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10/21/21 Dear Planning Commission, My name is Michelle Jameson, and I am the Executive Director of U.S.VETS. I was registered to speak at the October 7th, 2021, Planning Commission meeting on application # Z-47-21. I believe due to poor internet connection the chair was unable to proceed with the meeting and the vice-chair took over, as a result; I believe I was unintentionally overlooked to speak. I was registered as a neutral party, and my intent was not to speak against the new project, but to share my concern with the Commission. U.S.VETS is the current tenant at 3400 West Grand Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona (the “Facility”) and a housing provider that is in the middle of our plan to move out of the Facility. At the Facility, U.S.VETS provides transitional housing for 150 homeless veterans and permanent housing for 28 low-income veterans. Annually, U.S.VETS houses over 500 homeless veterans at the Facility. We have been serving veterans at the Facility for over 10 years. In May 2020, I learned that our lease at the Facility would not be renewed, and I had to search for a new location. I was fortunate enough to find another building in the Phoenix area. U.S.VETS began making plans to move out of the Facility and it was our intention to move into our new site this month, in October 2021. However, due to a number of circumstances beyond our control, we will not be able to accomplish our move to our new building until the end of May 2022. The factors that have delayed completion of our move until the end of May 2022, include: • Permit approvals that we have applied for can take up to 3-6 months; • A required change to the Certificate of Occupancy, resulting in the need for unexpected renovations to comply with building and fire codes; • Shipping delays of construction materials and furnishings. For example, our order for refrigerators is backlogged and will not be fulfilled for more than 6 months; and • A shortage of workers in various trades that are necessary to complete construction. U.S.VETS is not sure about the future anticipated timeline of the potential new development, but I wanted to bring to your attention our concern about our inability to complete our move out of the Facility before the end of May 2022. Thank you for your time and attention. Sincerely, Michelle Jameson Executive Director mjameson@usvets.org 602-501-5548 Attachment E