.   Two of the seven parcels – 40 and 42 West Mariposa Street, known as “the adobes” – were more severely impacted by light rail construction because significant land from these parcels was needed for the light rail project.  The Treatment Plan specified that if 40 and 42 West Mariposa were not successfully sold for residential purposes, they could be sold as a combined property with a professional office reuse along with the vacant lot at 44 West Mariposa to provide parking and adaptive re-use of the buildings.  The Historic Properties Treatment Plan, as amended, required that an RFP be issued by July 2009.  Due to various delays, but in coordination with the SHPO, the issuance of the RFP has been delayed to October 2009. 

 

RFP Plan:

The City will comply with all federal regulations, which include competitive bidding that result in the highest possible return for single-family residential and at least payment of appraised fair market value.  Staff anticipates releasing the RFP in October 2009.  Representatives from the State Historic Preservation Office, the Historic Preservation Office or Commission, and the Pierson Place Neighborhood Association will be represented on the selection panel that will make recommendations to the City Council regarding the conveyance of these properties.  Staff will return to the City Council in early 2010 to review proposals received through this Request for Proposals. 

 

Process for Changes:

Since the Historic Properties Treatment Plan was approved by the FTA and the SHPO in May 2006, adjacent property owners have brought forth ideas to incorporate the park-and-rides and other transit amenities into a larger development that also encompasses the Central and Camelback station and park-and-ride in a joint development/transit-oriented development opportunity.  This builds on an Urban Land Institute report from 2002 advocating the area be “master planned to strengthen connections with existing projects and to leverage public investment for maximum economic development.”  This larger plan could incorporate some or all of the properties in the Historic Properties Treatment Plan.  At the August 27, 2009 Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee meeting, the Subcommittee requested that staff discuss the possibility and process for changing the scope of the Historic Properties Treatment Plan with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

 

METRO and City staffs held a conference call with the FTA on September 9, 2009 to discuss the process for changing a Memorandum of Agreement and its resulting Historic Properties Treatment Plan.  Staff’s understanding of the process is as follows:

 

Process	Estimated Time and Resources
METRO and City staff will need to review the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision documents to determine if the proposed change is covered within existing documents.  If it is not covered, METRO and the City would need to submit documentation describing the proposed change to FTA.	30-45 days
FTA will then determine if the proposed change is a federal undertaking and if so, determine what level of environmental review is needed.	30-60 days
Next steps would include defining the project in sufficient detail to determine its impact and could include the following: Design the project at a level to determine its visual impact to the historic district and surrounding neighborhoods Determine traffic impacts Confer with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality regarding treatment of groundwater and soil treatment plan Hold public meetings throughout the process ·         Define joint-development project and begin discussions with FTA on the proposed plan	12 to 24 months
METRO and the City would then submit documentation to FTA for Section 106 consultation.  If satisfactory, FTA would then submit the documentation to SHPO and request their concurrence or comments within 30 days	30-60 days
4(f) Process METRO must document to FTA if there were feasible alternatives to avoid impacts to historic properties If avoidable, the Secretary of Transportation is responsible for determining if there were no reasonable or prudent alternatives and all reasonable steps were taken to avoid adverse affects	Concurrent with submission of Section 106 information   Unknown timeframe for decision
Resource Estimate	$200,000 - $500,000

 

The total time needed to complete the process could be as long as two years and cost an estimated $200,000 to $500,000.  The City of Phoenix would also need to request FTA’s approval to delay issuing the RFP indicated in the Central and Camelback Historic Properties Treatment Plan until the process has been completed.  Once the process is completed, if approved by the FTA, the City of Phoenix would need to issue an RFP for the larger project.  Due to FTA requirements regarding competitive processes, the City would need to pay all costs associated with documenting a change to the EIS, but could require the successful proposer to reimburse the City for these costs.

 

Staff also met with State Historic Preservation Office staff on September 18 and October 13, 2009.  At the October 13 meeting, the State Historic Preservation Officer, Jim Garrison, indicated he preferred the City issue the RFP as planned; however, if the City felt it was in its best interest to delay to look at other ideas, he would be willing to support a short extension of time at the City’s written request.

 

ALTERNATIVES

 

1.         Issue an RFP for disposition of the City-owned property within the Pierson Place

Historic District in accordance with the Historic Properties Treatment Plan approved in 2006.  Per the stipulations in the Agreement with the federal government, the RFP for the homes and property must be for single-family, owner-occupied use and give at least a return of market value to the City of Phoenix Public Transit Department.  Funds obtained from the sale of the properties will be used for light rail purposes.

 

2.         Request Federal Transit Administration’s permission to delay for up to two (2) years issuing the RFP as currently required under the Memorandum of Agreement and Central and Camelback Historic Properties Treatment Plan.  Issuing an RFP for anything other than the stipulations in the Historic Properties Treatment Plan would require modifying the existing EIS or completing a new EIS and would include a new submission for Section 106 and 4(f) reviews.  A variation of this alternative would be to hold the RFP for two (2) months and hold public meetings with the Pierson Place Neighborhood, surrounding neighborhoods, and other interested parties to see if there is a community interest in a larger development for this area.  The cost to modify the EIS could be as much as $200,000 to $500,000.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Staff recommends issuing the Request for Proposals to dispose of five (5) historic, single-family residential structures located at 40, 42, 50, 54, and 96 W. Mariposa Street, and two vacant lots located at 44 and 514 W. Mariposa Street. 

 

Alternatively, the City Council could direct staff to request Federal Transit Administration permission to delay for up to two (2) years issuing the RFP as currently required under the Memorandum of Agreement and Central and Camelback Historic Properties Treatment Plan.  This request is subject to FTA approval.  Funds for completing the work required to obtain FTA approval and continue to secure and maintain the existing houses will be required from the light rail portion of the Transit 2000 fund.  This is currently an unbudgeted expense and would require funding by cutting another light rail program. 

 

An interim step of this alternative could be to hold the RFP two months to meet with the Pierson Place Neighborhood, surrounding neighborhoods, and interested parties to discuss larger scale development opportunities for this site.  This step would require the City to send a letter to the State Historic Preservation Office requesting the delay.