Attachment A - March 22, 2023 EDE Minutes.pdf

Phoenix City Council 
Economic Development and Equity (EDE) Subcommittee 
Summary Minutes 
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 
City Council Chambers 
200 W. Jefferson St. 
Phoenix, Ariz. 
Subcommittee Members Present 
 Subcommittee Members Absent 
Vice Mayor Laura Pastor, Chair 
Councilwoman Ann O’Brien 
Councilwoman Debra Stark 
Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari 
CALL TO ORDER 
Chairwoman Pastor called the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee to 
order at 10:07 a.m. with Councilwoman Ann O’Brien, Councilwoman Debra Stark and 
Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari present.  
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
None. 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS 
1. Minutes of the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee Meeting
Councilwoman Stark made a motion to approve the minutes of the Feb. 22, 2023
Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee meeting. Councilwoman O’Brien
seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 4-0.
CONSENT ACTION (ITEMS 2)  
Item 2 was for consent action. No presentations were planned, but staff was available to 
answer questions. 
2. Approval of Warehouse and Threatened Building Grant - City Center Motel - 600
W. Van Buren St.
Councilwoman Stark made a motion to approve the item. Councilwoman O’Brien
seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 4-0.
INFORMATION ONLY (ITEM 3) 
3. Phoenix Convention Center Post Pandemic Booking Update
Item 3 was Information only and Councilwoman Stark thanked staff.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION (ITEMS 4-5)  
Item 5 was heard out of order as requested by Chairwoman Pastor. 
Attachment A

5. Affordable Housing and Housing Phoenix Plan Update 
Deputy City Manager Gina Montes gave an overview of affordable housing and its 
importance.  
 
Assistant Housing Director Aubrey Gonzalez, Deputy Housing Director Samantha 
Keating and Planning and Development director Josh Bednarek provided a report on 
Housing Phoenix Plan efforts, Planning and Development Zoning Ordinance text 
amendments and Housing Choice Voucher Landlord Incentive Program updates.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked for clarification on the Landlord Incentive Program. 
 
Ms. Gonzalez discussed landlord incentives and resources.  
 
Ms. Montes added why incentives were important to help increase housing 
opportunities for Housing Choice Voucher holders.   
 
Ms. Gonzalez continued the presentation.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked how the Landlord Incentive Program would be sustained in 
the future after American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds were spent.  
 
Ms. Montes replied the program was finite and a future source of funding had not been 
determined.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked if the funding would end in 2024 and what would happen to 
the 1,228 people participating in the program.  
 
Ms. Montes responded staff had been transparent with participants about the program’s 
timeline and staff was hopeful more housing units would become available because of 
the program.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked staff to bring a plan back to discuss options.  
 
Ms. Montes responded staff would follow-up. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked how many multifamily units were planned for 2024.   
 
Mr. Bednarek replied staff could report back with a projection.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor expressed concern about the lack of affordable housing planned 
and requested staff work to come up with solutions.   
 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked if any of the participating landlords in the program did not 
have Housing Choice Voucher residents.

Ms. Gonzalez responded all participants had some residents with Housing Choice 
Vouchers in their units.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked how many participants there were. 
 
Ms. Gonzalez responded 2,000 landlords were participating in the Housing Choice 
Voucher Program.  
 
Ms. Montes added landlords could lease multiple units.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked how many participants had housing. 
 
Ms. Gonzalez responded 700 residents were currently searching for housing and 5,017 
Housing Choice Vouchers were leased.  
 
Councilwoman O’Brien and Chairwoman Pastor asked for an update on specific 
numbers for how many vouchers were not allocated.  
 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked if the six-month maximum timeframe to execute a lease 
was a federal or City standard.  
 
Ms. Gonzalez responded it was a City standard and the federal requirement was 60 
days.  
 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked if staff could discuss the methodology behind the six-
month timeframe and potential for changes at a future meeting.  
 
Ms. Gonzalez continued the presentation.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked about the incentive framework for existing mobile homes.  
 
Mr. Bednarek replied staff was working out specific components of the framework and 
provided concept details.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor commented on text amendment language.  
 
Mr. Bednarek replied staff could explore the proposed language. 
 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked if the zoning ordinance text amendments timeline could be 
accelerated. 
 
Mr. Bednarek responded staff could investigate and report back. 
 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked about the Glendale policy that waives all development fees for 
affordable housing projects receiving Arizona tax credits and asked if Phoenix could 
explore replicating this model.

Mr. Bednarek replied staff could investigate and report back.   
 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked if Phoenix still needed the Landlord Incentive Program with 
the income discrimination ban.  
 
Ms. Montes responded the program was a useful tool to incentivize landlords and staff 
would recommend maintaining the program at this time.  
 
Vice Mayor Ansari emphasized the need to find an alternative source of funding for the 
Landlord Incentive Program.  
 
Councilwoman Stark commented on the Glendale policy and advocated for solutions to 
waive fees.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor discussed Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Airbnb's. 
 
Mr. Bednarek responded staff was in the process of finalizing text amendment language 
updates.  
 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked about impacts of Senate Bill 1117. 
 
Mr. Bednarek responded he had not seen the latest version and was not able to provide 
details at this time.  
 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked for a breakdown of numbers between affordable and 
subsidized housing units. 
 
Ms. Montes replied staff did not have the breakdown available, but the housing 
assessment would provide more specific data. 
 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked how staff determined numbers in the Housing Phoenix 
Plan.  
 
Ms. Keating provided details on methodology.  
 
4. First and McKinley Streets Parcels Lease and Redevelopment - Authorization to 
Issue Solicitation 
Community and Economic Development (CED) Director Christine Mackay, CED 
Economic Development Program Manager Heather Rasmussen and CED Special 
Projects Administrator Gretchen Wolfe requested to issue a Request for Proposals 
(RFP) for the lease and redevelopment of City-owned property at First and McKinley 
Streets and authorization to begin negotiations with the recommended proposer.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor expressed support for the property having a residential use 
component.

Ms. Mackay responded this was something staff could take as guidance to move 
forward.  
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked for clarification on RFP language options.   
 
Ms. Mackay discussed RFP language options to encourage mixed-use development, 
including residential.  
 
Councilwoman Stark commented on ground floor activation. 
 
Ms. Mackay responded this parcel could be a good candidate for ground floor activation 
and would bring more information back to the committee in the fall.  
 
Vice Mayor Ansari replied ground floor activation at this site could be favorable and 
asked to prioritize basic amenities for residents. 
 
Ms. Mackay responded the requests for soft and hard goods could be crafted into the 
RFP. 
 
Chairwoman Pastor asked about minimum building height.  
 
Ms. Mackay replied the RFP would not allow for a building height of less than 10 stories.  
 
Councilwoman O’Brien expressed support for a multiuse building.  
 
Vice Mayor Ansari made a motion to approve the item. Councilwoman O’Brien 
seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 4-0. 
 
 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC  
None. 
 
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 
None. 
 
ADJOURNMENT 
Chairwoman Pastor adjourned the meeting at 11:22 a.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
Danielle Vermeer 
Management Fellow