March 9th, 2011
City Planning Commission – Victory!
Thank you to all who are following this issue and who sent emails to the members of the Planning Commission. Your emails were persuasive enough in number to result in the Planning Commission’s 9-0 vote against fast tracking the General Plan Update. This is a near complete reversal from their last meeting. Well done all!
Next and Last Stop – The City Council
For those of you who may be new to the issue, please read the explanation below.
For those of you who are already committed to stopping this potential disaster, please read the Action Required section below and click on the link to email the Mayor and Council.
All cities and counties in Arizona are required by law to have general plans and to update them every ten years. The last Phoenix update was approved by the City Council on 12/5/01 and ratified by the voters on 3/12/02. The general plan contains the city’s policies on character and design, land use, open spaces, the environment, economics, community services, neighborhood vitality, transportation and growth issues.
The State has amended the general plan update requirements for this go around such that updates for municipalities do not have to be taken to the voters until 2015. For some inexplicable reason, the Phoenix General Plan update has been put on a fast track and is currently scheduled to go to public vote on August 30, 2011.
This schedule should be delayed. Some of the reasons for this are as follows:
- Important census data pertaining to demographics, etc. will not be available until later this year
- Two important Maricopa Regional Transportation Studies will not be complete until 2012/2013.
- Should be coordinated with the strategic plan being worked on by City management.
- How are neighborhood leaders not sitting on VPC’s going to know about the General Plan Update? How will they review it? Assuming that against all odds some do, how will their comments really be considered and incorporated? The established schedule is too tight to permit meaningful feedback and changes as a result thereof to be processed.
- Need greater transparency through additional public input and review.
- By its “own admission”, the update as currently drafted is a transition document, a work in progress if you will. Is it fair to take an incomplete plan to the public for vote? How are you possibly going to describe it adequately on the ballot? When will the plan be finished? Is it also going to be submitted to the ballot? If not, why not? Assuming it will be, won’t this be an extra cost?
The Planning Commission held a hearing on the General Plan Update on 2/9/11. At this hearing, the Planning Commission did not take a position on the Update, it merely took testimony and made a few comments. Five citizens gave oral comments. All were opposed to taking the Update to a vote on 8/30/11. Their reasons were quite similar to those appearing above.
All 15 Village Planning Committees have taken a formal position on the Update. Nine of them, including all of the central city, VPCs, voted to either reject the Update outright (2) or to not take the Update to public vote on 8/30/11 (7). The remaining 6 VPCs were in agreement to go to public vote on 8/ 30/11, but wanted close monitoring and updates. The names of the nine are as follows:
- Alhambra
- Camelback East
- Central City
- Deer Valley
- Desert View
- Encanto
- Laveen
- Paradise Valley
- South Mountain
The names of the six are as follows:
- Ahwatukee
- Estrella
- Maryvale
- North Gateway
- North Mountain
- Rio Vista
The Planning Commission held 3 hearings on the General Plan Update. There were no speakers in favor of going to the public on 8/30/11. At its 3/9/11 hearing the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the General Plan Update not be sent to the voters on 8/30/11 and that it be delayed pending receipt of needed census data and other information, plus additional outreach and staff work.
The next step for the General Plan Update is a hearing by the City Council on 3/23/11 at 3:00 pm in the City Council Chambers at 200 W. Jefferson. This is the round building behind the old City Hall.
Action Required
If possible, attend the City Council Hearing at 3:00 pm on 3/23/11 and fill out a speaker’s card indicating your opposition to taking the General Plan Update to public vote on 8/30/11.
Email the Mayor, Vice Mayor and each of the City Council Members asking them to vote against sending the General Plan Update to public vote on 8/30/11.
Paul Barnes and Ann Malone
Citizens For Phoenix